A former LaSalle police officer faces a charge of second-degree murder in connection with fatally a shooting a man trying to drive away in a car the officer thought was suspicious.

A Weld County grand jury indicted Erik Hernandez, who had been on the job for three days when he allegedly fatally shot Juston Reffel on May 3, according to Denver Gazette partner 9News.

Hernandez and another LaSalle officer, Sam Johnson, saw a Dodge Magnum they believed looked suspicious parked outside a Family Dollar store at 165 S. 2nd St., according to the indictment. The car had been recently painted white, had an obscured vehicle identification number and a faked out-of-state license plate number.

LaSalle is a small town just south of Greeley.

The two officers parked their patrol vehicle to block in the car and went into the store to try to find the car’s driver and learned none of its employees drove the car.

Reffel was in the store with two others, according to the indictment, and ran toward the front when he saw the officers. He got into the white Dodge Magnum and backed up several feet, despite Hernandez shouting for him to get out, according to the indictment. Reffel then began driving out of the parking spot.

Hernandez fired four shots from his 9-millimeter handgun, the indictment says. Reffel managed to drive away before he hit another car on Church Street. He was pronounced dead at North Colorado Medical Center from a single gunshot wound to the torso.

“The defendant acted knowingly with respect to his conduct described above and was not justified in the actions he took pursuant to the affirmative defense of peace officer’s use of deadly physical force,” according to the indictment.

Hernandez has a court appearance set for Aug. 23 at 9 a.m., according to a news release Monday. A judge set his bond at $50,000. 9News reported Hernandez was fired after the grand jury’s indictment last week.