AURORA, Colo. (TCN) —Â A former Space Force sergeant who shot two teenagers, including one fatally, after a car alarm went off will spend over five decades behind bars.
The 17th Judicial District Attorney’s Office announced Aug. 15 that a judge sentenced 29-year-old Orest Schur to 54 years in the Colorado Department of Corrections. A jury previously convicted him in June of second-degree murder and second-degree attempted murder.
According to prosecutors, on the night of July 5, 2023, Schur woke up to a car alarm outside his residence and suspected someone was trying to steal his vehicle. He reportedly retrieved a pistol and drove around the block when he noticed a car he believed was involved in a theft.
Instead of calling law enforcement, Schur drove toward the fleeing vehicle and fired multiple gunshots at it. Aurora Police located the car after it had crashed into a backyard fence with damage caused by gunfire.
The two juvenile occupants fled the vehicle following the crash, and the defendant reportedly continued shooting at them. The driver, a 13-year-old boy, was already shot in the back after a bullet reportedly punctured through the car and into the seat. He fled to a relative’s home, was later transported to a hospital, and survived his injuries.
The district attorney’s office said the passenger, a 14-year-old boy, sustained gunshot wounds to the back and head while he was fleeing from the crash. He was transported to a hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries.
According to prosecutors, Schur claimed the victims shot at him, so he fired in self-defense, but investigators didn’t find any evidence supporting his statement. Authorities said Schur, who was a technical sergeant with the U.S. Space Force at the time, fired a total of 11 shots during the incident.
In a statement, District Attorney Brian Mason said, “This was vigilante violence at its worst, and now a young man is dead. The defendant took the law into his own hands, chasing down a fleeing vehicle and opening fire on its occupants. A 14-year-old boy will now never grow up because of the defendant’s actions. I’m grateful to the Aurora Police Department for their investigation and to my team at the DA’s Office for securing justice in this case.”
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