Police said ex-cop accused of murder in shooting of Aurora teen was drunk, aggressive

AURORA | A former cop accused of killing a 17-year-old boy in Aurora over a traffic dispute was a drunken “aggressor” the night of the shooting and pointed his gun at the boy before the teen shot at him, according to a 40-page arrest affidavit by Aurora police detectives.

Adam Holen, 36, a former Greenwood Village police officer, was charged this week with second-degree murder and other crimes in the shooting death of 17-year-old Peyton Blitstein the night before Thanksgiving as Holen and a group of teens squabbled about the teens’ driving.

“(Holen) is the primary aggressor. (Holen) was intoxicated,” Aurora Police Detective Eric White concluded in his affidavit to Arapahoe County prosecutors.

Despite witnesses and video indicating that the boy fired his gun first, striking Holen in the hip, police said Holen initiated and exacerbated the incident, shooting the boy numerous times, even after the boy collapsed.

The chaotic few minutes started at about 10:30 p.m. Nov. 24 when a group of teenagers drove up to one of the teen’s home at 4900 block of South Addison Way.

The driver of the car lives in the house and stopped there for money before she and four other teens in her car were going to go back out, according to the affidavit.

While the girl living in the house was walking to her front door, Holen pulled up alongside them and rolled down the passenger window of his pick-up. Holen lives a few houses away on the same block, investigators said.

After the shooting, Holen told police that he’d seen the car frequently speeding in the neighborhood and decided that night to confront the driver. He said he yelled at the driver to slow down and that other teens then got out of the car and the argument continued.

Just before the shooting, Holen said that after he and the driver yelled profanities at each other about “racing” in the neighborhood, and that he got out of his car with the intention of talking to a parent in the house.

“(Holen) said (that) out of nowhere, ‘three dudes’ got out of the (car) and they surrounded him,” White wrote in the arrest statement. Holen said “he wasn’t trying to start anything, but the kids were telling him, “F*** you” and “I’m gonna F*** you up.” 

“I’m obviously trained,” Holen told an investigating officer, referring to his position with Greenwood Village he’d left just days before. Holen told police at the scene that, “S*** was about to go down, so he had his pistol at the low ready,” White wrote.

Investigators said “Low Ready” is a police term for holding an unholstered gun, pointed down. 

“This dude (Blitstein) pulls a f***ing pistol out of nowhere and just shoots me.”

Holen said he immediately fired back, emptying his handgun of about 10 rounds “because that is what he was trained to do,” according to the affidavit.

He told police he was defending himself because before Blitstein fired, the other boys in the car were “flexing” on him, meaning they were acting aggressively as if they were going to get into a physical fight.

Video camera footage and other witness statements countered that story.

The other teens in the car and a video recording from a doorbell camera revealed Holen taunting the driver of the car as she went up to her house, and when she questioned who he was, he responded, “Goodnight, kiss her goodnight, love you. Have a good night,” according to a police transcription of the doorbell video.

The girl went inside the house and Holen began arguing with others in the car.

Two of the teenagers inside the car said they either saw Holen draw his gun, point it toward them or heard Holen “rack” his gun, loading a round,” according to the affidavit. One of the boys told Blitstein that Holen had pointed a gun at him. Blitstein got out of the car with his gun, his friends said, holding it down.

Holen also got out of his truck, came around the back of it,” White wrote.  “He and the boys, standing on the passenger side of the car, began to argue more.

The video reveals Holen grabbing something from the side of his hip and then moving toward the boys,” White wrote. Holen raises his gun and points it at them, according to the affidavit.

Blitstein then raises his gun, words are exchanged and the boy fires a shot as Holen moves toward him.

Holen “stumbles but regains his balance and continues advancing forward towards” the boy and then fires at him three times. Blitstein falls back into the door, and Holen fires several times again,” according to the affidavit. 

Holen is then seen walking back around the tailgate of his truck and starts yelling.

“Are you kidding me…I’m chill dude…he just came and shot at me dude…he just came and shot at me… are you kidding me,” according to transcription in the affidavit. “Call an ambulance man, call an ambulance.” he continues, “S*** man.”

People inside the house rush out to attend to Blitstein. Holen yells that he’s going to park his truck.

A few moments later, he returns and helps administer CPR to Blitstein.

Police and rescuers come and both Holen and Blitstein are rushed from the scene.

When asked by police if he’d been drinking alcohol or using drugs, Holen said no, according to the affidavit. Blood samples drawn at the hospital that night, however, revealed Holen’s blood-alcohol-level to be 0.193. In Colorado, a blood-alcohol level of 0.08 or is legally intoxicated.

“Once Adam had sobered up, he could be discharged from the hospital,” emergency room physicians reported that night, according to White.

Police said Holen’s drunkenness contributed to his aggressive behavior. 

“As things were getting more heated, (Holen) chose to stay instead of driving away,” White said in the report. Holen “chose to get out of his truck and walk towards the teens. (He) chose to confront Peyton and Terence with his handgun pointed at them…(he) pointed his handgun at (one of the other boys) before he got out of his truck.”

During the investigation, the other teens acknowledged they knew Blitstein carried a gun and had shown it to some of them previously.

Police said the weapon was a “ghost gun” indicating it was created with parts not traceable. The report did not conclude how Blitstein obtained the weapon or ammunition, only that he had told others he needed it for protection, saying he was planning on living near Colfax.

The boy’s father told police he was unaware his son had a weapon, and that he would have taken it if he did, according to the affidavit. 

Blitstein’s family has made multiple appearances on local TV stations, once during a vigil for the boy. Blitstein was a student at Aurora’s Vista PEAK Preparatory Academy.

The Colorado Springs Gazette reported that Holen resigned from Greenwood Village police Nov. 1 after five years on the force.

He was arrested earlier this week and was released from the Aurora Detention Center in lieu of an undisclosed bond.