Three men are facing second-degree-murder charges after they beat a man to death in the parking lot of a southeast Denver nightclub, according to police reports.
Denver police responded to a 911 call about an assault at the Ultra Lounge, 9755 E. Hampden Ave., just after 2 a.m. March 1 and found an “unresponsive” man in the parking lot, detectives wrote in an arrest affidavit.
The man, identified as 47-year-old , was pronounced dead at HCA HealthONE Swedish 30 minutes later.
Police detectives found that Jones was assaulted in a fight that started when a woman slapped another woman who was with Jones outside the club.
Derek Wafford, 39; Demetrius Davis, 37; and Gregory Manard, 31, were with the woman who slapped Jones’ companion, and they began attacking Jones after he tried to intervene in the fight between the two women, police said.
The three men hit and kicked Jones while he was on the ground and put him in a chokehold, according to surveillance video reviewed by police. Bystanders tried to help Jones stand up, but Davis returned to strike him twice in the head as Jones was bent over and leaning against a car.
Jones collapsed and did not get back up, which is where he was found by first responders, police said.
The medical examiner’s office determined Jones died from a fractured skull and brain swelling caused by blunt force trauma, detectives wrote in the court filing.
All three men are charged with second-degree murder, and Wafford also is charged with misdemeanor assault.
Davis and Manard are in custody on $100,000 bail. Davis is set to appear in court June 15, and Manard is set to appear in court April 17.
Wafford was released from jail on a $100,000 bail and is set to appear in court Tuesday.
