The Denver District Attorney has charged a third suspect in connection with the shooting death of a man who tried to retrieve his wallet after it was allegedly stolen in the parking lot of a 7-Eleven store on East Colfax Avenue.
On July 9, Justin Slyter, 39, got into a fight with a panhandler, and two people who had been in the store allegedly jumped into the melee and stole his wallet, according to a probable cause statement written by a Denver police detective investigating the killing.
Police arrested Rushawn Wharton, 41, on July 14. He is charged with first-degree murder, robbery and assault.
Two others, David Houston, 25, and Keondre Neblett, 17, were charged with first-degree murder and robbery on July 13.
An investigator who reviewed video surveillance of the scene saw a white car with four men inside drive up to the store.
According to an arrest affidavit, Wharton, who was known as a crack user and aggressive panhandler, was standing in front of the store and then went inside.
Neblett, Houston, and a third, unidentified man, got out of the vehicle and entered the store.
A few minutes later, the three men left the 7-Eleven and got back into the vehicle.
Wharton was standing in front of the store when Slyter walked up. “After a short time, Wharton begins to assault the victim,” the affidavit said.
While Wharton and Slyter were on the ground, Neblett and the unidentified driver, jumped out of the vehicle and joined in the assault.
“On the video surveillance, Neblett is observed reaching down near the victim, removing something from the victim’s pocket,” the affidavit said.
Neblett, and the unidentified man, got back in the car. Slyter then jumped on the back of the vehicle and was shot.
A witness to the beating said when Slyter began walking toward the car, she grabbed him, “and told him to let it go.”
