According to a report made by a local news station in Denver, CO, a teacher was fatally shot and killed by her ex-boyfriend outside her Denver apartment on December 16. A GPS tracking device that would have been able to warn the victim that the suspect was nearby was not requested by the Denver District Attorney’s Office.
If the suspect, Ryan Miller, had still been wearing the GPS tracker, it would have alerted Andrea Roan that he was just outside her apartment; however, it was removed after a previous domestic violence case involving Miller and Roan was taken over by the Denver District Attorney. Upon taking on the case, the District Attorney decided they did not need to track the suspected killer.
Without being privy to the details of this case, I would still have to surmise that this man was considered a dangerous character for the court to have required him to wear a GPS tracker. I wonder what changed, if anything, that led to the decision of the District Attorney to have the GPS tracker removed. This is a tragic death that could have been avoided.
“We don’t ask for it [GPS tracking devices] in every case, just those cases where we think it would be appropriate and necessary,” says Vince DeCroce. Although he was unable to talk about any specific cases, he did explain that authorities often request GPS tracking devices when they believe the victim’s life could be in danger.
Apparently, Andrea Roan’s life was in danger because she lost her life as a result of this decision.
“First and foremost is victim safety,” DeCroce says. “The tracking device sends an alert to the monitoring company if the suspect gets near the victim’s home or workplace. The company then immediately warns the victim.”
It doesn’t sound like “victim safety” was a priority here.
According to law enforcement authorities, Miller waited outside Roan’s apartment last Friday morning and then shot her in the head as she drove away.
GPS Device Could Have Prevented Tragic Murder
Miller’s case files had been handed over to the Denver District Attorney’s Office, and they did not ask for a GPS tracker.
“It appears in this particular case, we did not ask for a GPS to be a condition of Mr. Miller’s bond,” says Denver DA spokeswoman Lynn Kimbrough. “In looking at the file folder, some of the things that the prosecutor would have looked for that would have triggered a request for GPS (tracking), he simply didn’t see them in the case file at that time.”
The DA apparently was unaware the City Attorney’s Office had requested one for Miller. “This is a tragedy that has been felt by everyone in our office,” Kimbrough says.
Court documents also reveal that Denver Police arrested 27-year-old Richard Leavitt as an alleged accessory after-the-fact.
According to the arrest warrant, Miller asked Leavitt to drive him to Roan’s apartment that Friday morning. Leavitt told law enforcement officials that he heard a gunshot while waiting in the car and then saw Miller running back to the car.
He told police they went back to Miller’s apartment and Miller asked him to carry out a backpack. When police stopped Leavitt as he was leaving the apartment, they say they found a gun and ammunition in the backpack.
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