ADAMS COUNTY, Colo. — After a mistrial was declared in the case in April, the trial for the man charged in the 2018 fatal shooting of Adams County Deputy Heath Gumm.
Gumm, 31, was searching for a suspect related to an assault call on Jan. 24, 2018, when he was shot and killed. He was survived by his wife, Natasha, and had been a sheriff's deputy at the Adams County Sheriff's Office (ACSO) since 2012, according to the agency. He was posthumously promoted to detective.
The suspect in Gumm's death, Dreion Dearing, was charged with first-degree murder.
Jury selection for his current trial began Monday and it took until Friday morning to seat a jury. They're set to return Monday, Sept. 28 for at 8:30 a.m. for opening arguments.
Jury selection in Dearing's previous trial began March 9, but the judge declared a mistrial April 13. The mistrial was partially due to the COVID-19 outbreak and a late decision to no longer seek the death penalty, according to court documents.
> Video above: Murder trial for man accused of killing Adams County deputy set to begin.
Prosecutors had initially planned to seek the death penalty. On March 30, they decided to no longer pursue that option after Gov. Jared Polis signed a bill into law abolishing the death penalty in Colorado.
Dearing's trial is scheduled to continue through the end of November and will be available on webex.
On Jan. 24, 2018, the Adams County Sheriff's Office responded to an assault call just before 7 p.m. in the 8700 block of Dawson Street, which is in a neighborhood just east of Interstate 25 and 88th Avenue.
When deputies arrived, they learned the assault suspect had left and they began a search for him. When they found someone matching his description, the ACSO said he ran from deputies, leading them behind a house.
The suspect, later identified as Dearing, turned and fired on them, hitting Gumm in the chest, according to investigators.
In the judge's order declaring a mistrial in April, it was noted that "the current pandemic and the resulting preventative measures (the stay-at-home order) impact the public’s access to this trial, affect the jury pool and create prejudice and fear in prospective jurors forced to come into the courthouse."
It included numerous emails from prospective jurors who said they feared for their safety or the safety of loved ones due to their age or pre-existing health conditions.
Also, prosecutors planned to seek the death penalty but changed course after the state legislature abolished the death penalty in Colorado. Polis commuted the sentences of the three men were on death row.
The judge noted that the events individually might not have warranted a mistrial, but combined he said they undermined "honest, fair, even-handed justice" for all involved.
This story includes previous reporting by 9NEWS reporter Janet Oravetz.
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