AURORA | Arapahoe County prosecutors say four Aurora police officers who shot and killed an armed car theft suspect who tried to ram them were justified when they fired their weapons.
In a letter to Aurora police Chief Nick Metz, prosecutors said the officers acted appropriately May 11 when they opened fire on Steven “Lucifer” Schuster, 25, in the 7700 block of South Quemoy Street.
“I find no reason to suggest any criminal liability on the part of any officer stemming from this incident,” Deputy District Attorney Christopher Gallo wrote in the letter.
According to the letter, Schuster stole the vehicle at gunpoint earlier that night in northeast Aurora.
After the vehicle’s owner called police, officers spotted Schuster driving the Jeep and tried to stop him. He fled police and eventually pulled onto a dead-end street in southeast Aurora.
The letter said officers could see a gun in Schuster’s hand and that the suspect had told his passenger he wasn’t going to let officers arrest him and take him back to prison.
Prosecutors said Schuster had previously served a prison term for felony menacing with a gun.