DENVER — The suspect accused of shooting two brothers in a road rage incident in Denver has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder.
The Denver District Attorney's Office announced the charges against Stephan Long, 25, on Wednesday morning. In a court hearing, his advisement was waived and he was given a no-bond hold.
The charges stem from June 13. Just before 3 p.m. that day, Denver police responded to the northbound lanes of Interstate 25 between W. 6th Avenue and W. 8th Avenue. The first officer to arrive at the scene found a man lying in the road on the off-ramp with severe head trauma, according to the probable cause statement. The man was transported to a hospital, where he was pronounced deceased at 4:22 p.m.
The officer found a second victim on northbound I-25 under W. 6th Avenue. That man had several gunshot wounds. He was pronounced deceased at the scene at 3:10 p.m., according to the probable cause statement.
The victims were identified as Blake Lucas, 21, and Damon Lucas, 22, by their family on June 15. They said the brothers were on their way to a job interview. Their deaths were ruled a homicide by the Denver Office of the Medical Examiner on June 15.
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Victims in road rage incident along I-25 in Denver were brothers
A detective with the Denver Police Department heard the gunshots and was able to follow the suspect vehicle immediately after the shooting. The detective was in an unmarked car and trailed the suspect until other Denver officers arrived in the area. They then stopped the driver, who was in a 2011 red Ford Taurus, around W. 13th Avenue and N. Meade Street, according to the probable cause statement. There, Long was taken into custody at 3:03 p.m.
Police then began to piece together what had happened.
Multiple witnesses had called 911 to report seeing a person being dragged by the red vehicle on northbound I-25, hearing two gunshots, and seeing that person fall off the car around the exit ramp to W. 8th Avenue.
During an interview with Long at the Denver Police Headquarters, the suspect said he was driving north on I-25 when a car drove up next to him and a person inside started to yell at him. Long said the vehicle pulled in front of him and cut him off. Long claimed that the car stopped and a passenger got out of the car, approached his vehicle and started to hit him through his open driver's window, according to the probable cause statement.
Long said he grabbed his gun and shot the man, who was later found deceased under W. 6th Avenue. Long said the driver of the other car got out and walked up to his vehicle.
"The suspect drove off and this person held onto his open driver's window while traveling north on the highway," the probable cause statement reads. "The suspect then shot this person (victim on 8th Ave. exit ramp) who fell off the vehicle."
The statement continues, saying Long fled the scene and never called 911. He did not have any visible injuries.
