Westminster police arrested 26-year-old Ryan Patrick Nichols on Monday night in the stabbing of an 80-year-old King Soopers employee. Nichols was arrested at the Autumn Chase condos in Westminster after a tip from the public, police said.
Police said he was loitering at the front doors of the store, at West 103rd Avenue and Federal Boulevard, before the attack around 2:50 a.m. Monday. When the employee walked by, the suspect said “Hi” and then stabbed him in the back, said Wayne Read, a police investigator. All indications are that the attack was random and unprovoked, Read added.
The victim, Dean Withers, is recovering, said his daughter-in-law, Jill Withers. “He’s probably one of the most caring, helpful individuals that I know. He would give the shirt off of his back to a complete stranger to help them out,” she told 9News. Howard Pankratz, The Denver Post
