GRAND JUNCTION, Colo.—A prosecutor said Wednesday he will not file criminal charges against a National Parks Service officer who shot an intruder in his yard in Grand Junction.
Colorado National Monument protection ranger Frank Hayde wasn’t protected from prosecution by Colorado’s “Make My Day” law, which applies to residents when an intruder steps inside a home, Mesa County District Attorney Pete Hautzinger said in a letter to police.
However, Hayde could argue self-defense in shooting Eugene Olivieri early Nov. 28, Hautzinger wrote.
Hautzinger said Olivieri tried to enter Hayde’s front door around 1 a.m. and ignored Hayde’s orders to leave. Hayde called 911 but then confronted Olivieri in his yard with a gun when he saw Olivieri heading toward his daughter’s bedroom window. Hayde tried to hold Olivieri at gunpoint until officers arrived but fired after Olivieri allegedly lunged at him, Hautzinger said.
Olivieri suffered a collapsed lung and a liver injury but is expected to recover, Hautzinger said. Medical records showed Olivieri’s blood-alcohol level was more than triple the legal limit.
