'They're Going To Have To Kill Me,' Lakewood Cop-Shooting Suspect Said
GOLDEN, Colo. (CBS4) - The Lakewood man accused of shooting two officers was bent on committing suicide by cop and dying in the middle of his street after he laid in wait for police with several guns, according to an affidavit.
"They're going to have to kill me," Gordon Moench told a police dispatcher Saturday night after he wounded the officers.
"God, I apologize," he told the dispatcher. "I hit that cop and now [it's] too far."
Police say he shot Jonathan Key and Kimberly Collins as they approached Moench's residence near West Jewell Avenue and South Kipling Street just before 10 p.m.
The affidavit describes the shooting and the domestic drama that led to it:
Moench's stepson confronted him about yelling at his mother, Audrey Moench, who said she was going to call the police. She said Gordon Moench, 54, told her that if she called police, 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. She also said her husband was taking anti-depressants.
After Audrey Moench called 911, police said, Key and Collins arrived at the home separately when the suspect fired from a pickup truck bed.
Moench struck Key in the arm and chest, the affidavit said, while he was driving his marked police cruiser east down West Jewell Place. Key abandoned his car and radioed police to report he'd been wounded and was bleeding severely.
Moench then shot Collins in the leg as she approached the house from the east on foot. Moench then walked west down the street when he called 911. Both officers wore bullet-proof vests. Key was stuck in vest. Collins wasn't.
LINK: Moench arrest affidavit
When the dispatcher asked him to provide his location, he replied: "Where all the shooting is."
He told the dispatcher he was walking down the middle of the street and "has to die now" and later asked the dispatcher for help: "I'm far away from the other people, can you get them some help."
When another officer, Luke Godfrey, arrived on the scene, he encountered Moench walking down the middle of the street. According to the affidavit, he ordered Moench to drop his weapon several times and when Moench refused, he fired his shotgun, striking Moench in the chest.
Moench was transported to St. Anthony's hospital. Police arrested him late Monday after doctors released him.
According to the affidavit, Moench told his wife earlier that evening that their relationship couldn't be repaired and that he "didn't want to live anymore."
Before the police arrived, Moench told his wife he planned to commit "suicide by cop" and then armed himself with three weapons, including one that held a 30-round magazine. Moench later told police he carried so much ammunition because he wanted police "to perceive him as a threat, not someone trying to commit suicide," the affidavit read.
A judge on Tuesday set a $2 million bond for Moench on Tuesday.
Key was released from the hospital Monday. Collins remains hospitalized in stable condition. Police said the bullet-proof vest likely saved Key's life.
RELATED: Cops' Bullet-Proof Vests Are Now Necessary Equipment
Neighbors hailed Collins' actions after she got a group of teenagers away from the home shortly before the shooting, which happened at 9740 West Jewell Place.
"(She) ran up and intervened with the girls and sent them on their way, and that moment is when she was shot, is my understanding," neighbor Seth Gatewood said. "So she actually very likely saved some young ladies' lives."
Moench's next court date is July 14. He faces two counts of attempted first-degree murder, first-degree assault, felony menacing and other charges.
"It just all escalated too quickly. I think he just snapped," said Peyton Jackson, a family friend who is staying at the house.
Jackson told CBS4 the suspect's wife is devastated by what happened.
"It was like 'Are you really going to do that? You're going to harm two innocent cops that were going to come check on you?' But I really feel bad for his mom, she's really depressed," said Jackson.
Some who know the suspect said they believe getting involved in a shooting with police was a suicide attempt.
"He said to his wife, 'If I can't have a relationship with you, there's no need to live,' " Jackson said.
RELATED: Witness Says Officer Who Was Shot Likely Saved Some Lives
