A district court judge has sealed a search warrant in a case in which SWAT officers fatally shot a suspect in a drug investigation, authorities say.
County Judge Alfred Harrell ordered the search warrant for Nathan Aguillard’s apartment on 4754 Peoria St. to be sealed, court officials said today.
Veteran SWAT officers Ronald Fox and Thomas McKibben fatally shot Aguillard during a no-knock raid Friday morning when the drug suspect confronted them with a gun, police have said.
The search warrant, approved based on facts presented by detectives, gave the officers court approval to enter the home without knocking.
Denver police requested that the search warrant be sealed because the document is part of an ongoing drug investigation, said Detective Sharon Hahn, Denver police spokeswoman.
“Just because this person has died doesn’t mean the investigation has stopped,” Hahn said.
Criminal search warrants often give details about the activities of multiple suspects. Hahn declined to say whether that was the reason this affidavit was sealed.
Hahn said during the search of Aguillard’s apartment following the shooting, police officers found both drugs and guns. She declined to say what kind of drugs or guns were found.
Aguillard’s family members have hired Denver attorney Craig Skinner to review the police shooting, saying they are skeptical of the police department’s version of events.
Skinner has called the failure of the Denver police department to give more details about the circumstances of the shooting a “red flag.”
Aguillard’s sister Nina Aguillard said her brother did not own guns and was not emotionally capable of selling drugs. She said her schizophrenic brother — a Hurricane Katrina refugee — was a recluse who was wary of other people and relied on her for food donations to live.
Kirk Mitchell: 303-954-1206 or kmitchell@denverpost.com
