Lakewood Cop-Shooting Suspect Charged With Attempted Murder
GOLDEN, Colo. (CBS4) - A Lakewood man accused of wounding two police officers in an alleged suicide-by-cop attempt faces attempted murder charges.
Gordon Lee Moench, 54, appeared via videoconference in Jefferson County Court on Monday.
Police say he fired shots at Lakewood officers Jonathan Key and Kimberly Collins from the back of his pickup truck when they approached his home following a domestic disturbance report on July 5. Key was struck in the chest and arm while he was in his cruiser. Collins was hit in the leg as she approached Moench's house on foot. Both were wearing bullet-proof vests.
"The allegations are that he was lying in wait and ambushed the officers, causing significant injuries to the officers," Jefferson County District Attorney Peter Weir said outside the courtroom on Monday.
"They're going to have to kill me," Gordon Moench told a police dispatcher after he wounded the officers and then added he "has to die now."
A third officer then wounded Moench with a shotgun while the suspect was walking down the middle of his street.
"He's a good guy. I don't know what happened," Moench's daughter, Tammy Moench, briefly told CBS4 on Monday at the courthouse. "He feels bad."
According to an arrest affidavit, Moench and his stepson and wife were fighting. Moench's wife claims that he said there was going to be a battle, and that he had access to several guns, including two rifles, a 40-caliber revolver, a 9mm pistol and a .357 revolver.
Police say that Moench was outside the house in the back of a truck armed with those firearms. The court documents state that Moench was determined to cause violence.
"Mr. Moench laid in wait for the Lakewood agents to respond to a 911 call and then fired on the officers, severely injuring two of the officers," Weir said.
Both officers are still recovering. Key was released from a hospital but Collins remains in a hospital.
Moench faces 20 different counts, including six counts of attempted first-degree murder and four counts of first-degree assault. He's being held on a $2 million bond.
