Juvenile suspects in Alamosa police shooting appear in court
UPDATE
ALAMOSA on Monday identified the female police officer as Mollee Heeney. She was shot during a neighborhood fight last week in Alamosa.
The juvenile suspected of shooting Heeney is scheduled for a court appearance this week. A second juvenile involved in the shooting is also scheduled to appear.
Heeney 25, a two-year veteran of the Alamosa Police Department underwent surgery and is expected to make a full recovery, according to city officials. A citizen who also was shot has been identified as Ricardo Rangel, 41. Rangel has undergone surgery and is in stable condition.
“The Alamosa PD greatly appreciates the support of the community, and prayers for both Officer Heeney and Mr. Rangel in their recovery.”
Officer Mollee Heeney at a City Council meeting in September 2021.
OCTOBER 28, 2022 /
NOTE: This story has been updated to include information from the juvenile suspects’ detention hearing on Friday afternoon.
By Owen Woods | owen@alamosacitizen.com
Top photo: Alamosa Police Chief Ken Anderson gives a press conference on Friday. Above: The scene of the shooting still under investigation early Friday morning.
ALAMOSA
AN Alamosa Police Officer who was shot while responding to a neighborhood disturbance in south Alamosa on Thursday is in stable condition following surgery, Police Chief Ken Anderson said.
The female Alamosa Police Officer was hit with two bullets just after arriving on scene at around 4:10 p.m.
One juvenile suspect was arrested at the scene following the shooting on the 1200 block of Denver Avenue and was ordered detained and held without bond following a detention hearing before 12th Judicial District Court Judge Crista Newmyer-Olsen on Friday afternoon.
A second juvenile was arrested and faces charges as a complicitor to the crime. The second juvenile was also ordered detained by the judge.
“Almost immediately after the officers arrived on scene, the suspect produced a handgun and shot an Alamosa police officer,” Police Chief Ken Anderson said during a Friday morning community update. “The officer was shot twice and was flown to a Front Range hospital.”
The identity of the police officer was not publicly released by the City of Alamosa.
“I’ve worked for this agency for 22 years, and not once have I dealt with anything like this,” Anderson said.
The two juvenile suspects appeared virtually at a detention hearing in district court in Alamosa. The families of the two suspects were in the courtroom.
The Citizen is not identifying the juvenile suspects until formal charges are filed by the 12th Judicial District Attorney’s Office.
Since both suspects are juveniles, they had to be brought before the court to determine if they are eligible to continue to be detained, according to the Colorado Children’s Code. A screening is required to determine the detention eligibility.
District Attorney Anne Kelly said that the shooting suspect “presents a grave risk to the community, as is demonstrated by his actions which led to his confinement.”
The juvenile shooting suspect also had an active arrest warrant out of Rio Grande County for armed burglary, according to the court proceeding.
The juvenile suspected of shooting the police officer faces charges of attempted first degree murder and attempted first degree murder of a police officer, according to Kelly.
“Those two charges, we obviously have more investigation to do to determine whether or not those will end up in the petition, and that is what the probable cause statement suggests and supports, and that is what we will be going forward on as of right now,” she said in court.
The shooting suspect and his father, Daniel Brandt Sr., were issued protection orders which prevent them from tampering, harassing, intimidating or contacting a victim or witness involved in the case.
The suspect was represented by public defender John Hoag.
In making her ruling to hold the juvenile shooting suspect without bond, Judge Newmyer-Olsen said the charges alleged in the warrantless arrest affidavit, as well as the arrest warrant from Rio Grande County “do create a rebuttable presumption that continued detention is necessary, and that the juvenile poses a significant risk to the community.”
The second juvenile faces being charged as a complicitor to the charges of the shooting suspect, Kelly told the court.
The defense filed a motion to limit pre-trial publicity. The DA’s office has not looked at that motion.
Kelly will have to file a petition in delinquency for both suspects, as well as formal filing of charges, by Tuesday, Nov. 1. A hearing on advisement is scheduled for 9 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 3.
The shooting took place in one of Alamosa’s established neighborhoods just off Boyd Park. The Boyd Park area has been seeing new residents come in through home purchases and renovations in one the more affordable parts of Alamosa.
Anyone with information should contact San Luis Valley Crime Stoppers at 719-589-4111.
