The man accused of firing gunshots inside the Colorado Supreme Court building appeared before a Judge on Wednesday. The judge set his bond at $100,000, noting the man’s alleged “escalating behavior” on that fateful day.
The shooting happened on Tuesday morning after 1 a.m. when a man running from a two-car accident scene shattered one window of the Ralph L. Carr Colorado Judicial Center with a gunshot before going in.
The downtown building houses the state’s Supreme Court, the Colorado Court of Appeals, and other judicial agencies. But on the day of the break-in, there were only two people in it. One was the security guard on duty.
According to court documents, he was sitting alone at the information desk before investigating a noise. He was later held at gunpoint by the suspect while trying to use a key to open a door for the armed man who later set a fire in a stairwell.
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The second person in the building was a woman who was working in an office. She said she left when she heard the fire alarm and didn’t witness the shooting or fire. While the cops say no one was during the ordeal, the building took a lot of damage.
The break-in follows a recent state Supreme Court ruling against former President Donald Trump’s eligibility for office. However, the investigation results show a “high probability” that the incident had nothing to do with recent threats against justices.
The shooter’s name is Brandon Olsen, 44, and he is currently in custody of Denver police. He reportedly surrendered at the scene almost two hours after the vehicle crash, authorities have revealed.
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Prosecutors are yet to charge him formally. However, they can hold him based on charges of first-degree arson, aggravated robbery, and second-degree burglary. All of these are felonies.
His first court hearing was on Wednesday morning, and he stood before Magistrate Arnie Beckman. He highlighted how Olsen did not have a significant prior criminal history. But he also tagged the allegations against him as “extremely aggravating.”
For his release, stipulations of the bond agreement will require that Olsen be subject to GPS monitoring and adhere to a curfew between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m.
The judge also gave protection orders. They require Olsen to have no contact with the security guard he allegedly confronted or the driver of the other vehicle involved in the accident that happened before the alleged break-in.
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A court-appointed attorney representing Olsen did not object to the conditions. Meanwhile, Police have no reason to think there is a link to the Trump court ruling to remove Trump from the state’s 2024 ballot because he is ineligible to hold office under the 14th Amendment’s “insurrectionist ban.”
A probable cause affidavit has revealed Olsen cooperated with interviews. However, all his statements in the court document are redacted. If he shared any important detail or motive, the public is being kept in the dark.
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