Wrongful death, assault and battery against Darian Simon, intentional infliction of emotional distress, joint and several liability and conspiracy common venture claims were filed against Close. A 38-year-old Colorado man will spend the rest of his life behind bars for fatally shooting a 21-year-old woman and wounding her boyfriend by using an assault-style rifle in a dispute over a pooping dog. The suspect, 36-year-old Michael Close, was quickly tracked down in the small town of Pine Junction. In January, the Denver Police Department confirmed the AK-47 used in the shooting was the personal weapon of Denver police officer Dan . }); She's gone. Police were dispatched to 3001 North Fox Street in the Ballpark neighborhood of Denver after receiving multiple reports of shots fired at 11:40 a.m. on June 10, 2020, according to a probable cause affidavit obtained by Oxygen.com. On June 7, 2020, the family had a birthday party for Isabella, who was turning 21, and for her sister Lucia. Twitter Thallas was hit in the back and died instantly; Simon was shot twice. First published on June 11, 2020 / 11:59 PM. Speaking of her boyfriend, Simon was shot in the leg and buttocks but survived the gruesome attack. Close, as per Denver police homicide investigator Joseph Trujillo, yelled out of the window as the duo urged their pet to go potty saying, Are you going to train that f*****g dog or just yell at it?Close then grabbed his AK-47, which he reportedly had taken from a friend who was a Denver police sergeant, and fired 24 shots. Where's my baby? RELATED: Suspect found guilty in fatal Ballpark neighborhood shooting of Isabella Thallas. "How do you process that information? Thallas' 21st birthday was two days before. Numerous reports of shots being fired were received by Denvers Combined Communications Center. Updated: 9:19 AM MDT November 4, 2022. eventAction: 'click_image_ads' Home; News. He'll go to jail, they're without a son, a brother, so there's no winners in this.". Develop Denver police homicide Detective Joseph Trujillo testified at the hearing that Close used a high-powered semi-automatic rifle in the shooting, which he said came after Simons dog pooped in a rock garden outside Closes apartment building in the Ballpark neighborhood at around 11:40 a.m., KDVR reported from the hearing. A mural of Isabella Thallas in Denver. According to the Denver Post, Michael Close had earlier pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity but the jury on Thursday, September 22 convicted him for the crime. 2023 NYP Holdings, Inc. 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Pass Prospector Value PASS PROSPECTOR VALUE (PASS) combines two independent valuation systems coupled with continuous blind testing to deliver greater accuracy and hit rate. DENVER A man accused of using an AK-47 to kill a woman and wound her boyfriend as they walked their dog was . Close had pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity. "We just want to wrap our arms around the family and help support and relieve some of that stress.". Deputy Public Defender Sonja Prins had argued that Close had a mental break before he carried out the shooting, and she pointed to his traumatic and abusive childhood, a string of recent job losses, a breakup and the COVID-19 pandemic as contributing to his poor mental health at the time. Her boyfriend, Darian Simon, was also . But to Ana, she lost her precious child. Close was later arrested in Park County. A man from Denver, Colorado, was convicted of first-degree murder and attempted murder after he fatally shot at a dog-walking couple 24 times with an AK-47. Contact: Carolyn Tyler, Communications Director, carolyn.tyler@denverda.org, 720-913-9025. ", "It was hard not having dad in the home," she said. "My heart just goes out to the family, just sending lots of love and prayers and care to the family at this time," said Priscilla Rahn, a family friend. Powered by. Thallas and her boyfriend, Darian Simon, were shot near 29th and Huron Street. 1998 - 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. | All Rights Reserved. }); Opinion: Colorado farms going fallow? Hundreds of people gathered to remember her days after the shooting, and a Denver park was renovated in her memory, with a mural painted by a local artist. Judge Lisa Teesch-Maguire ordered that Close, 36, continue to be held at Denvers downtown detention center without bond. DENVER The man who shot and killed Isabella Thallas and injured her boyfriend Darian Simon while the couple was walking Simon's dog near Coors Field in June 2020 will serve a life sentence . But Bella, as she was known, desired independence in the form of living with her boyfriend, Darian. The shooting happened outside an apartment complex in the Ballpark neighborhood in June 2020. }); / CBS Colorado. Michael Close is in custody for investigation of first-degree murder in connection with the June 10 murder of 21-year-old Isabella Thallas and the shooting of Darian Simon, the founder of the . A Denver judge on Friday sentenced Michael Close to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Ana Thallas invited mourners to a candlelight vigil at West 31st and Fox Street at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday. She said Thallas had just turned 21 days before she was killed. Close was also ordered to pay more than $37,000 in restitution. document.querySelector("#ads").addEventListener('click',function(){ Dan Politica. Her response was immediate. RELATED: Mother of Isabella Thallas holds onto love, endures through grief. DENVER The last year has changed Ana Hernandez Thallas profoundly. "How did this happen? On June 10, Lucia texted her and asked where Bella was, saying she heard the news: an active shooter, one injured, one confirmed dead. The shooting happened outside an apartment complex in the Ballpark neighborhood of Denver on June 10, 