AURORA | A 25-year-old bystander to a restaurant robbery faces criminal charges after shooting at and missing a fleeing robber in an attempt to stop him Saturday night in Aurora, according to police.

Police were called to the Subway at 15220 E. Iliff Ave. after 7:40 p.m. Jan. 9 after a man entered the store, demanded money and got into a physical altercation with one of the Subway workers, police said.

A bystander, 25-year-old Avery Marquis Nelson, followed the robbery suspect on foot, chasing him through the shopping center lot and eventually catching up to spray the suspect with pepper spray.

Nelson eventually fired “warning shots into the air” with a handgun he had near the intersection of Iliff Ave. and South Fraser Street, and later shot “multiple rounds” at the suspect’s vehicle as he drove off, striking it.

Police later located the vehicle near South Joplin Way and South Idalia Street after canvassing nearby neighborhoods. The suspect was not found.

The Subway worker who was assaulted was treated for minor injuries at a local hospital.

For his part, Nelson was issued a summons for reckless endangerment and discharging a weapon, as police said his actions “created a substantial risk of serious bodily injury to the public.”

Anyone with information about the identity of the robber in this case is asked to call Aurora Police or Metro Denver Crime Stoppers at 720-913-7867. Tipster can remain anonymous and could be eligible for a reward of up to $2,000.

29 replies on “Aurora bystander faces recklessness charges after shooting at fleeing Subway robber”

  1. Nelson surely deserved a ticket for reckless endangerment. Also, robbery is not a capital offense.

    1. It’s ‘idiot thinking’ like you describe that’s the problem today. ‘protect the criminal’, at all cost, the victims are just dead meat.

      1. Should we shoot shoplifters who try to get away? BTW, I’m an lifetime NRA member and a combat vet.

        1. When someone threatens anyone’s life with a gun, they stand the chance of being shot dead, whether they discharge that weapon or not. Even if it’s a fake gun, if it looks like a real gun and the robber’s intent was to present it as a real gun, then he’s done. Pilfering? Pffft, trip them and apprehend them, if possible, otherwise, they were on camera. But thanks for asking a stupid question so you can belittle the guy carrying the gun, moron.

          2. First of all, phuck you, Joe Dickbreath, for calling me an imbecile with no reason. Secondly, I was speaking in general…..”when”….as in, when this happens, got it? Now, moron, I don’t care if he has a gun or not, if he’s threatening your life, which he certainly is doing by threatening to harm you if you don’t give him money, then it’s the same thing, gun or not. And can I please say what a phucking moron you are ALSO for the concept of, “if he doesn’t have a gun, YOU can’t use a gun”? Only liberal asshats believe that stupidity. Geez, how do you even dress yourself in the morning?

          3. Likewise, smuck you, dogbreath. You’re comment obviously comes from a cretin who lives in an outhouse, or underneath.

          4. he had no reason for calling you an imbecile, like you calling him a moron first? or how about spouting stupidity and insulting someone who knows 10 times more about the law than you do? Does that make you an imbecile? Actually, I think you give imbeciles a bad name

          5. To know ten times more about the law than me would be impossible, or he’d be a lawyer. Secondly, I called him a moron because he suggested we shoot shoplifters, which was just being petty and moronic, like a school child taking things to the extreme. I didn’t exhibit any behavior, other than name calling, to be called an imbecile, but, okay, you think it’s okay, then Phuck you Too, buckwheat, got it? Third, where does anyone see anything that says I support walking outside and chasing people down? I DIDN’T see anything about the guy NOT having a gun, and Robbery has definitions, which means a life was threatened, and therefore he doesn’t NEED a gun, HE’S the threat. Joe Hardhate just seems to have a bone for me, so phuck him and you too, got it?

          6. Hey, man. I actually drove right next to the shooting. Nelson shot in the middle of iliff as i drove by. Incredibly close to my vehicle. The robber. I dont blame nelson for trying to stop a robbery but at that point they were nowhere near the subway

          7. Yep, no doubt that’s at least one mistake he made, giving chase. However, I think those laws need to be loosened. For instance, this guy left, so situation ended, but if he’d left with my property, I should be allowed to try and recover it. They are trying to make us too dependent on the police, which is always a recovery operation, rather than trying to prevent problems in the first place, which is what we need more than police. No, he shouldn’t have given chase, at all, unless the guy got away with his daughter or something irreplaceable.

      2. He’s right..i drove right by when he started shooting (middle of the street on illiff) considering he was nowhere near the subway and in the middle of a big street shooting it did seem a bit reckless. Saw him shoot about 3 times too. VERY suprised he didnt hit he robber.

      3. I don’t have a problem with shooting robbers. I have a problem with shooting in the air, if that’s what happened as the article says. What goes up, must come down, and it is basic firearm safety not to do that.

    1. Which is why what he did is illegal. This man should continue to carry a firearm, as should everyone else who is capable, after he takes a course on firearms safety/laws and perhaps engages in some practical firearms training.

  3. Bad idea Nelson. Your weapon is not for playing cop. It is only for self defense or defense of others in imminent threat of death or great harm. When the scumbag was running away, the threat was removed.

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  4. police found the car but not the perp and the subway worker is happy this young man tried something.

  5. fire a weapon into the air as a warning shot .. puts people a mile or 2 away in danger … never shoot up into the air unless you are sure your bullet will be stopped by what you are firing at …. always look where your bullets are going to go after passing through your assailant… most bullets travel a mile or 3 if not stopped by some sort of back stop ….

        1. Not sure where you got that, but considering the max effective range of an M4 is 3600m, I highly doubt a 9mm round will go anywhere near that. Furthermore if it did, it would have such little velocity it wouldn’t kill or even seriously injured anyone.

  6. …now if the police could just get the “robber” to be a material witness! Air-shots are NOT like air-balls. They could account for injury or damage, although ‘tagging’ the perp’s car was a good idea. However, if he had ‘tapped’ the perp, he could be liable to that injury depending on “use of force in effecting arrest by private person” laws in effect at the time. Agreed Squid.

  8. Either he wasn’t taught the escalation of force principle, or he forgot all about it under stress.

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