Denver police announced the arrest of a man in connection with a fatal shooting on Blake Street Saturday night.

Deonte Minyard, 34, was arrested on suspicion of first-degree murder in connection with a man being shot in the head in the 2200 block of Blake Street just before midnight Saturday, according to a news release from the Denver Police Department.

1 dead in late night LoDo shooting, Denver police investigate as homicide

Officers first responded to a ShotSpotter alert in the area of 22nd Street and Blake Street, finding the victim who was suffering from a single gunshot wound to his head, according to a probable cause affidavit provided by the department.

Minyard was under GPS monitoring at the time of the incident due to arrests in April and June 2025, according to the affidavit.

During the investigation, police reviewed surveillance footage that depicted Minyard flashing a handgun, which then prompted the victim to obtain an AR-style pistol from one of the witnesses, according to the affidavit. 

The two then engaged in a shootout, with Minyard shooting the victim in the head before fleeing in a black Jeep Grand Cherokee and fleeing northwest on 22nd Street, the affidavit says.

Police then spoke to the victim’s cousin — one of the witnesses of the incident — who said that one of the four women they were with had gotten into an argument with a man in her car whom he did not know, according to the affidavit.

While that was happening, Minyard, described by the witness as a short black man wearing a long sleeve white shirt, was brandishing a gun near the car.

The victim’s cousin elaborated that Minyard kept saying he did not feel safe, according to the affidavit, which he did not understand as he did not seem to be involved in the argument.

Minyard then pointed the gun at the group of people and began shooting, the cousin told investigators.

Police then interviewed another witness who had also been socializing with the victim at the time of the shooting. 

The witness confirmed that, amidst the argument between the two parties — which Minyard was not involved in — Minyard kept saying that he felt threatened, something the witness opinioned was an attempt to lay the groundwork for a self-defense claim as nobody else had a gun or was threatening him in any way, the affidavit says.

The witness added that the victim took an AR-style pistol from his backpack because Minyard was pointing the gun at the victim’s brother.

Another witness, a woman, described the group as being comprised of “several family members” going to a bar and nightclub in the area that evening.

She said that as her and another woman were walking back to her car, she saw a guy in the parking lot who had given her issues in the past making “finger guns” at her while standing at the lot’s exit, according to the affidavit.

That man, she said, was with Minyard, the one who eventually shot the victim, who began flashing a gun in his waistband at her before pulling it out and accusing her of “putting a hit” on the man who had previously given her trouble, whom she had known for over two years.

After more information was gathered from witnesses and security cameras, police were able to learn Minyard’s full name and identify his address, according to the affidavit. 

The final determination of Minyard’s charges will be made by the Denver District Attorney’s Office.