Denver District Court Judge Alex Myers rescheduled the preliminary hearing of Ryan Egelston, a man accused of shooting at two people in Washington Park on Feb. 2, after granting a motion by Egelston’s defense attorney Friday afternoon.

Egelston’s defense, led by Public Defender Robert Halpern, requested the hearing be delayed so an evaluator could complete a necessary report, which he said may be done by mid-June. The prosecution, led by Courtney Johnston with the Denver District Attorney’s Office agreed to the rescheduled date of June 23.

The Denver Gazette could not verify the contents of the report the defense was referring to, and no specifics were mentioned in open court Friday.

The 28-year-old man faces two counts of attempted murder after deliberation, two counts of attempted murder with extreme indifference, one count of assault with a deadly weapon, one count of vehicular eluding and six sentence enhancers, a spokesperson with the Denver District Attorney’s Office told The Denver Gazette.

A preliminary hearing involves prosecutors presenting evidence to a judge, who determines if there’s enough to send the defendant to trial.

Egelston told investigators after the incident that he did not intend to shoot anyone, and mentioned that the people he shot toward were somehow involved in “psy-ops,” according to records. He also stated that in May of 2024 he was placed on a mental health hold by Lakewood for suicidal ideations and talk of “psy-ops.”

Appearing in court Friday afternoon, Egelston clad in a grey jumpsuit with his hands cuffed in front of him took a seat next to Halpern. He was clean shaven, with his hair long, blond and combed back behind his ears.

As he sat down, an older man and woman, seated on the first tan wooden bench across the room on the right side, gave him a wave, which he returned. The three mouthed words back and forth in the quiet room; the woman seemed to ask him if he was doing okay, to which he nodded yes.

The Wash Park incident began on Feb. 2 when an “older, hunched over” man asked to sit on a park bench next to Egelston, who, in response, spit on the man, pushed him, punched him in the lower back and shot out his bicycle tire with a handgun, according to an arrest affidavit from Denver police.

Egelston then walked south into the area of East Kentucky Avenue and South Downing Street and shot at a second person, 23-year-old Ben Varga, from behind, hitting him in the jaw and the neck, police said.

Varga has since undergone multiple surgeries for a fractured vertebra and a broken jaw. He is now out of the hospital and recovering.

Egelston told detectives in an interview after his arrest that he told the man to leave and claimed he was a “pedophile” who “wanted to touch him,” the affidavit says. Police added that there seemed to be no altercation or disagreement between Varga and Egelston before the second shooting.

That day was Varga’s first time visiting Wash Park since childhood.

“My idea was that it was a nice neighborhood — a really fun place for me as a 23-year-old,” Varga said. “I was looking forward to getting to know the Denver scene. I perceived it as very safe and a cornerstone for a lot of people who like to exercise and gather.”

Egelston told police that the man upset him because he had “something under his tongue, possibly a whistle.” He claimed to have shot near Varga, but not directly at him, as another warning.

After police arrived, Egelston allegedly fled in a red Hyundai sedan before being arrested on East Kentucky Avenue, police said.

According to court records, Egelston had no other criminal cases in the state of Colorado prior to the shooting.

Denver Gazette reporter Sage Kelley contributed to this story.