DODGE CITY, Kan.—Prosecutors have upgraded the murder charge against a former Dodge City police officer accused with killing his ex-girlfriend.
Ford County Attorney John Sauer upgraded the charge from second-degree to first-degree murder just before a preliminary hearing Tuesday during which Chris Tahah was bound over for trial in the May 4 death of Erin Jones. Tahah also is charged with criminal discharge of a firearm at an occupied dwelling.
Authorities say Jones was shot with a .270 caliber rifle through an exterior door to her bedroom.
Tahah pleaded not guilty to the charges. His attorney, Peter John Orsi, declined to comment Wednesday.
In a videotaped interview played at Tuesday’s preliminary hearing, Tahah told an investigator that he had talked himself out of shooting Jones and that the rifle went off as he lowered it outside the door. But prosecutors said that as a policeman, Tahah should have known better than to put his finger on the trigger until ready to shoot.
Tahah was arrested May 11 in eastern Colorado after being chased on Interstate 70 in a sport utility vehicle that had been reported stolen in Denver.
Tahah showed little emotion during Tuesday’s hearing, which featured testimony from several investigators and friends of Jones.
Ford County Attorney John Sauer also played a videotaped interview conducted by Kansas Bureau of Investigation special agent Mark Kendrick at the sheriff’s office in Hugo, Colo. During the interview, Tahah recounted waiting for Jones outside her home, saying he didn’t mean to shoot his gun.
“I was telling myself this was no good. As I was lowering the gun, a round went off,” Tahah said.
Tahah also told Kendrick that he was upset with Jones because she did not give him a good reason for breaking up with him the month before. Tahah also said he had seen Jones dancing with another man at the bar the night of May 4.
“How’d she hurt you, Chris?” Kendrick asked Tahah. “I think I know.”
“I wanted to be her guy,” Tahah said.
Tahah pleaded guilty in August to attempted motor vehicle theft and vehicular eluding in the Colorado chase. He was sentenced to two years of probation.
On the videotape, Tahah said he fled from authorities because he wanted a police officer to shoot him.
Jones, who worked as a bank teller in Dodge City, had two children. She was known in Dodge City for her performances with the Homestead Theater.
