BRIGHTON, Colo. — Both sides of the aisle were packed with family members as Lumumba Sayers Sr. entered the Adams County courtroom Friday.

The 46-year-old man — charged with first-degree murder and two counts of menacing by the 17th Judicial District Attorney’s Office — sat in a bright orange jumpsuit, looking rail thin in comparison to his pre-arrest, post-MMA career bodyweight.

Sayers Sr. was appearing in court for the second time after his arrest in connection to the shooting death of 28-year-old Malcolm Watson at his son’s fifth birthday party on Aug. 10 in Commerce City.

Sayers Sr.’s defense attorney, Megan Downing, asked Adams County Judge Jeffrey Ruff if the suspect could be moved from the jail to another facility or hospital.

“He is in quite a bit of medical distress. He’s lost about 50 pounds since he’s been in jail,” Downing said with Sayers Sr. standing at her side. “I think there are safety concerns.”

Ruff ultimately denied the request, stating that it was out of his jurisdiction and would have to be taken up with the jail directly. But, the judge did approve the postponement of the preliminary hearing and the holding of another bond hearing.

The initial bond hearing, held on Aug. 15, caused a bit of disturbance within the Adams County courtroom, as family members on both sides shared heated words as Watson’s family plead for the judge to raise the bond, which was initially set at $1 million dollars, cash only.

“Just to be candid and honest, I don’t think any of us were prepared for the procedure that we experienced last time,” Downing said Friday of the initial bond hearing. “I have real concerns that Mr. Sayers was prejudiced by the outbursts and emotionality.”

The initial bond hearing went on for over an hour with multiple members of Watson’s family speaking against Sayers Sr.

None of Sayers Sr.’s family spoke.

Ruff raised the bond to $5 million at the end of the hearing.

“If you let this man out, it’s your fault if guns and bloodshed go on in this community,” Tajuana McKinley, Watson’s mother, said to Ruff during the initial bond hearing. “This is not over, by far on any side. This is going to go on, your honor.”

An act of revenge

The Commerce City Police Department initially alleged that the killing of Watson was an act of revenge by Sayers Sr.

Multiple witnesses told investigators that Sayers Sr., who was not invited to the party, had walked up and shot Watson in the head at close range. He also allegedly pointed a gun at a bystander, took keys from Watson’s body and attempted to place the handgun under him, according to arrest records.

The shooting came nearly a year after Sayers Sr.’s 23-year-old son, Lumumba Sayers Jr., was shot and killed on Aug. 19, 2023 in Denver.

Though Denver police arrested suspect Tyrell Braxton, 24, a month after the shooting on suspicion of first-degree murder and first-degree assault, Watson was allegedly friends with the Braxton, according to arrest records.

During the initial bond hearing, Watson’s family claimed that the victim had nothing to do with Sayers Jr.’s murder.

“He is a man on a vengeance, and a man on a vengeance does not deserve to be a part of our community,” Denesha Stevenson, Watson’s older sister, said of Sayers Sr. during the bond hearing. “It was not only a murder, but a murder at a community pool in front of hundreds of children and families.”

Both Sayers Sr. and his son were open anti-violence activists in the metro Denver community, with much work in Aurora.

In 2015, Sayers Sr. built a community center in an unassuming building at 2360 Dayton in Aurora and called it Heavy Hands, Heavy Hearts Center. The foundation’s aim was to pull kids off of the streets with movie nights, Thanksgiving dinners, fitness classes, mountain camping trips and girl’s empowerment gatherings. Fundraising events were aimed at youth violence prevention.

A plethora of discovery

Initially, the preliminary hearing was supposed to be held Friday, with the prosecutors presenting evidence to Judge Ruff for his determination if there’s enough to send the case to trial.

The defense’s motion to move the hearing was due to the amount of evidence they have both received and have yet to receive, causing a delay in the process.

“There’s a tremendous amount of discovery forthcoming,” Downing said. “We received an evidence alert this week that we just pulled up with an excess of 2,000 files.”

For example, Downing raised multiple questions about the arrest affidavit during the initial bond hearing, like the 10-20 shots reported despite only four empty cases found near Watson’s body. Also, another man, described to be dressed in tan, was identified as a shooter by a witness.

With various footage recorded by security cameras and witnesses to go through, both the defense and prosecution agreed to push the preliminary hearing back to Jan. 3.

The new bond hearing is scheduled for Nov. 26.