Man shot Rocky Mountain park ranger, Colorado prosecutor says. He’s going to prison
A Colorado man accused of shooting a Rocky Mountain National Park ranger during a confrontation in 2021 is going to federal prison for 23 1/2 years, federal officials say.
Daron Marquel Ellis, a 29-year-old from Aurora, was sentenced Monday, Oct. 31, after he previously pleaded guilty to attempted second-degree murder charges against a federal officer and brandishing a firearm during a violent crime, the United State’s Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado said in a news release.
On Dec. 8, a law enforcement ranger confronted two suspects near the park’s entrance who had been involved in a car chase outside park land earlier that day, McClatchy News previously reported.
At first, the man drove along the road’s shoulder to evade the ranger but hit several boulders just inside the boundary of the park and stopped, according to the news release.
The ranger got out, pulled out his pistol and told them to show their hands, officials said. Ellis started firing at the ranger with a handgun and hit him on the left side of his torso, which was protected by his ballistics vest, according to the Attorney’s Office.
The ranger shot back at Ellis, injuring him, McClatchy News previously reported. He eventually backed down and officials took him into custody.
Both he and the ranger went to the hospital. The second suspect in the car was not injured in the incident.
U.S. Attorney Cole Finegan said the ranger is still recovering from the incident, and Rocky Mountain National Park Superintendent Darla Sidles said the sentencing would allow staff members to “focus on healing.”
“We owe a great debt of gratitude to this ranger and all National Park Service law enforcement rangers who sometimes must contend with serious crimes that do not stop at the park boundary,” she said in the news release.
In addition to the more than 23 years of prison time, Judge Raymond P. Moore sentenced Ellis to five years of supervised release.
