No charges after Colorado deputy kills armed theft suspect

No charges will be filed after two people died when they were caught in a stolen vehicle by Colorado deputies in late August.

Nelson Billings, 26, and 38-year-old Jennifer Sharp of Port Lavaca, Texas, were driving a stolen Jeep Patriot in the town of Moffat in the morning of August 25.

Saguache County deputies initiated the pursuit. Colorado State Patrol Trooper Ramiro Contreras and an Alamosa County deputy later joined in helping in the pursuit.

Sharp displayed a shotgun during the pursuit that traveled along several county roads. A CSP sergeant successfully deployed stop sticks near the Saguache/Alamosa county line.

The stolen vehicle came to a stop in the middle of Colorado Highway 17. Sharp and Billings exited the vehicle with a shotgun and headed towards a law enforcement vehicle.

Trooper Contreras fired multiple rounds and shot Sharp, ultimately killing her. Billings then got the shotgun from the area where she fell and proceeded to commit suicide by shooting himself. Sharp and Billings were pronounced dead on the scene.

No law enforcement officers were injured.

After further investigation and a complete review of the shooting, District Attorney Crista Newmyer-Olsen of the 12th Judicial District Attorney’s Office released a statement saying Contreras will not be charged with any criminal offenses in regards to the shooting on August 25.

Newmyer-Olsen reviewed dash camera recordings of the incident, dispatch recordings from the time prior to the pursuit and reports filed by the Colorado Bureau of Investigation and other law enforcement agencies on the scene.

Newmyer-Olsen said it was clear that Sharp intended to shoot herself or someone else, based upon her own statements to dispatch that “people are going to die,” among other statements and communications made.

Newmyer-Olsen stated that Contreras reacted with the appropriate levels of both restraint and caution and did what was necessary to protect members on the public, himself and other officers.