A judge on Thursday sentenced to prison the man who started the chain of events in Denver’s Lower Downtown neighborhood that resulted in seven people being injured by gunfire. 

Second Judicial District Judge Nikea Bland sentenced Jordan Waddy, 23, to 30 months in a correctional facility, followed by a year of parole, for a single charge of conspiracy to commit possession of a weapon by a previous offender. 

“Mr. Waddy, I’ve watched how you conducted yourself in court over the last two years,” Bland said at the sentence hearing. “I really hope that you will make the changes that you need to find yourself in a different and better position when you were released from custody.”

Waddy, leaning forward in his chair, nodded in agreement. 

The defendant plead guilty to the crime on Jan. 12. Four other counts against him were dismissed as a result of the plea deal.

The incident occurred on July 17, 2022 outside of bars in LoDo after closing time. Early that morning, Denver Police officers fired at Waddy after he pulled a gun, injuring him and six bystanders in the background.

While officers initially claimed Waddy pointed the gun at them, video of the incident showed he was trying to throw it away — a point that Waddy’s public defense attorney, Becca Butler-Dines, argued throughout the court process.

According to a Denver Police Department officer, Waddy was involved in a fight outside of the Larimer Beer Hall.

Footage showed that when police attempted to stop Waddy, he took his hands out of his pockets and put them in the air as he walked back onto the sidewalk crowded with bar patrons after closing time. Waddy walks toward the crowd gathered outside Larimer Beer Hall and away from officers.

Waddy then pulled out a 10 mm Rock Island M1911 A2, according to the arrest affidavit, prompting three officers to fire. Police quickly claimed after that he “posed a significant threat.” Later released body-worn camera footage appeared to show Waddy throwing his gun away. Several shots hit him and injured six other bystanders.

One of the three officers who fired, Brandon Ramos, was indicted by a Denver grand jury on 14 counts in January of 2023. The indictments included two counts of reckless second-degree assault, three counts of third-degree knowing or reckless assault, three counts of third-degree assault with negligence using a deadly weapon, one count of prohibited use of a weapon and five counts of reckless endangerment.

Ramos went on to take a plea deal on Jan. 23. The prosecutors dropped all 14 of the original charges in exchange for Ramos’ guilty plea to a third-degree assault charge. He will serve probation with no jail time, but will not be allowed to be a peace officer in Colorado again.

None of the injured bystanders were present at Waddy’s sentencing. Many spoke at Ramos’.

“A hypocrisy that exists here, if Jordan were to be sentenced to the Department of Corrections, yet the individual who actually shot his gun, who wore a uniform, who is trained on how to used to weapon, who is trained how to look beyond what is directly in front of him and to see if there are bystanders beyond that and then to not use his weapon,” Butler-Dines said at the hearing. “When that individual is given a probation sentence, with an agreement with the District Attorney for early termination, yet Jordan is sentenced to the Department of Corrections for the mere possession of the gun, that is true hypocrisy.”

Waddy’s case, according to Bland, should not take that of Ramos’ into consideration. At the end of the day, Waddy and Ramos are not co-defendents, she added.

The man, a convicted felon, should not have had the gun in the first place, she emphasized.

Previous charges

Colorado court records show that Waddy pleaded guilty to two counts of felony aggravated robbery on July 2, 2018. 18th Judicial District Judge Ben Leutwyler sentenced Waddy to 15 years in the Department of Corrections but suspended the sentence — meaning that if he met the terms of probation, the sentence could be dismissed. Leutwyler also sentenced Waddy to five years in the Youthful Offender System (YOS).

Waddy was arrested again by Pueblo County sheriff’s deputies in November 2019, in connection with a March 10, 2019, incident. He originally faced a felony charge of assault causing serious bodily injury, but he got another plea agreement and pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of assault on July 14, 2020, court records show.

Waddy’s defense argued that he “turned his life around” while at YOS. He maintained employment upon release and was in the community supervision stage at the time of the shooting. 

“I do take accountability for my actions,” Waddy said during the sentencing. “I do realize that, due to my actions, a lot of bad things occurred.”

He added that now he just wants to do what is best for himself and his family.

According to Butler-Dines, Waddy had the gun that evening because he felt unsafe. She noted that being a part of marginalized groups — like being a Black man — means significant punishments and lack of safety from law enforcement. 

“It is often times that their belief of their need for safety is only secure by carrying a gun,” she said of Black men. 

“While I understand that Mr. Waddy’s indication is that he needed the gun to feel safe. The problem that the court has is that he was being supervised in the community,” Bland noted in her closing statements. “He could have chosen not to go to lower downtown an area in which he would feel unsafe.”

Bland said that while she truly believed Waddy didn’t intend to use the gun that evening and ended up injured, she can’t “overlook the fact that you were given this privilege to be in the community and you still conducted yourself in that way,” she said.