No charges in slaying

Restaurateur acted in self-defense, says Arapahoe grand jury

Javier Erik Olvera and Mike Lawrence, Rocky Mountain News

Published June 10, 2005 at midnight

Text size

More Local News

CENTENNIAL - An Arapahoe County grand jury will not recommend criminal charges against a man who shot a married couple, killing the husband, during an altercation outside an Aurora video store last November.

In a report released Thursday by Arapahoe County District Attorney Carol Chambers, the grand jurors said that Denver restaurateur Glenn Eichstedt acted in self-defense when he fatally shot postal worker Aaron P. Davis in a Blockbuster parking lot after a dispute over a dinged truck door.

The nine-page report says that while the death of Davis is "tragic," it "cannot be the basis of any criminal charges" against Eichstedt, who grand jurors said pulled out his legally licensed handgun after Davis hit him on the head with a metal bar.

At a news conference in her offices, Chambers said the grand jury reached a "no true bill" decision, which means that legal action in the case against Eichstedt is finished.

Chambers said that given the grand jury's ruling, her office will not reopen the case unless new evidence arises against Eichstedt, 52, co-owner of the Hoffbrau Tavern & Grill on Santa Fe Drive in Denver.

Although the case has sparked some racial tensions - Davis was black and Eichstedt is white - several Arapahoe County and Aurora officials said that race was not a factor in the Nov. 13 incident.

Assistant District Attorney Leslie Hansen said that while the grand jury heard conflicting testimony from witnesses, Benita Coleman-Davis testified that her husband struck the first blow.

Hansen said the grand jury considered the metal bar that Davis used a deadly weapon, which was a "significant factor" in their decision.

Eichstedt's attorney, Larry Pozner, said that the clearing of his client shouldn't be considered a victory because a life has been lost and the lives of others will be changed forever.

Coleman-Davis could not be reached Thursday to comment about the grand jury's decision.

In a written statement Eichstedt called the shooting an "indescribable tragedy" and said he acted in self-defense.

"The Davis' race had nothing to do with this incident," he wrote. "The only thought in my mind was saving my life."

Eichstedt also wrote that he suffered a permanent brain injury because of the blow to his head.

The report says the grand jury heard the testimony of seven witnesses, including Coleman-Davis, who was shot twice.

Davis, 39, and his 36-year-old wife were in their Toyota 4-Runner when they pulled into the store parking lot in the 15000 block of East Mississippi Avenue on Nov. 13.

Davis waited in the truck while his wife got out and entered a nearby restaurant to order takeout food.

Minutes later, Eichstedt and a companion, riding in Eichstedt's Ford Mustang, parked in a spot next to Davis' truck so they could eat at the same restaurant.

When Eichstedt got out of his car, he allegedly dinged Davis' truck with his door and Davis got out of his vehicle to confront him.

The two men started arguing and Coleman-Davis said that Eichstedt yelled, "I didn't damage your truck!" and "What do you want to do, little man?"

Eichstedt weighs about 235 pounds and is 6 feet, 1 inch tall. Davis weighed 166 pounds and was 5 feet, 9 inches tall.

The witnesses' accounts vary slightly about what happened next, with Coleman-Davis saying that Eichstedt leaned toward her and she pushed him away.

Other witnesses said that Eich-stedt reached over Coleman-Davis to hit her husband, who started to strike Eichstedt with what was later determined to be a bar that was eight to 10 inches long.

Witnesses testified that the couple began to beat Eichstedt, who fell to the ground. Eichstedt later said he thought the man was going to "bash his brains in," the grand jury report said.

Eichstedt pulled out the .38-caliber revolver that he told police he always carries because his bar/restaurant had been robbed before.

He fired the gun four times, with two bullets hitting Davis in the torso and the other two hitting his wife in the upper body.

Davis, a Jehovah's Witness who could not accept blood transfusions because of his religion, died from hemorrhaging.

Black activists were angered that Eichstedt wasn't arrested the night of the shooting.

"I think it was a travesty for (Eichstedt) to go free that night and especially now," the Rev. Reginald Holmes, past president of the Greater Metro Denver Ministerial Alliance, said Thursday.

Holmes referred to Aurora as "little Mississippi" and said he believes that city leaders have done little to address racial tensions.

But Aurora Mayor Ed Tauer said the city has taken significant steps, including holding community forums to address such issues, and has a commission that works to improve relations between all groups in the city.

Subscribe to the Rocky Mountain News