A former U.S. Space Force sergeant was sentenced to 54 years in prison for chasing and shooting two Aurora teenagers he thought were trying to steal his wife’s car.
Orest Schur, a former technical sergeant, was sentenced Friday by Adams County District Court Judge Caryn Datz on second-degree murder and attempted second-degree murder, according to a news release from the Adams County District Attorney’s Office.
A car alarm woke Schur at 11 p.m. on July 5, 2023, outside his home on the 19000 block of East 59th Place in Aurora. He grabbed a pistol before going outside to see if someone might be stealing his Hyundai Elantra.
Schur saw a vehicle that he suspected was involved in the attempted theft but rather than call the police he gave chase and fired multiple shots at the vehicle. A 14-year-old and 13-year-old inside the other car tried to run away from the wrecked car.
Schur shot the 14-year-old in his head and his back. He died at a local hospital. The 13-year-old boy was shot in the back but survived.
Schur claimed he fired in self-defense after being shot at, but an extensive investigation found no evidence that anyone other than the defendant possessed or fired a weapon, according to the DA’s news release. Forensic testing determined Schur fired 11 shots. At the time of the shooting, Schur was a technical sergeant with the U.S. Space Force in Aurora.
“This was vigilante violence at its worst and now a young man is dead,” district attorney Brian Mason stated in the news release. “The defendant took the law into his own hands, chasing down a fleeing vehicle and opening fire on its occupants. A 14-year-old boy will now never grow up because of the defendant’s actions.”