A jury returned 16 guilty verdicts today against a man nicknamed the “family man bandit” after telling victims he was only robbing them to feed his kids.
Denny Dewey Brown robbed Subway restaurants, convenience stores and a Pizza Hut between Feb. 4, 2007 and May 21, 2007, according to Kathleen Walsh, spokeswoman for the Arapahoe County District Attorney’s Office.
He was also convicted of one count of theft by receiving, for being in possession of a stolen motorcycle when he was arrested by Aurora police on May 21, 2007.
The trial started Monday. Prosecutors called 30 witnesses. The jury began deliberating late Thursday and returned a verdict Friday afternoon.
Arapahoe County District Attorney Carol Chambers said Brown faces at least 10 years and up to 420 years in prison.
Brown would enter restaurants and stores and demand money from cash registers, threatening clerks with a gun. In some of the crimes, he would tell them he was robbing them to feed his kids or family. When he was arrested, he was carrying a BB gun replica of a Smith and Wesson semi-automatic handgun.
“If someone lifted their shirt to show me a gun that looked like that, just like many of the cashiers testified happened, it would scare the hell out of me,” prosecutor Rich Orman said.
When Aurora police recognized that a serial robber was hitting restaurants they began staking out certain stores, Walsh said.
Detectives handed out flyers with surveillance photos of the suspect. One of the victims testified that she recognized the defendant from the flyer, Walsh said.
Chambers said the police investigation was tireless and efficient.
Ultimately, Gustavo Sedillo, a retired New Mexico State Police officer in his late 60s, chased Brown, who fled a Diamond Shamrock at 2190 S. Peoria St. on May 21 on a blue stolen motorcycle.
Sedillo had just bought something in the store and when Brown took off, he got in his car and followed behind, Walsh said. During the chase through red lights, he called police and told them where he was headed.
Two officers staking out nearby stores for the robber caught Brown based on Sedillo’s descriptions and arrested him at gunpoint, Walsh said.
“To me, Gustavo Sedillo is an American hero,” said Vicki Klingensmith, another prosecutor on the case. “He saw a crime and did his best to chase down the criminal.
Sentencing will be on Dec. 12.
Kirk Mitchell: 303-954-1206 or kmitchell@denverpost.com
