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Police sort out stories about shooting

One person injured during November incident in Durango
Sgt. Bobby Taylor, left, of the Durango Police Department, and EMS supervisor Dave Fiddler with the Durango Fire Protection District talk to a man Nov. 11 at the Exxon on the corner of East Animas Road (County Road 250) and Florida Road after a shooting took place elsewhere, and the victim’s friends stopped at the station to call 911. Police now believe the shooting was the result of a drug deal gone wrong and have forwarded the case to the 6th Judicial District Attorney’s Office for charges to be placed against all involved.

In a case that seemed to be a replay of the movie “Rashomon,” Durango Police Department investigators have pieced together the circumstances leading to the shooting of 19-year-old Durango resident Benjamin Keil on Nov. 11.

“We had so many stories from the different people involved,” said Durango Police Department Lt. Ray Shupe. “It took a while to determine what happened.”

In short, a drug deal went bad when the dealers used pepper spray on the customer, and the customer shot one of his assailants in the hip, police said.

The incident began about 7 p.m. when 19-year-old Durango resident Kenneth Hollenbeck and a 16-year-old boy exchanged text messages about meeting, so the 16-year-old could purchase marijuana, Shupe said in a news release. The 16-year-old’s name was not released because he is a minor.

Apparently, Hollenbeck devised a plan to rob the 16-year-old during the buy, bringing several people with him to the place designated for the transaction, the raft put-in at the northern end of East Third Avenue near 32nd Street.

“Mr. Hollenbeck brought 18-year-old Tyler Smart of Ignacio, 20-year-old Kenneth Wakefield of Durango, 19-year-old William McIlhaney of Durango, (another) 16-year-old male from Durango and Benjamin Keil to help him rob the juvenile,” Shupe said.

The meeting was scheduled for 7 p.m. McIlhaney drove Hollenbeck and the other young men there, arriving earlier, so Smart, Keil, McIlhaney and the second 16-year-old could hide in the bushes next to where the car was parked. Wakefield hid in the trunk with a can of pepper spray, Shupe said.

The aspiring purchaser’s older sister drove him to the put-in, where he contacted Hollenbeck, who was sitting in the driver’s seat of McIlhaney’s car. After a short discussion, Hollenbeck got out of the car. The two walked back to the trunk, and when Hollenbeck opened it, Wakefield attempted to pepper spray the 16-year-old purchaser.

The juvenile ran away, and Hollenbeck and the other young men chased him down.

Hollenbeck pushed the 16-year-old to the ground. At this point, the boy supposedly pulled a handgun from his backpack and shot Keil in the hip. The boy denies bringing a gun or shooting it, and neither officers nor detectives have been able to find the gun, Shupe said.

After the shooting, Hollenbeck and his group ran back to McIlhaney’s car and fled the scene. They stopped at the Huck Finn Exxon station at the corner of Florida Road (County Road 240) and East Animas Road (County Road 250), where they stopped to call for help for Keil.

The police have submitted the case to the 6th Judicial District Attorney’s Office, with charges pending on all involved, Shupe said. At this point, a final determination on the exact charges has not been made.

abutler@durangoherald.com

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