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All 5 defendants in deadly series of crimes across Denver metro have pleaded guilty

denver crime spree
Posted at 2:24 PM, Apr 21, 2023
and last updated 2023-04-21 16:25:04-04

DENVER — The final two defendants from a group of five people involved in a series of crimes in August 2021, including a deadly shooting, across the Denver metro area have pleaded guilty.

The Denver District Attorney's Office said Isaiah Freeman, 20, and Samuel Fussell, 20, pleaded guilty to the multiple charges against them. Both face a count of first-degree assault involving multiple victims. Freeman also faced one count of aggravated robbery and Fussell also faced one count of first-degree burglary.

Denver 7+ Colorado News Latest Headlines | April 21, 11am

The incident began around 10 p.m. on Aug. 17, 2021. The Denver Police Department received a report of someone breaking into a car in the area of W. Alameda Avenue near the intersection of Clay Street. Police said the suspects fled the area in a stolen 2020 blue Toyota Camry.

At 10:50 p.m., police were called to investigate a carjacking at E. Colfax Avenue and Grape Street. Nobody was injured in this incident, police said, but the suspects stole a 2018 Maroon Honda CRV.

Then, police responded to a shooting at 11:10 p.m. along the 1500 block of N. Lafayette near Cheesman Park. One of the suspects fired a round and an injured person, later identified as 30-year-old Thomas Young, was brought to a hospital. Some of his belongings were stolen, but at the hospital, his main concern was if he could ever walk again.

Thomas Young

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"I just want to get better," Young told Denver7 after the shooting. "I want to beat this... I'm just trying to keep a positive spin on things."

A few minutes after that shooting, at 11:35 p.m., Denver police tweeted that they were investigating a shooting along the 1500 block of Stuart Street near Yeshiva Toras Chaim. Police said during a news conference that preliminary investigation showed the victim in the shooting, identified as 18-year-old Shmuel Silverberg, was walking out of the school when the suspects approached him and began firing.

Silverberg was transported to the hospital, where he died.

Sometime later, investigators learned that suspects were involved in the burglary of a Lakewood business. During that burglary, a 1998 gray Toyota RAV4 was stolen.

Two days after the series of crimes, Denver police announced they had located and arrested four of the five suspects, with the exclusion of Fussell. They had identified Fussell at the time and were working to locate him. A reward up to $27,000 was offered for information leading to his apprehension. About a week later, he was arrested.

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Fussell and Freeman have their sentencing planned for May 31. The other three suspects — Noah Loepp-Hall, 21, Seth LaRhode, 22, and Aden Sides, 22 — are also scheduled for sentencing that day. That trio previously entered guilty pleas.


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