Suspect arrested in deadly shooting of Matthew Hire inside RV at Jeffco Park-N-Ride
Jefferson County Sheriff's deputies have arrested a suspect wanted in the deadly shooting of a man found dead inside his RV last month. Donald Leroy Harris, 50, is facing charges of first-degree murder.
Deputies found an RV with its door open in RTD's Woolly Mammoth Park-N-Ride lot off of Highway 40 near Interstate 70 on April 14. During a check of the RV, deputies discovered the body of Matthew Hire, 57, of Denver, inside, dead from a gunshot wound.
One witness told CBS News Colorado at the time that Hire had been living in his RV.
During the investigation, detectives found documents inside the RV belonging to Harris. Harris was also the last person to be seen with Hire. Investigators believe the murder happened between March 25-26.
On March 26, Golden police contacted Harris and arrested him on outstanding warrants out of Denver. At that time, there was no knowledge of his connection to Hire. While in Denver's custody, Jefferson County served him with the murder charge.
Investigators say the victim's cell phone and keys to the RV were among the suspect's personal belongings in his possession a the time he was arrested. Investigators also found Hire's blood on Harris' clothing. Harris also had possession of Hire's Jeep at the time of his arrest and investigators say the murder weapon was found inside the Jeep with DNA from the suspect and victim.
"As our investigators were dealing with another recent high-profile murder, the investigation into this case never faltered," said Investigations Chief Marc Snowden in a statement. "The meticulous work of our team led to the collection of evidence and an arrest in this case."
