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Denver security guard will be charged with 2nd-degree murder, DA says

DENVER — A private security guard working for a local Denver television station will be charged with second-degree murder in the deadly shooting of another man during protests between right- and left-wing groups in the downtown area, Denver District Attorney Beth McCann said Thursday.

Matthew Robert Dolloff, 30, will be charged Monday in the shooting death of Lee Keltner, 49, on Saturday afternoon in Denver’s Civic Center Park, McCann said in a news release.

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If convicted, Dolloff faces a mandatory prison sentence of between 16 and 48 years, McCann said in the news release.

Dolloff was working as a contractor for KUSA-TV in Denver. The television station had assigned a security detail to work with reporters.

The shooting occurred in the courtyard of the Denver Art Museum, KCNC reported.

Keltner was a U.S. Navy veteran who operated a hat-making business in the Denver area, according to the The Denver Post.

The arrest affidavit for Dolloff released Tuesday states that Keltner became involved in a dispute with Dolloff and a KUSA producer, whom Dolloff was guarding. Keltner, who was holding a can of pepper spray, slapped Dolloff in the side of the head, according to the affidavit.

Dolloff then drew a gun from his waistband, shooting Keltner as he was discharging the pepper spray, the Post reported.

Eric Escudero, marketing and communications manager for Denver’s Department of Excise and Licenses, told KUSA “there is no record” that Dolloff had a license required by the city to work as a security guard.

Dolloff was issued a concealed carry permit in June 2018, which was viable for five years, Elbert County Sheriff Tim Norton told the television station. Norton said he suspended the permit Monday morning.