A 23-year-old man who died in a confrontation with Commerce City police officers had an extensive criminal record ranging from minor traffic offenses to assault, according to court documents.
The armed man died after a street robbery, car chase and foot pursuit that ended in gunfire.
Adams County coroner Jim Hibbard on Friday identified the man as Peter Ramirez, 23.
Family members told 9News the dead man’s full name was Peter Shawn Ramirez Rhein, and said most people called him Shawn.
Ramirez suffered “multiple” gunshot wounds, Hibbard said.
A companion, who also was armed, according to Commerce City police, was wounded and hospitalized.
Police Lt. Chuck Saunier declined Friday to release the identity of the second man or information about his injuries.
The incident began just before 4 p.m. Thursday when two men in a white Toyota sedan smashed into a Nissan Armada on East 107th Avenue near Kalispell Street in a neighborhood near the Buffalo Run Golf Course.
The driver of the Nissan, Eduardo Gomez, was robbed at gunpoint, then ran and hid in a garage while the gunmen were rifling through his vehicle, his wife, Christina Gomez, said.
Someone called 911, and two plainclothes detectives who were in the area saw the Toyota head out of the neighborhood and north on Chambers Road. They attempted to stop it, but the driver fled to East 120th Avenue, turned east, and cut into the Fairways subdivision, Saunier said. After turning around, the Toyota headed back to 120th, then sped west to Chambers, where the men bailed out of the car and ran along the road, attempting to grab another vehicle.
Saunier said at some point gunfire erupted.
Many questions remained Friday. It was not clear, for example, whether either of the men who were wounded fired their weapons. It also was not clear how many shots were fired by police officers.
According to court records, Ramirez was charged with assault in three separate cases, trespassing and, most recently, menacing and theft. He had been scheduled to appear Monday in Douglas County Court.
