Two Pueblo police officers have been cleared of any criminal wrongdoing in a Christmas Day shooting that killed 40-yearold Richard Licon.
According to a decision letter from District Attorney Jeff Chostner to Police Chief Luis Velez, officers Benjamin Candelaria and Matthew Ballard were justified in using deadly force to defend themselves after responding to a domestic incident on the 900 block of West Evans Avenue and chasing Licon to a copse of bushes on the 100 block of Arthur Street.
The critical incident team's investigation, led by the Pueblo County Sheriff's Office, showed that Licon emerged from his hiding place and aimed a pistol at Candelaria, the letter said.
Both Candelaria and Ballard shot him.
One round from Candelaria's .45-caliber pistol was recovered from Licon's body. Several other bullet fragments from Ballard's AR-15 assault rifle also were recovered and Ballard told investigators he fired four or five times.
Both officers said Licon was ordered to stop and get on the ground. Another officer told investigators he heard the order, followed by multiple gunshots.
Licon was shot on an apartment patio and Chostner's letter said Licon's 9 mm pistol was found under his body.
The gun's magazine was empty.
The letter notes that Licon's blood alcohol level was at 0.288, more than three times the legal limit to drive, and there also were measurable amounts of cocaine and methamphetamine in his system.
According to Candelaria, it was the second time during the incident that Licon had aimed a pistol at him.
He told investigators that when he responded to the domestic disturbance call on Evans Avenue around 11:15 a.m., he saw Licon crouched on the porch to that home aiming the gun at him. Chostner's letter said Candelaria thought, "I'm scared" and "I'm dead" because he was caught offguard and in the open.
Occupants in the home told investigators that Licon aimed the gun through a hole in the bottom portion of the door.
Licon retreated into the house and left through its back door. Candelaria said he thought a shot was fired at that time, but the home's occupants told investigators they believed Candelaria mistook a door slamming for a gunshot.
The investigation revealed no shot was fired.
But the act of aiming the weapon at the officers was enough to justify the use of deadly force, Chostner ruled.
"The suspect placed the officers in a lifethreatening situation," he wrote. "The officers had good reason to believe that Richard Licon intended to, and was capable of, causing them immediate death or serious bodily injury."
Copyright 2013 - The Pueblo Chieftain, Colo.
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
