Justyn Rosen, Shot ... A Bunch
Bill Schenley
http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,1413,36~53~1722109,00.html
A police officer fired two bullets that struck a Denver
businessman after the elderly man was repeatedly shot by a
woman claiming to be a spurned lover, authorities say.
Teresa Perez, 40, fired at least two other bullets later
removed from the body of Justyn Rosen, 69, during an Oct. 3
exchange of gunfire near a Denver police station, according
to police and an autopsy report.
Rosen bled to death from 15 bullet wounds, said Chief
Medical Examiner Thomas Henry.
All of the injuries contributed to his death, even though
none was considered fatal, Henry said. Rosen's age and heart
problems also contributed to his death, he said.
Police are still investigating the shooting, including the
origin of bullets causing Rosen's 11 other wounds, Denver
police spokesman Sonny Jackson said.
An autopsy performed on Perez's body showed that she died
from six bullet wounds.
The report said the alcohol content in her blood was 0.22
percent, which is more than twice the legal limit for
drivers. Tests also showed she had consumed cocaine within
days of the shooting.
In court documents used to obtain a restraining order
against Perez, Rosen claimed she was stalking him after he
tried to end a relationship with her.
That Friday evening, Perez, who told friends she and Rosen
were longtime lovers, kidnapped Rosen at gunpoint at his
house and ordered him to drive.
Rosen drove into a parking lot near the Denver Police Gang
Unit in the 2200 block of Colorado Boulevard and jumped out
of the car.
Perez started firing her gun at Rosen after he warned police
in the parking lot that she had a gun. One of her bullets
grazed officer Randy Yoder, and he returned fire.
The Denver Police Department released a statement Friday
saying that at some point, officer Tony Perez, who is not
related to Teresa Perez, fired at her from underneath a
truck as she was shooting Rosen.
Two bullets fired by Tony Perez entered Rosen's body, the
news release said.
"It was an unfortunate incident, but all of the officers
took heroic actions in an attempt to stop a violent homicide
being committed in their presence," Police Chief Gerry
Whitman said in the release.
Some of Rosen's wounds may have been caused by bullets going
through an arm or a leg and then re-entering another part of
the body, said Henry, the medical examiner.
Henry said he did not know which bullets were fired by Tony
Perez and therefore could not say how significant the
injuries the officer caused would have been.
But Rosen's two most serious bullet wounds - which pierced
his liver - were caused by bullets that went completely
through his body, Henry said. They are among the 11 whose
origins have not been identified.
The Denver police crime lab analyzed the bullets to
determine which guns fired them, Henry said. But spokesman
Jackson said he could not release information on where on
Rosen's body Tony Perez's bullets struck him.