A crew of men posing as utility workers entered a Montclair home, where two people were later found shot, one to death

And a suspect who fled the murder scene was unarmed and trying to carjack a third vehicle when Denver police shot and killed him.
4 min. read
Police lights.
Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite

UPDATE: On Jan. 1, 2021, the Denver Police Department announced a second arrest in the case.

DPD arrested Tameka Lanise Dudley, 44. Authorities are holding Dudley while they investigate charges of murder, robbery, burglary and car theft.

"At this time, the Denver Police Department believes all suspects related to the case are accounted for," DPD wrote in a statement.


On Tuesday afternoon, the Denver Police Department detailed what happened before, during and after a double-shooting in broad daylight inside a home at 950 N. Monaco Pkwy on Monday.

Someone called Denver police officers at 11:23 a.m. and said their neighbor being assaulted, said Lieutenant Matt Clark of DPD's Major Crimes Division. Police said the three suspects involved were wearing orange vests to present as utility workers in order to gain access to the home.

Officers later found Mark Outman, 64, who owned the home, dead with gunshot wounds to his head and leg. They found a woman, a visiting family member, in the kitchen, wounded from a gunshot but alive. As more police approached the area, one of the three suspects, parked in a 2009 black Honda Fit outside the home, fled. DPD later identified this person as 44-year-old Tameka Lanise Dudley.

Another orange-vested man fled the house, but officers chased him down and arrested him. They identified him as 38-year-old Joshua Hamm. He's being held on suspicion of murder, among other charges.

A third man, 47-year-old Larry Hamm, holding a handgun, left the house and ran down 10th Avenue. Officers chased him on foot to the 1000 block of Monaco Parkway, where Hamm "stood in traffic, pointed his handgun at an approaching motorist, and demanded that the vehicle stop," Clark said. The motorist obliged, and Hamm tried opening the door, gun in hand. Two police officers then gave "multiple commands" and, as the car started rolling forward, shot at Hamm but did not hit him, said Clark. A stray bullet hit a passing car, but no one was hurt.

"The officers were concerned for their safety and the safety of the motorist who was immediately next to the subject," Clark said.

Hamm then ran toward a large median on Monaco and, as officers chased him, threw away the handgun. He ran through alleys and yards and ended up back on Monaco where he targeted another car, stopped it, "and (attempted) to aggressively take that vehicle ... as well," Clark said.

Another police officer showed up in his cruiser, turned on his emergency lights, and approached the car, which sped away. Hamm ran across the grassy median and looked for a third vehicle to steal, Clark said. The officer pursued the man on foot and watched as he "aggressively opened the passenger door and jumped into" a woman's car, which was parked on the side of the road, Clark said.

"The officer was immediately there and ready to engage and interact with the offender at that point," Clark said. "The officer was specifically concerned that the individual was going to assault or kidnap the victim as he was attempting to take her vehicle. It was clear to the officer that the female driver was very scared. Based on her face, this was not a known individual to her."

That's when the officer shot multiple rounds through the window, killing Hamm. The woman suffered minor injuries, from broken glass.

"We don't have any evidence at this point that the individuals fired at the officers," Clark said.

Officers recovered three guns from the scene, two of which were stolen from previous burglaries in the area. Clark said the fake utilities crew is "likely associated" with a series of recent home burglaries in the area. DPD also found a wallet belonging to the wounded woman on the deceased suspect.

Three policemen -- a corporal and two officers with a combined 46 years on the force -- fired a total of seven bullets, Clark said. All wore their body cameras, which recorded the incident. None had been involved in a shooting before, and none were injured. They're off the streets for now, Clark said, per DPD protocol. The Office of the Independent Monitor, the city's civilian police watchdog, will take part in the investigation of the shooting.

Clark said burglaries, which typically occur when no one is home, don't usually turn violent.

"Often a homeowner being present will cause a burglar to move along or try a different target," Clark said.

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