AURORA, Colo. — The suspect in the killing of an Aurora couple was selling the victims a stolen vehicle through the app LetGo when he robbed and shot them, according to an arrest warrant affidavit released Monday.
Kyree Brown, 18, faces two counts of murder in the deaths of Joseph and Jossline Roland, 39 and 40, who left behind five children, police have said.
The Rolands, who were killed Aug. 14, had agreed to buy a Toyota Rav4 that was posted for sale on LetGo, an app where users can buy and sell used items, the affidavit said.
Brown, who had listed his LetGo account under a different name, told police he had stolen the Rav4 from Denver's Montbello neighborhood.
After posting the SUV on LetGo, he agreed to sell the vehicle to Joseph Roland and meet him at the Southlands mall in Aurora, he told police. When Brown and the Rolands arrived, Brown told them that he accidentally brought the wrong vehicle title.
The Rolands followed Brown to an apartment complex in the 11000 block of East Cornell Circle. Brown got out of the Toyota Rav 4, went to the Rolands' vehicle and pulled out a 9mm handgun and demanded money, he told police, according to the affidavit.
Joseph Roland grabbed Brown's arm, and the Rolands' vehicle began to move, Brown told police.
Brown said he then decided to shoot Joseph Roland and accidentally shot Jossline Roland, according to the affidavit.
Brown reached into the Rolands' vehicle and grabbed $3,000 in cash before fleeing the area, the affidavit said. He told investigators that he later set the Toyota Rav4 on fire near Havana Street and East Colfax Avenue.
Detectives traced Brown through his conversations with Joseph Roland on the LetGo app. The Rolands' family told police that Joseph Roland would use online listings to buy vehicles and flip them for resale.
Brown was arrested Thursday after a short pursuit near East 29th Avenue and Central Park Boulevard in Denver.
"Joe and Jossline are irreplaceable and will be dearly missed," the Roland family said in a statement released through police last week. "Your continued support, respect for privacy, and prayers are most appreciated in this time of unimaginable loss and grief.”
The family last week verified a GoFundMe account that has raised more than $70,000 for the Roland family in the last two weeks. The fundraiser will go toward the Rolands' five children.
