Devon Bobian and Julian Becerra (Fountain Police Dept.)
A 32-year-old man in Colorado was arrested last week after he allegedly led authorities on a high-speed chase in February that resulted in a police officer falling off of a bridge and plummeting 40 feet to his death. He has now been charged with murder.
Devon Bobian, who was already being held in detention for a previous sentence, was formally charged with one count of second-degree felony murder in the death of Officer Julian Becerra of the Fountain Police Department (FPD), authorities announced.
Felony murder is a criminal offense that occurs when a person commits or attempts to commit a felony and their actions in pursuit of that felony crime result in the death of another person. Whether the alleged felon intended or directly caused the other person's death is not relevant for charging felony murder, provided that the death was a reasonably foreseeable consequence of the felony being committed.
Bobian is also facing one count each of vehicular eluding, motor vehicle theft, and weapon possession by a previous offender as well as two counts of aggravated robbery.
As previously reported by Law&Crime, the tragic incident began at approximately 4:00 p.m. on Feb. 2 when the Department of Corrections Parole Unit sought assistance from FPD in locating a carjacking suspect from the Pueblo area who had active felony warrants. Pueblo is located just over 100 miles south of Denver.
The suspected driver — later identified as Bobian — was said to be traveling north on I-25 in a stolen vehicle with two other suspects. That car was located traveling toward the City of Fountain at approximately 7:15 p.m. when officers "attempted several tactical vehicle interventions (TVI) to stop the vehicle" that were ultimately unsuccessful, police said in a release.
Officers said they ceased pursuit of the vehicle for safety reasons after it turned onto Highway 85 and began driving at a high speed in the wrong direction. Stationary perimeter positions were set up to stop the suspects' vehicle, but police said the suspect vehicle pulled into Love's Travel Plaza located in the 5500 block of Travel Plaza Drive where they were seen attempting to "commit another armed carjacking of a community member."
Just before 8 p.m., police partially disabled the suspect vehicle and performed another TVI to stop the vehicle when the situation really spun out of control
"The driver jumped out of the vehicle and began to run from officers on foot. While officers were trying to apprehend the suspect, an FPD Officer fell over the bridge and landed 40 feet below," the release states. "The suspect attempted to jump off the bridge to elude officers at which time the officers grabbed him to prevent his escape and fall. As the suspect was hanging over the bridge he repeatedly stated, 'let me go, I want to die.' The officers were able to pull him up to safety and place him into custody without incident."
According to a newly released probable cause affidavit obtained by Colorado Springs news radio station KDRO, Bobian attempted to flee from the car wreck — which happened next to or on the bridge — by climbing onto the roof of his car and jumping onto the police vehicle being driven by Becerra. While standing on Becerra's car, he allegedly pointed at the officer "in a threatening manner." Becerra reportedly fell over the bridge guardrail while Bobian was atop his car and the two men were facing each other.
Becerra fell about 40 feet to the ground below, suffering severe injuries from the impact. He was subsequently airlifted to Memorial Central Hospital and placed in the intensive care unit. Unfortunately, he succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead on Feb. 11.
The other two suspects in the car with Bobian were identified by police as 32-year-old Anthony Vallejos, and 28-year-old Danisha Pacheco. They are both currently scheduled to be tried next month on two counts each of aggravated robbery, and menacing with a violent crime sentence enhancement.
Bobian currently remains in detention at the Bent County Correctional Facility. While the standard bond amount for a second-degree felony murder charge under Colorado law is $50,000, due to Bobian's criminal history and the severity of the new charges, his bond was been set for $2 million, cash only.
KRDO reported that Bobian has previously been convicted of four felonies. Furthermore, two months prior to Becerra's death, police say he escaped from a community corrections facility and had an active warrant out for his arrest.
"I am incredibly proud of the hard work our Investigations Division put into this case," said Sheriff Joe Roybal. "The El Paso County Sheriff's Office consistently demonstrates an unwavering commitment to any investigation. Our hearts continue to go out to Officer Becerra's family and the members of the Fountain Police Department."