DA: No charges will be filed against Thornton officers who shot armed crime spree suspect
No charges will be filed against Thornton police officers who shot an armed crime spree suspect in April, the 17th Judicial District Attorney’s Office said Thursday.
The attorney’s office ruled that the two officers acted reasonably and within the law when they fired their weapons at Raymond Quintana, 36, after he allegedly pointed a gun at the officers multiple times.
“There is no reasonable likelihood of success of proving the elements of any crime beyond a reasonable doubt,” the decision letter said. “Therefore, there will be no criminal charges filed against these officers.”
The incident happened on April 9 after police were called to an apartment complex at 9700 Welby Road. The apartment security guard called the police after he caught a man stealing coins from the complex’s laundry machines.
When the security guard confronted the man, later identified as Quintana, he pointed a gun at the guard’s head, according to the attorney’s office’s report.
When officers arrived, Quintana allegedly pointed a handgun at officers, ran to a car and drove off. Officers pursued the vehicle, which eventually crashed into a fence at 115th Avenue and Colorado Boulevard.
Following the crash, officers attempted to apprehend Quintana who again allegedly pointed a gun at them. Two officers then fired at Quintana but were unsure if they hit him, the report said.
After the shots were fired, Quintana ran into the surrounding neighborhood, at one point running through a house. He stole a Jeep and used it to escape, the report said. Police searched for several hours but were unable to find Quintana.
On April 14, officers tracked Quintana down to an apartment in Westminster. After an hours-long standoff with police, Quintana fatally shot himself in the apartment, the report said.
An autopsy found that one of the officer’s shots on April 9 hit Quintana in the leg, but the injury was not life-threatening. In total, the two officers fired their weapons six times.
The two officers involved have been on administrative leave since the shooting, awaiting the results of the attorney’s office’s review.





