Jaharie Wheeler, a 36-year-old man, died on the Fourth of July in 2019, following a confrontation that began over fireworks in the courtyard of his Aurora, Colorado, apartment complex. The evening's festivities took a fatal turn when a verbal dispute escalated into a physical altercation, culminating in Wheeler being shot once in the chest. His death was later ruled a homicide.
The incident began when Wheeler's children, aged 9 and 14, were setting off fireworks.
A neighbor, Scott Alan Mathews Jr., a 27-year-old former Colorado Department of Corrections officer, and his girlfriend, Katherine O'Neal, confronted Wheeler's girlfriend, Shamira Cotton, expressing concern that the fireworks were frightening their dogs. The argument quickly intensified, with Mathews reportedly head-butting and pointing a handgun at Cotton.
Seeing his girlfriend bleeding, Wheeler intervened, leading to a physical fight between him and Mathews. During the struggle, Mathews drew his semi-automatic handgun and fired a single shot, striking Wheeler in the chest. Although attempts were made to render aid, Wheeler was pronounced dead at a local medical center shortly after.
Scott Alan Mathews Jr. was arrested the following day and charged with second-degree murder. During the legal proceedings, it was revealed that Mathews' girlfriend, also a Department of Corrections employee, had also drawn her handgun during the dispute but did not fire it and was not charged. Mathews pleaded not guilty, but after a trial in late 2021, a jury found him guilty of second-degree murder and several other charges. In April 2022, he was sentenced to 37 years in prison for the shooting death of Jaharie Wheeler.
