A Denver police officer watched Michael D. Hardin drinking booze in his car outside the Heartthrob Nightclub.
But the relatively minor crime led to Hardin’s arrest recently in the execution-style shootings of two men, including one who died, in Rockford, Ill., on Nov. 21.
Hardin, 25, of Rockford, about 90 miles northwest of Chicago, was arrested at 1 a.m. Saturday at the nightclub at 10175 E. Hampden Ave., said Detective John White, Denver police spokesman.
When the officer did a records check outside the club, he learned Hardin was wanted on suspicion of first-degree murder and two counts of aggravated assault with a firearm, he said. Hardin did not resist arrest, he said.
Hardin is wanted in the shooting death of Christopher G. Money, 33, whose body was found by police last month in a parking lot. He had been shot in the head in a vehicle.
Another man, Byron Sturdivant, 23, was found with gunshot wounds to his neck and back, the Rockford Register Star reported. He survived.
Hardin’s bail was set at $1 million. He remains in the Denver County Jail pending his extradition to Illinois, White said.
Kirk Mitchell: 303-954-1206 or kmitchell@denverpost.com
