ARAPAHOE COUNTY, Colo. -- A man accused of shooting his wife and two neighbors in a Centennial neighborhood last year pleaded guilty to murder and other charges in Arapahoe County court Wednesday.
Lyons accepted a plea deal at a court hearing to fourteen charges, including a first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, first-degree assault and attempted first-degree murder of a peace officer, along with two sentence enhancers, according Denver7 reporter Jason Gruenauer, who was inside the courtroom during the hearing.
Once sentenced, Lyons will serve life without parole including 352 additional years in prison. He will not face the death penalty, which is something District Attorney George Brauchler considered pursuing, according to the Denver Post.
Lyons is accused of shooting his wife and two neighbors on April 4, 2016. One of the neighbors, Dr. Kenneth Atkinson, was killed. Lyons' wife and second neighbor suffered non-life threatening injuries.
Lyons was arrested minutes after the shooting.
During his first court appearances, Lyons was belligerent and repeatedly interrupted Judge Carlos Samour, in one occasion telling his public defender, “You are not my representative bro, I don’t even know you."
He also claimed to have hired “John Elway’s lawyer.”
Lyons did the same thing during another court hearing on April 8, 2016, although he was more subdued. Twice he told the public defender, “You are not my attorney.”
Samour would eventually order a competency evaluation in mid-April of that year at the Colorado Mental Health Institute in Pueblo, ruling Lyons was competent to stand trail on June 20, 2016.
He will be sentenced June 5 at 8:40 a.m.
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