Suspect identified in deadly CSP shooting on US 36 that injured trooper

DENVER (KDVR) — The suspect who was shot and killed during an incident on U.S. Highway 36 was identified Tuesday by the Office of the Coroner for Adams and Broomfield counties.

The office said Victor Anthony De Santiago, 32, of Thornton, was identified as the man who began shooting at a Colorado State Patrol Trooper on Saturday at about 1:18 p.m., just west of Federal Boulevard.

Shooting left CSP trooper injured

The trooper was in a marked Ford F-150 patrol vehicle in the eastbound center median between two concrete barriers, according to CSP Chief Col. Matthew Packard, who addressed the incident in a press conference Saturday evening. He said De Santiago was driving a black Chevy pickup truck and fired several shots at the trooper from a semi-automatic handheld gun, striking the trooper in his lower right arm.

“Our member was targeted today by a man that intended to kill him, and that is shocking and unacceptable but our Colorado state trooper responded appropriately, and swiftly, and courageously and he won today,” Packard said during the press conference. “And by winning, not only did he save his own life but he saved the rest of his community from someone that was clearly intending to do evil.”

The trooper has since been identified as Cpl. Tye Simcox. CSP said the Chevy pickup pulled over to the shoulder and De Santiago got out, continuing to fire rounds at the patrol vehicle.

That’s when Simcox used his department-issued rifle and shot De Santiago, who was pronounced dead at the scene. Simcox then self-applied a tourniquet and waited for backup.

Roommate discusses living with suspect

After Packard said that the suspect was believed to be a Hispanic male, questions began to swirl online about De Santiago’s country of origin. CSP said in a release that De Santiago is a U.S. citizen who was born in California, but has a long-term residency in Colorado. The agency also said De Santiago has “an extensive Colorado criminal history, beginning as a juvenile.”

According to the Colorado Courts online records, De Santiago has had an adult criminal record in Colorado since 2015, when he was arrested in Weld County for drug-related charges. Court records show that in that case, he pleaded guilty to one drug misdemeanor charge and was sentenced to 184 days in jail.

FOX31 sifted through De Santiago’s Colorado Bureau of Investigations report that showed 17 criminal charge submissions dating back to 2010. The most recent submission surrounds a charge of assaulting a police officer.

FOX31’s Nicole Fierro spoke to Jose Garcia, who said De Santiago lived in his Thorton home.

“I couldn’t believe it, I still can’t believe it,” Garcia said. “The day he left in the morning, it was unusual because I asked him ‘Where are you going?’ He said I’m going to work. Because he worked on Sundays. That’s all he told me. And he did not return.”

Garcia said the 32-year-old lived with him for about a year and said he was “very tranquil.”

“He would just come and go from work,” Garcia said. “He never commented about having something against police, but he did talk about going to the little house (halfway home).

“He had commented that he had fought with a police officer. I still can’t believe it, that he’s dead. I can’t believe it. It happened suddenly,” Garcia told Fierro.

An autopsy for De Santiago has already been performed by the Adams and Broomfield counties coroner’s office. The cause and manner of his death will not be released pending further investigation, which is being conducted by the 17th Judicial District’s Critical Incident Response Team.

CSP is asking anyone who was driving on U.S. 36 near Federal at about 1:18 p.m. on Saturday and saw anything or has damage to their car to give them a call by dialing *CSP (*277).

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