Homeowner Unleashes Deadly Fury After Teens Broke Into His Yard – No Charges Are Filed

After breaking into a backyard armed with a handgun and machete, a pair of teen boys exchanged fire with the homeowner. Now that police have announced whether the homeowner will be charged, the family of one of the teens has just six words that sum up the incident.

The Northglenn Police Department and the 17th Judicial District Attorney’s Office have come to the conclusion that no arrests or charges will be filed in the deadly shooting of two teenage boys who attempted to get into a Northglenn backyard.

Back on Apr. 2 at 2 p.m., a 15-year-old and a 16-year-old boy were shot and killed in the backyard of a residence along the 11600 block of Pearl Street. Northglenn Police said the pair broke a fence to gain entry into the backyard and attempted to gain access to a garage-like structure attached to the home.

Police said one of the boys had a semiautomatic pistol and the other had a machete when they encountered the resident who exchanged gunfire with one of the boys.

On Wednesday, NPD and the 17th Judicial District Attorney’s Office jointly reviewed all the evidence and agreed that no arrest or charges should be filed in this case.

According to the investigation, evidence revealed that the resident of the home saw an “unknown and uninvited male in their backyard cutting the leaves and branches of their marijuana plant with a machete.”

The resident then grabbed a .45 caliber handgun and went outside and yelled “Really? Get out of here” to the boys who in response ran into a shed-like structure attached to the residence, according to the DA.

The resident then said he was targeted with multiple gunshots.

“He saw muzzle flashes aimed in his direction and heard several gunshots come from inside the shed. The resident then returned fire. The two male teens were inside the shed when this exchange of gunfire occurred,” said the DA and NPD in a statement.

Both of the teen boys suffered gunshot wounds. One teen died at the scene and the other died at the hospital, according to the DA.

“The outcome of this incident is tragic. Two teenagers are dead, and their loss is heartbreaking. The District Attorney’s Office and the Northglenn Police Department must follow the law and the evidence, however, and the evidence clearly shows that the resident of the home acted in self-defense when he returned fire after being fired upon multiple times. Therefore, the resident will not be arrested or charged in this incident.”

While police made it clear that the teens engaged in “an exchange of gunfire,” family members are still placing the blame on the homeowner.

It’s senseless. He didn’t have to lose his life over this, he could have given them a warning. They were kids,” said Celestina Cordova, Ismael’s grandmother told CBS News.

“He was a good kid,” Christina Cordova, Ismael’s mother, said through tears.

“If you tell somebody to leave your yard and they don’t, then you don’t do drastic measures like that,” Ismael’s great-grandmother, Shirley Gallegos, explained. “It’s just not right, especially these young kids, you know, they’re just beginning their lives. Now, at 16, he’s gone.”

“I don’t know what he was thinking that day. I don’t know if he’d intentionally made the wrong choices, but he didn’t deserve to die. He didn’t deserve to be shot. Neither did the other child,” Ismael’s stepmother, Natasha Rodriguez, said.

Mark Van der Veen

Mark Van der Veen offers some of the most analytical and insightful writings on politics. He regularly opines on the motives and political calculations of politicians and candidates, and whether or not their strategy will work. Van der Veen offers a contrast to many on this list by sticking mainly to a fact-based style of writing that is generally combative with opposing ideologies.

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