Crime & Safety

DeJuan Stamps Found Guilty In Denver 'Samaritan' Murder

A jury found that Stamps beat a 62-year-old man to death who intervened when Stamps was beating two teens in 2017.

DeJuan Stamps
DeJuan Stamps (Denver District Attorney's Office)

DENVER, CO – A man was found guilty by a Denver jury for beating a 62-year-old good Samaritan to death in a violent rampage in the middle of a Denver street, just for intervening in a random attack to rescue two teens.

DeJuan Stamps, 30, was convicted of first-degree murder Tuesday, the Denver District Attorney's Office said in a statement.

The victim, James Farmer, Jr., was "hailed as a hero for dying while defending two teenagers whom Stamps randomly attacked on June 16, 2017," the DA's office said in a statement.

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UPDATED: Denver 'Samaritan' Killer Sentenced to Life

Farmer was homeless and living in his car the night of the incident around 4 a.m., his son said. Investigators found that Farmer had stepped in when Stamps was pummeling two teenagers, a boy and a girl. The boy had serious injuries to his face and had to be hospitalized.

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Stamps then beat Farmer in the middle of Curtis Street, near 24th Avenue, and was striking him repeatedly in the chest when police arrived, an arrest affidavit said. Farmer was declared dead. Stamps also assaulted a police officer who tried to take him into custody, prosecutors said.

Denver Health Paramedic Lieutenant Otis McKay Jr.was honored in September, 2017 by the Denver Police and the Daniels Fund for stepping in and helping the officer who was being attacked.

At a memorial for Farmer at Denver's St. Francis Center, one of the teens, Maeve Murphy said, "I would thank him for performing such a selfless act for someone who he never met before. That's something I've never experienced on such a close scale before so it was really moving."

Last Friday, a jury also found Stamps guilty of several assault counts for attacks on the two teenagers, the police officer and the paramedic, the DA's office said.

Stamps is scheduled for a sentencing hearing on May 10.



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