His ankle monitor removed for the first time in months, Stephan Long walked out of the Van Cise-Simonet Detention Center to his family and freedom.

“It means everything to have my family around me,” said the 25-year-old.

In a move that shocked families on both sides, Denver District Attorney Beth McCann will have the remaining murder charges dropped against Long, who was accused in the deaths of two brothers.

“My heart goes out to them,” Long said after a reporter asked him if he had a message for the Lucas brothers’ family.

Damon and Blake Lucas’ mother, Amber Tripp, said that the fact that Long will never go through trial for the murder of her sons is “like having them murdered all over again.”

She is considering filing a wrongful death lawsuit against Long.

“I know what we’re going through is news but to us it’s heartbreaking. We lost two amazing people who will never have a family of their own. Never get to grow up and become who they were meant to be.”

Long claimed self-defense after the June 13, 2023 shooting, saying he feared for his life before he pulled the trigger and killed Damon and Blake Lucas on Interstate 25 near Eighth Avenue. He was arrested moments after the shooting and was charged with two counts of first-degree murder. One of those charges was later dropped.

According to court records, Long told investigators the two men pulled up next to him on the highway, yelled at him and attacked him.

“I was scared,” he said.

According to police, the shooting happened between West 6th Avenue and West 8th Avenue in the northbound lanes of Interstate 25 just before 3 p.m. on June 13. The two cars had stopped in one lane of I-25, directly underneath West 6th Avenue.

The passenger got out and approached Long, police said. Long allegedly then shot him. His brother then approached Long, who began to drive away, but the victim grabbed onto his car.

Long allegedly fired several shots as he drove off the highway at West 8th Avenue, hitting the second victim and causing him to fall off the car, according to police.

Long did not call 911 and fled the scene, according to an arrest affidavit.

According to Long’s reported statements, one of the victims allegedly instigated the confrontation. Long told a detective that he was driving on I-25 when a vehicle drove up next to him and someone inside began yelling at him. Long told police that the car then cut him off.

Long said the passenger got out of the car, approached, grabbed him and hit him through the open window. Long reportedly told detectives he then shot that man.

Investigating officers found no injuries on Long. 

Long was in jail for five months and then put on house arrest with strict rules which stipulated that he stay in his back yard, his mother Stephanie Wesley said.

On Wednesday, McCann announced in a statement that she would seek to drop the remaining murder charge against Long.

“After a careful and comprehensive review of all the evidence in the case — which included numerous consultations with members of my office — and after applying Colorado law to the evidence, I have concluded that we could not prove Mr. Long’s guilt to a jury beyond a reasonable doubt,” the statement said. “The evidence establishes a strong and valid self-defense claim pursuant to Colorado law. As a result, we will ask the court to dismiss the remaining charges against Mr. Long. This was an extremely difficult and heart-wrenching decision but, ultimately, in my opinion, the correct one.”

Alex Landau, an activist with the Denver Justice Project who fought for the charge dismissal, questioned McCann’s choice of words.

“Heart-wrenching? There was no evidence. Stephan Long was defending his life, had no criminal background and was a double-major scholar from Kansas State University,” he said. “For Stephan and his family, this was an uphill battle for justice.”

The Denver Justice Project took the case to Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser and Gov. Jared Polis.

“This case was not won in court. It was won in the community,” Landau told reporters. 

During an unrelated interview Thursday, McCann was asked to elaborate on what made the case a tough one to prosecute. She declined any further comment.

The brothers’ family was shocked by the announcement. On Thursday, family members were raising money on social media to help pay expenses for Tripp to leave the state with her remaining children so that she “didn’t have the reminder every day.”

Tripp said that she doesn’t want to live where she is reminded every day of her sons’ deaths. 

Denver Gazette reporter Sage Kelley and former reporter Julia Cardi contributed to this report.