Denver District Attorney John Walsh will seek to try a 12-year-old boy and a 14-year-old boy as adults in the killing of a 33-year-old man in Sunnyside who police say was slain when he confronted the boys as they tried to steal or break into his vehicle last month.
The boys, whom The Denver Post is not identifying because they are children, each face numerous charges, including first-degree murder. Investigators believe the boys killed Christopher Nabors on June 30 in the 4300 block of North Pecos Street when the man confronted them as they attempted to either break into or steal his vehicle, according to the Denver Police Department.
The two boys might also be connected to a second, similar homicide that happened in the 15000 block of East Olmstead Drive on June 24, police said. In that incident, 19-year-old Jacob Lopez was slain when he confronted would-be car thieves. Neither boy has been charged or arrested in connection with that homicide, and police said the investigation was ongoing.
The two killings prompted Denver police to warn residents not to confront car thieves. They urged residents to instead call police.
About 15 minutes before killing Nabors, police believe the 14-year-old boy and two other juveniles were involved in a shooting near Park Avenue and East 20th Avenue in which a 15-year-old boy was wounded. The teenager survived, police records show. Investigators believe that shooting to be gang-related, according to records obtained by The Post.
All three of the juveniles, including the 14-year-old boy, have been charged or arrested in connection with that shooting.
Trying the boys as adults would move their cases from to Denver District Court, where they would face decades-longer prison sentences than if they were convicted as juveniles. There would also be more public access to court records and transparency about what occurred in the killing.
Under Colorado law, children as young as 12 can be tried as adults. To do so for children younger than 16, prosecutors and defense attorneys present evidence about the crime and the child defendant during a transfer hearing in juvenile court. A juvenile court judge then considers the factors presented — including the seriousness of the crime and the child’s past criminal history — to decide whether the case should move to adult court.
Prosecutors can file charges directly into adult court for children who are 16 or older.
Including Nabors and Lopez, at least six people — including two children — have been killed during confrontations over car thefts in the metro area during the last six years.
A 54-year-old man in Denver was slain when he followed his stolen vehicle in northeast Denver in 2021.
A man in Aurora killed a 14-year-old boy and wounded a 13-year-old boy in 2023 after he chased them down because he believed they were attempting to steal his wife’s car. He was convicted of murder in 2025.
Also in 2023, a 35-year-old man tracked his stolen car in Denver, then shot and killed 12-year-old Elias Armstrong, who was in the driver’s seat of the vehicle. That man was not charged with a crime.
A man in Aurora was killed when he chased two people stealing scooters outside their home and the suspects opened fire on them in 2023.
