The man charged with vehicular homicide in the Golden crash that killed an on-duty police officer waived his right to a preliminary trial in a Jefferson County courtroom Thursday.

Stephen Geer, 43, was scheduled to appear at a preliminary hearing in front of Jefferson County Judge Bradley Burback, allowing the prosecution to present enough evidence to move the case to trial. Geer and his defense attorney, Megan Downing, decided to waive the hearing, moving the case directly to an arraignment and potential plea negotiations.

Geer will appear for the official arraignment on April 28, over five months after the deadly crash killed 33-year-old Golden Police Department Officer Evan Dunn and injured three others.

The arraignment also comes after a few setbacks in the case, with Downing asking for a prolonged period before the preliminary hearing due to an abundance of discovery on Dec. 12.

The next status conference occurred on Jan. 16, where the preliminary hearing was set for Thursday.

Geer, out on a $250,000 bond with the condition of pretrial supervision, appeared before the court in a suit, hands held at his sides.

Prior to the crash, the suspect was a Colorado School of Mines mechanical engineering professor. His name is still listed on the school’s website as a teaching assistant professor. 

The crash

Geer was arrested on the evening of Nov. 6 after allegedly crashing into a vehicle parked at another crash on Highway 58, causing the first on-duty death of an officer in the history of the Golden Police Department.

During the crash, the vehicle pinned two officers under the first crashed vehicle — Dunn and Bethany Grusing. 

Dunn died on impact and Grusing sustained a cheekbone injury. The two drivers who were involved in the earlier crash were also injured. Both were thrown by the impact and one sustained a skull fracture and brain bleed, according to arrest documents.

First Judicial District Attorney Alexis King charged Geer on Nov. 14 with one count of vehicular homicide, two counts of vehicular assault, one count of third-degree assault and one count of driving under the influence.

Geer refused a blood and breathalyzer test at the scene, prosecutor Alexa Visscher said at a previous hearing.

At the same Nov. 14 hearing, Judge Corinne Magid issued a protection order stating that Geer could not have any form of contact with Grusing and Dunn’s wife during the criminal proceedings. 

Geer also cannot possess or purchase a firearm and cannot consume any alcohol during the proceedings. 

In a public statement following Dunn’s death, the Golden Police Department called the incident a “profound tragedy.”

“The fallen officer was a dedicated and loved member of the Golden Police Department and was committed to protecting the safety and well-being of Golden’s residents after serving in the armed forces,” the statement said. “He served the Golden community and his country with honor and upheld the pillars of the city’s police department’s values and goals.”

“I’m amazed at how much support there is. The memorial in front of the police station is a testament to how everybody feels,” Amy Reynolds, a woman who moved to Colorado last year, said at the parade in Dunn’s honor last year.

“It’s such a wonderful place,” she said of Golden. “It’s a big town but small town. The sense of community, I absolutely love it.”

At the end of April, Geer will either plead guilty or not guilty to the charges following the crash.