Lounge-shooting tape disputed

Sue Lindsay, Rocky Mountain News

Tuesday, August 1, 2006

Funky Buddha owner Christakes Christou's fate could rest on what jurors can make out of the shadows.

Prosecutors contend a surveillance video seized by police shows the bar owner lying in wait for a man who had been breaking into his club then shooting the almost cowering intruder.

On Monday, however, after repeatedly viewing the tape, Denver County Judge Aleene Ortiz-White disagreed with that interpretation.

The judge found there was enough evidence to order Christou to stand trial on a charge of first-degree assault but told prosecutors they could not proceed on an attempted murder charge.

Christou, 60, is accused of shooting Dwayne Stepp, 44, a transient with a record of more than 50 arrests in the past 10 years, whom Christou told police had broken into his Funky Buddha Lounge on four previous occasions.

The surveillance video shows a man forcing his way into the front door of the bar at 776 Lincoln St. and being confronted by a man who emerges from a back room.

The rest of the video is in dispute.

When police arrived - after receiving a 911 call nearly an hour after the shooting - Christou pointed at the victim on the floor and told them, "There he is. He broke in. He did it four times before. He pushed me, so I shot him," said Sgt. Michael Wyatt.

Detective Bret Starnes told the court the surveillance video shows Christou was an "agitated" aggressor who pushed Stepp several times and appeared to prevent him from leaving the club before a final confrontation in which he shot him. Starnes said the video also shows that Christou stomps or kicks Stepp while he is on the ground.

Starnes described Stepp as being in a "passive, not threatening stance, even a pleading stance."

However, the judge said that while the video shows Christou pushed Stepp, it also showed Stepp "repeatedly approaching within inches of Christou," and the two men struggling. "After the third time, the victim advances, the defendant shoots," she said.

Ortiz-White rejected the attempted murder charge because she said the evidence shows "no indication of deliberation." But she did order Christou to stand trial on the assault charge. He will be arraigned Aug. 28.

Starnes said Stepp told him he heard a "pop," and Christou telling him, "If you get up, I'll shoot you again."

Other portions of the surveillance video show Christou on the phone and then talking with three other men who arrive at the restaurant before 911 is called 57 minutes after the shooting, the detective said.

Defense attorney Larry Pozner told the judge the police have conducted a biased and sloppy investigation.

He alleges that police failed to investigate Stepp's long criminal history and mishandled physical evidence in the case, logging a "rotting Taco Bell burrito" into evidence, but bungling entries about the clothing Stepp wore when he was shot.

"His beliefs are shaped by wearing blinders," Pozner said of the detective. "Mr. Christou made it clear he was afraid of Mr. Stepp and he shot Mr. Stepp not out of anger but because he perceived he was being threatened. He was being pushed and shoved. Yet Mr. Stepp is treated as if he committed no crime."

Pozner said Stepp has a long criminal record that includes two prior felony convictions and use of a variety of aliases, dates of births and social security numbers.

Police reports show that Stepp was arrested and charged with stealing a bottle of bourbon from the club on Aug. 26, 2005, and that the Christou family reported other burglaries Nov. 11, 2005, and Dec. 28, 2005, Pozner said.

Stepp was charged with second- degree burglary in the Jan. 3 break-in and was sentenced to probation on April 21 after pleading guilty to a trespass charge as part of a plea bargain. However, he was arrested last month for violating the terms of his probation and is due back in court for a probation revocation hearing Sept. 8.

Christou contends he shot Stepp in self-defense. Colorado's "Make My Day" law doesn't apply to the case because it only covers people confronted by intruders in their homes, not in businesses.

lindsays@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-892-5181