A 19-year-old man is facing an attempted second-degree murder charge for allegedly shooting a driver he rear-ended in Greeley.
At 8:55 p.m. July 16, Greeley police responded to a shooting in the area of 51st Avenue and 11th Street. Dispatch reported a vehicle collision led to a shooting.
Upon arrival, officers found two trucks involved in the collision, a black Ford F350 and a blue Dodge Ram.
According to an affidavit for Longwell’s arrest, the Dodge Ram, driven by 19-year-old Matthew Longwell, rear-ended the black Ford, driven by 31-year-old Justin Young. Police learned Longwell shot Young after the collision.
Young’s fiance and Longwell’s girlfriend were in the vehicles at the time of the collision.
When officers began contacting people, two firearms were placed on the tail bed of the Dodge, the affidavit said. Both guns were collected by police.
A detective responded to the 5000 block of 11th Street to speak with a resident who filmed the vehicle collision. After the crash, Young is captured exiting his vehicle and walking back to the driver’s door of the blue Dodge.
During this incident, Young was out of frame until he was seen falling onto the ground after being shot, according to arrest records.
A detective spoke to Longwell’s girlfriend, who reported Longwell pulled up next to Young’s truck and began a countdown before they started racing for a few blocks. Longwell’s girlfriend accused Young of eventually driving up to Longwell’s driver’s side and threatening to shoot him, records state.
The victim’s fiance reported to police that the victim relayed to Longwell that he had a child in the car before the collision.
Then Young drove in front of Longwell and brake-checked him, causing Longwell to hit the rear of Young’s vehicle, the affidavit said. Young got out of his vehicle and approached Longwell’s car.
Longwell’s girlfriend said Young threw punches at Longwell’s head and face. Longwell responded by reaching inside the center console for his firearm, which he used to shoot Young. Longwell’s girlfriend told police that she looked away at this point.
The victim’s fiance said she only saw the victim walking in the direction of Longwell’s vehicle and then heard a gunshot. She didn’t see anything else due to being on the phone, the affidavit said.
Longwell declined to provide a statement to the detective after speaking with counsel, according to police.
A doctor at a local hospital reported to the detective that Young sustained a serious bodily injury as the bullet traveled in and out of his right bicep area and into his torso, arrest records said.
Longwell faces attempted second-degree murder and first-degree assault charges. He posted a $25,000 bond on Monday, according to online records.
The district attorney’s office has a deadline to file charges against Longwell by 3:30 p.m. Friday.
Editor’s note: This story was updated to include more information from the affidavit.
