An arrest affidavit for the Denver man accused in a fatal road rage shooting at a Tesla supercharger station outside Edgewater Public Market in May sheds light on the seven-month police investigation, the length of which sparked outcry from the victim’s family and justice advocates.
Jeremy Alan Smith, 39, was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of second-degree murder and manslaughter in the May 3 shooting of 33-year-old Adam Fresquez.
Smith appeared in Jefferson County district court Wednesday, where a judge set a $300,000 cash-only bail in the case, according to court records.
Smith’s arrest affidavit, which was filed Tuesday, details the Edgewater Police Departmentap investigation into the shooting from the first 911 call to the final forensic test results that came back just last week.
While Smith invoked his right to remain silent when he was detained by police on May 3, he called 911 roughly six minutes after the shooting and told a dispatcher he sprayed pepper spray and shot someone following a road-rage incident where the man had stuck a gun in his face and told him he wanted to fight, according to the arrest affidavit.
Smith also texted his mother after he called 911 and told her he had to shoot someone in self-defense, according to the affidavit.
Smith’s mother told police he was driving on West Colfax Avenue when he passed Fresquez, who then passed him, and they started “bickering,” flipping each other off and brake-checking, according to the affidavit.
A man sitting in a nearby Tesla told police he saw Smith pull a gun and heard gunshots, and that Fresquez “seemed” to have a gun but did not pull it out, according to the affidavit. Fresquez was shot while walking to the back of the car, the man told police.
A man sitting at an outside table nearby told police he heard a loud argument and screaming and saw Fresquez screaming at Smith to get out of the car and slapping the car’s windows. The man heard gunshots and went inside to call 911.
Police recovered a can of maximum-strength pepper gel from the parking space where Fresquez was shot, as well as an unfired 9mm cartridge and a fired 44/45 caliber bullet believed to have ricocheted off of a nearby Tesla, according to the report.
First responders found a 9mm Springfield Armory handgun in Fresquez’s pants when they removed his clothes to treat him, and police also found a PTR 9mm handgun with an extended magazine, a small scale and bourbon bottles in his car.
Fresquez had fentanyl pills and cocaine in his pockets, according to the affidavit.
Police found a Glock 37 .45 caliber handgun in Smith’s rented Tesla as well as two additional magazines and two shell casings in the car.
A forensic test revealed the active ingredients in pepper spray were found on Fresquez’s hoodie and a nearby Tesla, according to the affidavit. The final results came back from the Colorado Bureau of Investigation on Dec. 6.
Smith is set to appear in court on Dec. 19 for a filing of charges.
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