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Man charged in Auraria Campus stabbing

Gregory Stapleton; 6/17/83

Denver police seek tips in fatal shooting

Prosecutors in Denver have charged a man with murder in connection with the fatal stabbing of 36-year-old Richard Ford III in September 2020.

Gregory Stapleton, 38, faces two counts of first-degree murder and one count of aggravated robbery. He was arrested in late January after being sought since Sept. 17, 2020, according to the Denver District Attorney’s Office.

Officers were sent to the Auraria Campus around noon on Sept. 8, 2020, after a student used an emergency call box to report a man, later identified as Ford, was unresponsive and lying in a pool of blood, according to the arrest warrant.

Ford had a “sharp force injury” to his torso. He was taken to Denver Health, where he later died.

A witness told investigators that he was in a lunch line and saw Ford arguing with a man, later identified as Stapleton, about one of them cutting in line to get a free pair of socks, according to the warrant.

The witness said he remembered hearing Stapleton make a statement about “throwing hands” before the two men left the area. The witness later saw Ford on the ground, “bleeding heavily,” according to the warrant. 

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Detectives used the Denver Police Department’s High Activity Location Observation camera network and were able to track the movements of both parties before and after the fight. Those findings were mostly redacted; however, Stapleton left the area with Ford’s bag and used the train and bus to flee, according to the warrant. 

While riding public transportation, Stapleton disguised his identity with a COVID mask, glasses, a hood and hat, but investigators could see orange detailing on his shoes. 

About a week after the murder, police received a tip from an anonymous source who identified Stapleton as the assailant following the release of his photo in a Crime Stoppers bulletin. 

The tipster said he was “85 to 95%” certain it was Stapleton he had interacted with around 20 times since January 2020. He said Stapleton used to routinely come into a shelter to shower, pick up his mail and use the computer, but stopped coming following the incident. 

The tipster told investigators the last time he saw Stapleton was on the morning of the murder between 10:30 and 11 a.m., which aligns with surveillance footage obtained by investigators. 

A judge issued an arrest warrant for Stapleton on Sept. 17, 2020; however, he remained at-large until he was arrested on Jan. 29. 

Stapleton is scheduled to appear in court on March 4.

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