In a tragic and senseless act of violence, 21-year-old Joryn Dean, a Black male, was fatally shot in Denver, Colorado, on the afternoon of April 9, 2020. The young man was inside a residence in the 2800 block of Monroe Street, enjoying a video game session with several friends, when the incident unfolded. The peaceful afternoon was shattered by the erratic behavior of a neighbor, which quickly escalated to gunfire, ending a life full of promise.
The ordeal began when Yolanda Hilliard, a
49-year-old woman living in the same fourplex, approached the bedroom window where Dean and his friends were gathered. Witnesses reported that Hilliard mumbled incoherently as she leaned into the open window. After being asked to leave, she closed the window and curtains. A short time later, without any apparent provocation, Hilliard began firing a handgun through the very same window from the exterior of the building, her residence situated a mere six feet away. The sudden hail of bullets sent the occupants scrambling for cover.
Denver Police responded to reports of a woman yelling and shooting in the street around 2:50 p.m. Upon arrival, they located a woman matching Hilliard's description, still armed and waving a gun. She was taken into custody without further incident. Inside the neighboring home, officers discovered Joryn Dean on the bedroom floor with a gunshot wound to his head. He was rushed to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 3:19 p.m. Investigators recovered eight spent. 40-caliber shell casings near the bullet-riddled window, and a handgun of the same caliber was found inside Hilliard's home. Yolanda Hilliard was subsequently arrested and faced charges of first-degree murder and multiple counts of attempted murder for the lives she endangered that day.
