BRIGHTON — A man on trial in the shooting death of an Aurora police detective was delusional and schizophrenic after his wife died and that led to the shooting, his defense attorney said Thursday.
Brian Allen Washington, 29, has been charged with first-degree murder in the fatal shooting of Detective Mike Thomas, 52. Thomas was gunned down in September 2006 at Montview Boulevard and Peoria Street in his own car and wearing plain clothes as he was finishing a break from police training.
Washington has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity, although the court found earlier that he was competent to stand trail.
During opening statements Thursday in Adams County District Court, defense attorney Sharlene Reynolds said Washington lost it after his wife died in April 2006.
He became paranoid, heard voices and didn’t know what he was doing when he shot and killed Thomas, she said. He would stare at the television for hours, taking notes and thinking the programs were about him.
“Brian was getting worse and worse and worse. He was slipping into a very psychotic world,” Reynolds said.
But prosecutor Dave Young said Washington believed he was being followed by police when he shot Thomas. He later told his mom in a telephone conversation from jail that he believed he was being followed by police because of a custody issue with his children, Young added.
After the shooting, Young said, Washington got out of his car and pointed the gun at Thomas and said, ” ‘I’ve got you . . . I told you I’d get you.’ ”
“He was murdered. He was shot, and he was shot by Mr. Washington,” Young said.
Washington also told an officer who responded to the shooting, ” ‘I shot him, I shot him,’ ” Young said.
Washington made erratic statements to police in the hours after the shooting, authorities said.
Reynolds said Washington believed he was the “son of God.” She also said Washington has an IQ of 84, meaning that 86 percent of the population is smarter than her client, according to Reynolds. He has a reading level of about the early fourth grade, she added.
The trial is expected to last two to four weeks. Several of Thomas’ family members were present for the first day of the trial, including his brother, mother and daughter.
Carlos Illescas: 303-954-1175 or cillescas@denverpost.com
