DENVER — On Monday, police in Denver announced that they arrested a man who they say shot and killed another man who intervened during a parking lot dispute.
Benard Reed, 23, who has a lengthy criminal record, is being held in connection with the shooting death of a 39-year-old man Friday, which occurred in the 3400 block of W. Kentucky Avenue.
The Denver medical examiner identified the victim as Oscar Hernandez.
According to an arrest affidavit, Reed was driving a Lincoln Navigator and parked his SUV next to a woman’s car in a parking lot on Kentucky Avenue. When Reed’s rear passenger opened the door, she struck and dented the woman’s car parked next to the Navigator, the document reads.
The police documents read the Navigator left but returned, and again the same rear door struck the woman’s car, which prompted the woman to confront Reed.
During the confrontation, an argument arose and Reed punched the woman, the document reads. At that point, the woman contacted her mother who sent Hernandez out to help.
When Hernandez arrived at the scene, he confronted Reed and the two began to argue, the affidavit reads. According to the document, at some point during the dispute, Reed pulled out a pistol and shot Hernandez.
After the shooting, police said Hernandez drove himself to Denver Health, where doctors later pronounced him dead. The document reads that Reed fled the scene, but police caught up with him later at his Aurora home where they made the arrest.
Reed’s criminal history is several pages long and includes burglary and weapons violations. He is being held at the Denver city jail on suspicion of first-degree murder and assault.
