Skip to content

True Crime

Thornton police say Luis Arebalo is still at large after an officer was shot on Ulster Street.

Thornton police said officers went to the 12800 block of Ulster Street about 9:33 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 11, 2026, on a report of an unwanted person, and that a man fired at them and hit one officer. CBS Colorado, Colorado Public Radio, the Denver Gazette, and the Northglenn-Thornton Sentinel named the man police are looking for as Luis Arebalo, 37. As of Monday morning he had not been arrested, and none of those accounts reported a filed charge.

By Crime Talk Network Staff Writer ·

A name on a Monday police release is an identification. It is not a complaint, and it is not a finding that Arebalo fired the round that hit the officer. 9NEWS's overnight story put police on scene around 11:20 p.m. and did not give a name. The department release the morning outlets used puts the call at 9:33 p.m. Those are two clocks for one shooting.

9NEWS reported overnight that people near 128th Avenue and Ulster Street were told to shelter in place while Thornton police searched for an armed suspect after a shooting involving officers. The station reported that around 11:20 p.m. Sunday the department said it was on the scene in that area, and that police did not give any other information about the shooting. It reported that around 10:50 p.m. an emergency alert covered the area bordered by Quebec Street and Riverdale Regional Park between 120th and 128th avenues, and told people to go inside because of an armed suspect. That story did not name anyone. A shelter order is what the station described. It is not an account of who fired.

The name and the earlier clock come from the department's Monday release, as four newsrooms reported it. CBS Colorado, in a story updated at 7:49 a.m. MDT, reported the shootout was about 9:33 p.m. Oct. 11 in the 12800 block of Ulster Street, after officers responded to a report of an unwanted person. Colorado Public Radio, in a story timestamped 9:10 a.m., reported officers were there a little after 9:30 p.m. on a report of an unwanted party, just east of East 128th Avenue and Quebec Street. The Denver Gazette, in a story published at 10:01 a.m., and the Northglenn-Thornton Sentinel, citing the department release, both used 9:33 p.m. and the words unwanted person. CBS Colorado, the Gazette, and the Sentinel reported that while officers were speaking with the person who called, the suspect fired multiple rounds and hit one officer. CPR reported that a man began firing shots at the officers while they were talking to the caller, and that one officer was hit. A second officer returned fire, those accounts reported, and investigators had not determined whether the suspect was struck. He ran. CBS Colorado reported the shelter-in-place was later lifted.

Who police named, and how they described the officer's injuries, are close and not identical. CBS Colorado, CPR, the Gazette, and the Sentinel identified the suspect as Luis Arebalo, 37. They reported he is about 5 feet 9 inches tall and about 180 pounds, and that he was last seen in a black short-sleeved shirt and dark pants. CBS Colorado, the Gazette, and the Sentinel added brown hair and brown eyes. CPR's story did not. CBS Colorado and the Sentinel reported the officer was taken to a hospital with serious but non-life-threatening injuries. CPR reported serious injuries and that the officer is expected to survive. The Gazette did not describe the injuries in the story used here. None of these accounts named the officer. None of them reported that Arebalo had been arrested or that a charge had been filed. Police said he is considered armed and dangerous, and they asked people not to approach him. CBS Colorado and the Sentinel said anyone who sees him should call 911. The tip line they printed is 720-977-5069.

The Gazette's headline and its first sentence say Arebalo fled after exchanging gunfire with officers. The release language those papers quote is that he fired at officers and that another officer fired back. An exchange is the paper's summary of those two acts. It is not a separate finding that a round from the officer hit him. As of the Monday morning stories, he was still gone. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

Share on XEmail

Get the take when the jury is out, the Court drops an order, or we go live.

Shop

Checkout is on Shopify. A few from the rack:

All merch

More on the desk

Duane Keffe D Davis in a Las Vegas courtroom
True Crime

By Crime Talk Network Staff Writer

Davis faces sentencing Tuesday in the Tupac Shakur murder conviction.

A sentencing date after a guilty verdict is the penalty hearing. It is not a new trial. News 3 Las Vegas reported Monday that Davis is due before Judge Carli Kierny on Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026, after an August conviction for murder with a deadly weapon in Shakur's death. Rolling Out and iHeartRadio reported he could face life and that District Attorney Steve Wolfson has said the minimum is 40 years. A minimum quoted before the hearing is not the sentence until the judge imposes one.

Read the take

Reporting noted by News 3 Las Vegas, Rolling Out, and iHeartRadio.

True Crime

By Crime Talk Network Staff Writer

A Cowlitz County jury convicted Miller of second-degree murder in Schmitt's death.

A guilty verdict is the jury's finding. It is not the sentence. The Daily News reported Monday that Miller was convicted in the death of Dennis Eugene Schmitt. KOIN reported the counts as second-degree murder and unlawful disposal of human remains and put sentencing on Oct. 29. Until that hearing, the prison term is not set.

Read the take

Reporting noted by The Daily News, KOIN, Cowlitz County Sheriff's Office, and MyNorthwest.

Booking photo of Stuart Beck
True Crime

By Crime Talk Network Staff Writer

Beck was sentenced to 30 years for the second-degree murder of Michael Conrad.

A 30-year term after a second-degree murder conviction is the court's judgment. It is not a first-degree finding. Law&Crime reported Judge Philippe Matthey imposed 30 years after the July verdict that rejected first-degree murder. Beck admitted firing the shot. The jury's second-degree finding and the judge's term are the judgment on that count.

Read the take

Reporting noted by Law&Crime, Tampa Bay Times, FOX 13 Tampa Bay, and WFLA.