AURORA | In what prosecutors called vigilanteism, a former U.S. Space Force technical sergeant was sentenced Friday to 54 years in prison for fatally shooting a 14-year-old boy and wounding another teen while pursuing the boys because he thought they had tried to steal his car.
An Adams County jury convicted Orest Schur, 29, in June of second-degree murder and second-degree attempted murder in the 2023 shooting. Schur was stationed at Buckley Space Force Base.
The shooting began at about 11:30 pm. July 5 2023 when Schur said he heard the car alarm from his Hyundai Elantra going off in front of his northeast Aurora home, according to police reports.
Schur told investigators he saw two people “dressed in all black” trying to break into his car. He grabbed his hand-gun and went outside to confront them.
He got in his car and began circling the block, when he spotted two people inside a car he thought were the suspected thieves, police reported.
“Rather than calling police, Schur pursued the fleeing vehicle and fired multiple gunshots into its rear,” 17th Judicial spokesperson Christopher Hopper said in a statement. “Aurora Police officers later found the vehicle the victims had been driving crashed into the backyard fence of a home along East 58th Circle. The trunk, roof, and rear windshield were damaged by gunfire, and investigators determined that one bullet had passed through the driver’s seat and into the driver’s back.”
Schur continued firing as the boys ran, investigators said. A 14-year-old passenger was found nearby with gunshot wounds to his back and head and later died at a hospital. The 13-year-old driver was shot in the back but survived after reaching a relative’s home and finding his own way to a hospital.
Schur told investigators he fired in self-defense after being shot at, but prosecutors said no evidence supported his claim. Forensic testing determined he fired 11 rounds, and no other weapon was recovered.
“This was vigilante violence at its worst and now a young man is dead,” District Attorney Brian Mason said in a statement.
This is a good outcome. This guy turned into judge, jury, and executioner in a matter of minutes, grabbing his gun and driving around his neighborhood to find people who fit his vague description of the thieves he says he saw breaking into his car. Why he didn’t call the police is anybody’s guess. Essentially, he denied these young men due process through our normal process of law and order. Unfortunately, due process seems to be overrated by a large swath of our population who believe they have a right to defend their property in any unbridled fashion. With the proliferation of guns, many believe they have the right to use them at the drop of a hat!
You’re just as likely to be killed in a drunk driving accident as you are by someone with a gun.
Kane, your lack of understanding of our societal needs in Aurora continue to make my eyes roll almost every week day. Thanks for showing me the type of citizens that allow the Sentinel Blog to continue printing.
This will persist at least until the Supreme Court admits its current Second Amendment jurisprudence is completely wrong.
Antonin Scalia is long dead, but his works live on.
so no ones asking why a 13yr old was driving? lmaoo foh