CASTLE ROCK — Shannon Orendorf walked up the stairs in her Castle Rock home Saturday and was shot in the right shoulder, presumably by her husband, according to court documents released Tuesday.
According to the arrest affidavit, her husband, Trenton Orendorf, went upstairs Saturday morning. When his wife heard a gunshot upstairs, she went to investigate.
The shot that struck her “missed major arteries by less than an inch,” the affidavit said.
Shannon Orendorf, who is believed to be three months pregnant, was recovering at Sky Ridge Medical Center on Tuesday. Her fetus was not injured. A toddler son, who also was in the house, was not hurt.
On Tuesday, for the second straight day, Trenton Orendorf was deemed not mentally stable to make his initial appearance in Douglas County District Court. Inmates typically appear for advisement via videoconferencing.
Instead, public defender Ara Ohanian waived the formal advisement on his client’s behalf. Magistrate Larry Bowling ordered that Orendorf, 40, undergo a mental-competency evaluation.
According to the affidavit, Shannon Orendorf, 33, made a 911 call to police. During the call, she is heard screaming hysterically and yelling repeatedly “please put the gun down.”
“My husband shot me,” she tells dispatchers.
“With a gun,” she says. “I’m shot.”
Shannon Orendorf left the house with her son and the family dog and drove to her mother’s home nearby. There, she was met by paramedics.
According to the court document, at one point during the 11-hour standoff that followed, a police hostage negotiator heard Trenton Orendorf “possibly lining and snorting cocaine.”
Orendorf also told a hostage negotiator that he injected cocaine.
The affidavit said Orendorf apparently lost his job the day before the shooting.
It said nothing appeared out of the ordinary Saturday, as Orendorf and his son were playing a Wii video game before 8 a.m.
Then came the gunshots.
“Trent was yelling that people were trying to get him,” the affidavit said.
The document also said Shannon Orendorf did not believe her husband intentionally shot her.
Trenton Orendorf is scheduled to make a court appearance today, when the magistrate will decide whether he understands the terms of a mandatory protection order requiring him to stay away from his wife.
Prosecutor Jay Williford said formal charges will be filed against Orendorf on Thursday. Those charges could include first- and second-degree assault and domestic-violence charges.
Orendorf is being held without bail at the Douglas County jail.
