Prosecutors will drop murder charges against an unlicensed security guard who shot and killed a protester at a “Patriot Rally” in Denver, Colorado.
Matthew Robert Dolloff was charged with second degree murder after he killed with 49-year-old Lee Keltner. The Oct. 2020 shooting was caught on video from the rally.
Dolloff’s attorney Doug Richards said that Denver District Attorney Beth McCann planned to dismiss the charges during a pre-trial conference on March 21.
“In line with our ethical obligations, we cannot overcome the legal justifications of self-defense or defense of others. We are not able to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt,” said the office of the district attorney.
Dolloff was working as an unlicensed private security guard for KUSA-TV during the contentious protest and BLM-Antifa counterprotest when he got into an altercation with Keltner. Video shows Keltner hitting him in the head, after which Dolloff pulls his weapon and shoots once as Keltner sprayed him with pepper spray.
Doug Richards, the defense attorney for Dolloff, argued that his client was acting in self-defense when he killed Keltner.
“Matt was acting in self-defense. Matt put his life and now his liberty in between the now-deceased and the 9News employee.” said Richards previously. “This was not a political assignment for Matt. This was simply Matt protecting your employee.”
Some social media reports claimed that Dolloff was an Antifa member, but police later said there was no evidence to support the allegation.
Keltner’s son Johnathon Keltner said that he had gone to the rally to show support for police.
“He wasn’t a part of any group,” he said of his father. “He was there to rally for the police department and he’d been down there before rallying for the police department.”
Dolloff was facing up to 48 years in prison if he had been found guilty.
Here’s a local news report about the development:
Prosecutors plan to drop murder charge in deadly Denver security guard shooting
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