Anthony Daequan Thomas, an 18-year-old Black male, was shot and killed during the early morning hours of October 20, 2024, near East Colfax Avenue and Josephine Street in Denver, Colorado. Although some databases incorrectly listed him as 28, contemporary news coverage and memorial information identified him as a teenager born on September 8, 2006.
The violence unfolded shortly after midnight in the Congress Park area, a few blocks south of City Park, bringing police to the 1400 block of North Columbine Street.
Denver police officers responded to reports of gunfire at approximately 12:41 a.m. When they arrived, they discovered Thomas suffering from fatal gunshot wounds. He was pronounced dead at the scene, leaving investigators to reconstruct what had happened in the moments before the shooting. Initial reports offered few details and did not immediately identify a suspect, but detectives began gathering surveillance recordings, telephone records and other evidence from the surrounding area.
The investigation soon focused on Dewayne Dietz, who was 19 at the time. Authorities said Dietz and Thomas knew one another and that the preliminary evidence indicated the shooting occurred during a robbery. Police reportedly identified Dietz through surveillance footage and phone records connecting him to the crime. Investigators did not publicly provide a detailed account of what property was allegedly being taken or describe the precise confrontation that preceded the gunfire.
Two days after the killing, officers encountered Dietz during an unrelated investigation and arrested him on an outstanding warrant from another jurisdiction. Denver police subsequently connected him to Thomas’s death and announced the arrest on October 23. Dietz was held on suspicion of first-degree murder, second-degree murder and aggravated robbery. Booking information listed a bond of $2 million in connection with each of the three major allegations, along with a fugitive hold originating from Arapahoe District Court.
The arrest transformed the case from an unidentified-suspect investigation into a prosecution centered on the allegation that Thomas was killed during a robbery committed by someone he already knew. The first-degree murder allegation carried the possibility that prosecutors believed the killing was deliberate or occurred under circumstances supporting Colorado’s most serious homicide charge, while the second-degree murder count provided an alternative theory concerning the suspect’s intent. The aggravated robbery allegation reflected the police conclusion that the fatal encounter involved an attempted or completed theft accomplished through violence or the threat of violence.
Publicly accessible reporting confirmed Dietz’s arrest and the offenses for which he was initially detained, but it did not establish that he had been convicted. No reliable published account located through July 2026 provided a final trial verdict, guilty plea or sentence in Thomas’s case. Dietz therefore remained legally presumed innocent unless and until the charges were proven in court.
