A man had high levels of methamphetamine in his blood, according to a coroner’s report.
James Brent Damon, 46, had 1,000 nanograms per milliliter of methamphetamine in his blood, said Kirk McKey, the Moffat County coroner.
“Its a high amount,” McKey said.
The report, completed by Rocky Mountain Forensic Services and NMS labs on behalf of McKey’s office, says violent and irrational behavior can be exhibited by methamphetamine users with less than a quarter of that concentration.
The report said Damon died of a close-range gunshot wound to the head and that he also had cannabis in his system.
Authorities say Damon and his wife, 43-year-old Georgie Hand,disarmed a Colorado Parks and Wildlife district manager and a Moffat County sheriff’s deputy on March 9 and held them at gunpoint.
One of the officers was able to engage Damon in a struggle before the other , according to an arrest affidavit. Hand was heading to retrieve one of the officer’s trucks so the couple could flee when the scuffle happened, she told investigators.
Damon and Hand were wanted on several warrants issued across the nation, according the affidavit. The couple had been on a week-long methamphetamine bender, with Damon injecting the drug “two to three times a day, if not more,” Hand told investigators.
Neither officer was injured in the incident.
The encounter, which happened near the town of Dinosaur along a desolate stretch of U.S. 40, lasted just 10 minutes, according to the affidavit.
The wildlife manager, Nathan Martinez, and deputy, Bhrent Shock, have been placed on paid administrative leave pending an investigation by the 14th Judicial District attorney’s office. That investigation has not been released.
Hand is being held in Moffat County in the case. She has been charged with several counts, including attempted first-degree murder, second-degree kidnapping and disarming a peace officer.
Jesse Paul: 303-954-1733, jpaul@denverpost.com or twitter.com/JesseAPaul
