35-year-old Aurora man accused of shooting homeless man faces attempted murder charges

AURORA | An Aurora man is accused of shooting a homeless man he chased after accusing him of damaging trash cans at his centrally located Aurora apartment complex.

Daniel Ryan Shea, 35, is charged with attempted premeditated murder and assault with a deadly weapon in the case, court records show.

Police were called to the Midas store at 16708 E. Iliff Ave. around 9:15 a.m. on Sept. 9 after a shooting was reported.

Witnesses said they saw Shea and another man, later identified as a 35-year-old homeless man, arguing in the parking lot outside the exhaust shop. At one point, the suspected shooter, later identified as Shea, pulled out a gun and shot the other man in the stomach, police said.

“The shooter left the scene on foot heading north,” police said in an earlier statement. “Officers who responded to the incident were unable to immediately locate the suspect.”

After speaking to other witnesses and reviewing outdoor video footage of the incident, police were able to identify the suspected shooter as Shea, who lived in an apartment complex across the street from the crime scene.

Police arrested Shea after searching the area for him.

During his questioning, Shea spontaneously told police how the shooting unfolded.

“I'm just going to tell you exactly what the hell happened,” Shea told police, according to a district court affidavit.

Shea said the homeless man had been causing unrest in the apartment complex in the days before the shooting.

“I live in this apartment complex,” Shea said. “One man in particular – a huge shirtless ogre who's knocking over trash cans; the damage is $25,000. Right, that alone – I'm within my rights to protect my property.”

Shea did not elaborate on how or why the homeless man damaged property.

“I beat that motherfucker up a few days ago for acting like an idiot,” Shea told police.

He told police that the homeless man pulled out a gun and that Shea “took the shit out of his hand.”

Police and witness statements indicate that Shea pulled the gun he used to shoot the homeless man from the back of his pants and then shot the man.

“The only thing I should be charged with is assault, because I beat the crap out of the motherfucker that ended up in the Midas,” Shea said, according to police. “I'm a 'grateful dead wrecking crew' and that's what we do.”

The allusion refers to recording studio musicians of the 1960s.

Prosecutors in the 18th Judicial District have charged Shea with attempted first-degree murder and assault with a deadly weapon.

Shea is being held in the Arapahoe County Jail on $50,000 bail.

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