Protestors seek justice for 19-year-old allegedly killed by stepfather
Early Thursday morning, a crowd stood in front of the Northglenn police station demanding justice for 19-year-old Angel Escobar.
He was allegedly shot and killed by his stepfather Jacob Renteria after a Jan. 21 altercation between them got physical and then even more serious, according to witnesses.
Jeremiah Havis, a friend at the protest, expressed his frustration while demanding a different outcome.
"Why can someone inside their own home be shot and killed while unarmed and there is no justice? We need to bring justice to Angel [and] to his family," said Havis.
Renteria was initially facing murder charges but the district attorney dropped the charges and closed the case Wednesday, saying investigators believed Renteria was acting in defense of himself and others when he fired his weapon.
Escobar's best friend Nathan Conley can't fathom the thought that he was murdered out of fear, since he was unarmed.
"I just want the courts to change their decision," said Conley. "I want them to actually press charges, actually do something about it. I feel like it's unfair how you could just murder a kid and get away with it and get back to your normal life."
According to the District Attorney's Office, further investigation revealed that Escobar was engaged in a physical altercation with his girlfriend. Renteria stepped in and attempted to remove the girlfriend from the home for her own safety and take her to her parents' house.
According to the DA, Escobar would not allow this and confronted Renteria, then punched him in the face. The two wrestled on the ground while Escobar's mother intervened to try and stop her son from fighting. Escobar got up and said he was going to kill Renteria.
In a press release, the DA's office continued:
"Mr. Renteria went back inside the residence. Mr. Escobar picked up a cement brick and threatened to break his mother's car windows with it. Mr. Escobar pushed his mother down, causing her to injure her ankle as she pled with him to stop and stay outside. As Mr. Escobar entered the home, he heard the police sirens and stated, 'if I'm going to go to jail, I'm going for a reason. I'm going to kill everyone.'"
Renteria saw this as an opportunity to retrieve his handgun since he was scared of what Escobar might do next.
Escobar came back out of his bedroom with something black in his hand and raised it, Renteria said that he was in fear for his life, thinking that Escobar was armed with a gun and fired his gun at Escobar multiple times.
Colorado's 17th Judicial District Attorney's Office said its decisions to file criminal charges involve an assessment of all known facts and circumstances as well as an evaluation of whether there is a reasonable likelihood of conviction at trial under the applicable law. Criminal liability is established when the evidence is sufficient to prove all the elements of a crime beyond a reasonable doubt. Further, under Colorado law, individuals have the right to defend themselves or others from the use or imminent use of unlawful physical force. Therefore, to file a criminal charge, in addition to proving the elements of a crime, the prosecution must also disprove beyond a reasonable doubt, that the person who committed the killing was acting in self-defense.
Escobar's mom isn't happy with that decision because -- according to her -- he was shot in the chest three to four times. She feels Renteria had a chance to stop shooting.
She described her son as a loved, but troubled kid, who dealt with post-traumatic stress disorder, among other things.
She feels the case being dismissed was a way of the system telling her that her son did not matter.
Right now the family is collecting funds to be able lay him to rest in his hometown of Los Angeles.
