Dennis Pratt
/ Courtesy: Pueblo County Sheriff's Office
PUEBLO COUNTY, COLO. -- Pueblo County Sheriff's deputies have arrested a man in connection with a shooting late Tuesday night.
According to deputies, 45-year-old Dennis Pratt shot and killed a man he claims he didn't see while trying to scare another who was on his property around 10 p.m. along Hog Farm Road in the county.
Deputies said Pratt and his two sons suspected people of coming onto his property and stealing thousands of dollars in radiators, batteries and copper. He told deputies he and his sons were "hiding" to try to catch the thieves.
They saw flashlights, and he said he aimed and fired to the left of them to "scare" them off but hit a 20-year-old man who was standing to the left and behind the men with the lights.
The 20-year-old died at the scene.
Pratt was charged with manslaughter. He is currently in jail on no bond.
The Sheriff's department has found two of the men were in fact stealing from Pratt, and they've since uncovered materials sold to local salvage yards.
Investigators are working to discover whether his actions were "reasonable and necessary"; two criteria required for the shooting to be deemed "defense of property."
TV Station Profiles & Public Inspection Files forKXRM