Man from Golden arrested on suspicion of attempted murder
A man from Golden was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder Monday in connection to a shooting at a Boulder Circle K.
Raheem Adebayo Ayoola Raji, 25, is facing two counts of attempted firstdegree murder.
The Boulder Police Department received a call at 2:55 a.m. about a shooting at 2877 Baseline Rd., according to an affidavit. Officers responded to the area shortly after, where they found a man waving his arms, attempting to flag down law enforcement. Upon their arrival, officers noted that the driver was out of breath and had a bullet hole on the driver’s door of his Toyota.
According to the affidavit, the man described the suspect as a black man wearing a tan winter coat with fur around the collar driving a silver Mercedes.
While pulling out of Circle K, the man saw his window shatter and thought he had hit something. Then he heard a gunshot and realized someone was shooting at him, according to the affidavit. The man estimated the suspect shot at him seven to nine times.
At 3:31 a.m., a deputy from the Boulder County
Sheriff’s Office observed a silver Mercedes traveling westbound on Boulder Canyon Drive.
The deputy followed behind the vehicle without turning on his emergency lights, according to the affidavit. Shortly after, at 3:50 p.m., the vehicle crashed at 22000 Peak to Peak Hwy., where the suspect got out the vehicle and ran southwest into a wooded area. Following the crash, police lost sight of the suspect.
According to the affidavit, after investigating the crash, officers identified the registered driver of the Mercedes as Raji.
At 8:05 a.m., a man told police he had given a five-minute ride to a man matching the description of the suspect, according to the affidavit.
The driver told police that a man walked over the hill near the crash and asked for a ride. While dropping the man off at the Sundance Lodge in Nederland, the man told the driver that “they have my car,” and also mentioned that “the deep state and the Mexicans” were following him and they were armed. According to the affidavit, the man also told the driver that he “got into a shooting at the Circle K” and that he still had “heat on him.”
After officers completed a photo array with the witness, he identified Raji as the man he picked up near the crash site.
When officers searched the Mercedes they found a 9 mm handgun in the floorboard, according to the affidavit. Additionally, Boulder police obtained video surveillance from Circle K at 2:53 a.m. that shows the first shot being fired from a Mercedes.
At 11:26 a.m., Raji was arrested at the Sundance Lodge and taken into custody by the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office, according to the affidavit. Then, he was transported to Boulder Community Hospital.
While at the hospital, Raji told officers that he believed the Toyota driver was going to shoot him, so he decided to shoot first, according to the affidavit. Raji also stated that he wanted to kill the driver of the Toyota because he believed that the driver was going to kill him. According to the affidavit, Raji said the only reason he didn’t follow the Toyota was because he ran out of bullets.
He is currently in custody on a $2 million bond and is set to appear in court on Tuesday for his hearing on advisement.
A booking photo is not yet releasable, according to the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office.