In the spring of 2015, the life of 27-year-old Joshua Chasteen, a male resident of Fruita, Colorado, came to a tragic and violent end. On the evening of Saturday, April 25th, Chasteen was fatally shot in the chest on Pabor Way. The Mesa County Coroner's Office later confirmed the cause of death as a gunshot wound and officially ruled the manner of death a homicide.
The Fruita Police Department oversaw the investigation into the incident.
According to a close friend, Chasteen had allegedly intended to purchase drugs when he was instead robbed at gunpoint. Later events placed him in the back of a pickup truck being driven by a local woman, Donna Delancey. Chasteen was armed with a shotgun at the time. Fearing for her safety, Mrs. Delancey contacted her husband, Paul Delancey. Following his wife's frantic call, Paul Delancey confronted Chasteen in the front yard of his home. A struggle ensued between the two men, culminating in Mr. Delancey fatally shooting Chasteen.
Subsequent toxicological reports revealed that Joshua Chasteen had a combination of methamphetamine, marijuana, and alcohol in his system at the time of his death. Following a thorough investigation of the events that transpired, Mesa County District Attorney Pete Hautzinger announced that no charges would be filed against Paul Delancey. The district attorney concluded that Delancey had acted justifiably and within his legal rights when he shot Chasteen.