2020. Her boyfriend, Darian Simon, was shot twice but is expected to survive. Members of Thallas family also cried as they heard the verdict. Weve been waiting 2 years for this day and what happened in there just went by almost as fast as my daughter was slaughtered, she said through tears, standing outside the courtroom. Darian Simon and Isabella Thallas (courtesy: Ana Thallas). . The family of a woman fatally shot last year in Denver has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the alleged shooter and the former police sergeant whose gun police believe was used in the shooting. It was around 11:40 a.m. and Thallas and Simon were walking their dog on Fox Street, near Coors Field. It took a Denver jury less than a day of deliberation to find Michael Close guilty of killing Isabella Thallas and seriously wounding her boyfriend more than two years ago after an argument about the couple's dog relieving itself in Denver's ballpark area. Ana said she thought Darian was amazing but she didn't think Isabella was emotionally ready for such a move. Nothing will ever take that away from the fact that my daughter is 6 feet underground. Prosecutors alleged that Close had gotten into a verbal exchange with Thallas and Simon as they were encouraging their dog, Rocko, to relieve itself in a rock garden outside Closes apartment on Huron Street near Coors Field on June 10, 2020. The jury stated that Close knew what he was doing when he gunned down Thallas. Honor Bella. Politica filed a resignation letter Feb. 13 and resigned from DPD one month later. The death of her daughter on June 10, 2020 is still too much to . Isabella Thallas, 21, was killed during the shooting. The . Close shot and killed Isabella Thallas in 2020 and also tried to kill her boyfriend. There is no justice in this, he said. ga('ads.send', { Not for the "stupid price" of $150 an acre foot. Honor Darian. }); The suspect, Michael Close, has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to the 16 charges he faces in connection to the shooting in broad daylight in . Denver jury finds suspect guilty in fatal Ballpark neighborhood shooting. This is Denver District Court case number 20CR03585. > Below, the mother of Isabella Thallas speaks to 9NEWS about her daughter and the shooting. Family members say Thallas just turned 21 last week. Hunter who killed pet dogs says he thought they were coyotes,A hunter who told authorities he killed and skinned what he thought were two coyotes, but. Isabella Thallas died in the shooting, and Simon was shot twice but survived, though he had to undergo surgery to repair a broken femur. "There's no winners in this," said Joshua Thallas, Isabella's father. Close will pay for what hes done by spending his life in prison, Denver District Court Judge Lisa C. Arnolds said, according to the DAs office. } Michael Ciaglo/Getty Images. Close cried as the verdict was announced after less than a day of deliberations, as did members of Thallas family who attended the hearing. Please enter valid email address to continue. Sentencing was set for November 4, 2022, at 1:30 in courtroom 5H. She told CBS4 on Thursday that she is grateful for the immediate response from the community, already quadrupling their initial goal by the end of the first day she launched the page. According to a transcript of a November 2020 Denver District Court hearing, lead detective Joseph Trujillo testified that minutes before the shooting, Close sent a text to Politica. The murderer was Politicas friend and confidante who somehow obtained the illegal (in Denver) assault weapon and prohibited (in Colorado) large capacity magazines filled with ammunition. Michael Close, 36, is accused of shooting 21-year-old Isabella Thallas and her boyfriend, 27-year-old Darian Simon, outside an apartment complex in the Ballpark neighborhood in June 2020. A Denver man has been found guilty of murder for using an AK-47 to shoot and kill a 21-year-old woman after her dog defecated outside his apartment. } More 9NEWS coverage of the murder of Isabella Thallas: RELATED: Suspect found guilty in fatal Ballpark neighborhood shooting of Isabella Thallas, RELATED: Survivor of deadly Denver Ballpark neighborhood attack endures in the midst of grief and growth, RELATED: 'I hate that it was my gun,' says former Denver cop whose AK-47 was used in murder. Trujillo told the court that the text said that Closes dog, Bella, was attacked by two dogs, and that he had full intentions of going back and murdering them., Trujillo later said that 10 minutes after the text, Close followed up with a call and voicemail to Politica where he said something along the lines of dude, Dan, I really f---ed up bad. Thank you to the family and friends of Isabella Thallas for allowing me the honor of painting your loved one. The incident dates to June 10, 2020. A spokesperson for DPD said an internal affairs investigation wasnt opened against Politica because he had not violated any department policies. A Denver man who used an AK-47 to kill a woman and wound a man while the couple was walking their dog near Coors Field was found guilty of first-degree murder Thursday. The shooting happened outside an apartment complex in the Ballpark neighborhood in June 2020. 2020 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. Our lawsuit seeks answers and accountability. Darian would never walk the same again. There's a permanent memorial in the Ballpark neighborhood where she died. DENVER Beautiful, brilliant and free-spirited - that's how Ana Thallas remembers her daughter, Isabella, who was murdered by a stranger two days after . By Associated Press. The complaint document states Close intended to harm both Isabella Thallas and Simon. Business; Politics; Military; Elections; Law; Immigration; Technology. "I don't have to worry about her anymore," Ana said. 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