BRIGHTON, Colo. — The man accused of a deadly road rage incident in Westminster appeared in court in Adams County Friday. Jeremy Webster is accused of shooting a woman, two of her sons and another man in the parking lot of a dentist’s office on June 14.
In a preliminary hearing, the prosecution laid out its evidence against Webster for District Court Judge Donald Quick to decide whether it’s enough to move forward with a trial.
Webster appeared in court in a white and blue Adams County jail jumpsuit wearing glasses. His hands and legs were shackled as he entered the courtroom. Denver7 cameras were not allowed inside the courtroom during the hearing.
Some members of the Bigelow family also attended the hearing. Vaughn Bigelow Senior sat silently in the front row, sobbing twice during the hearing. Meghan Bigelow and her two surviving sons were not in the courtroom.
One of the first officers to respond to the 911 call testified along with two police detectives.
Officer Charles Rush went into graphic detail about the scene he encountered and the injuries to Meghan, Vaughn Jr, Asa and John Gale.
He rendered aid to Meghan first before helping Asa until EMT’s arrived. Rush testified that the injuries to both were so severe he was convinced they had died.
Two detectives also testified at the preliminary hearing. Detective Bernard Vonfeldt is the lead detective on the case.
According to statements from Meghan and Cooper Bigelow, Meghan had cut Jeremy Webster off trying to merge into the right lane to get out of the way of an emergency vehicle that was coming up behind her.
When she did Webster started cussing at her. She swerved back into her own lane and tried to speed up to get in front of him. According to Meghan’s statement, he also sped up but she was eventually able to get in front of him.
Detective Vonfeldt said Webster then followed the Bigelow’s into the parking lot of a dentist’s office. The two exchanged words and Meghan recorded a video of Webster’s car on her cell phone. According to the statement, Webster reversed his car, got out and started fighting with Meghan again before opening fire.
Vonfeldt then referred to witness statements when he testified that Webster walked away and returned, fatally shooting 13-year-old Vaughn Jr. One witness described that shooting as an execution, saying Vaughn Jr. was kneeling on the grass with his head down when Webster shot him.
Right after the shooting, Webster continued with his day, according to Detective Vonfeldt, stopping by Home Depot to pick up some tools before returning to a house he was helping to remodel in Westminster. It was when he was allegedly driving home to Colorado Springs that he was arrested by police.
In the detective’s cross-examination, the defense counsel for Webster asked about their client’s interrogation and whether he said he had mental health issues. The detective testified that Webster said he was seeing a psychiatrist and had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder. He was prescribed medications for that as well as antidepressants.
The courtroom was closed to the public halfway through the hearing so that the video of Webster’s interrogation could be played for the judge. The interrogation lasted more than three hours and, according to court documents, in it Webster confessed to the shooting to police.
Detective Vonfeldt testified that Webster said he couldn’t believe it was real (referring to the shooting), saying it felt like a nightmare. He then allegedly told police his life was over.
Late Friday afternoon, the preliminary hearing went into recess for the weekend. It will resume Tuesday afternoon.
