Murder Suspect Fatally Shot After Crash, Shooting At Officers Injuring One - Fort Collins PS July 21

On July 21,2024 at approximately 12:41 pm, Fort Collins Police Service's 911 Dispatch received a call from citizen that had witnessed a single rollover motor vehicle crash at the intersection of West Mountain Avenue and North Bryan Avenue in Fort Collins. She explained there was a single ‘male occupant, later identified as Clayton Pierce, 42 years old and two dogs in the vehicle.

When officers arrived on scene, they observed the suspect, later identified as Clayton Pierce walking toward the cemetery and he turned and pointed his rifle at them. Officers took cover behind their vehicle and there was an exchange of gunfire. During this exchange, an officer was shot by Pierce.

Pierce fled on foot into Grandview Cemetery, where Pierce was observed raising his gun again. Officers shot Pierce, who fell to the ground and could not be directly seen or injuries immediately assessed. An armored rescue vehicle was requested so the suspect could be approached safely.

Pierce was transported to a hospital where he was pronounced dead. Pierce was found with two firearms on his person: an AR-15 style rifle and a 9 mm pistol

The autopsy conducted by the Larimer County Coroner's office revealed that Pierce had two gunshot wounds,One shot entered Pierce's right inner forearm 10 cm below the elbow and exited the outer portion of his forearm. The second gunshot entered the upper left chest area and travelled through the left lung severing the pulmonary artery and spinal cord.

The toxicology report for Pierce determined that he had a blood alcohol concentration of .130 grams per 100 milliliters, 670 Nanograms per milliliter of methamphetamine in his system, as well as .76 Nanograms per milliliter of Delta-9 THC, and 8.2 milligrams per milliliter of Gabpentin. The alcohol in Pierce’s blood would be well over twice the legal limit to operate a motor vehicle of .05 grams per 100 milliliters. Combined with the effects of methamphetamine, Pierce would have been significantly impaired. Several witnesses and officers observed Pierce to be carrying an alcohol bottle in his hands initially. Officers found a bottle of Evan Williams bourbon that had blood on it as well as the words “his last day” written on it

Pierce was a convicted felon. Among other convictions, Pierce has two prior convictions for Possession of a ‘Weapon by a Previous Offender, from 2006 and 2007 and Vehicular Eluding from 2020, which is a qualifying offense to prevent lawful ownership of firearms.
In April 2020 Clayton Everett Pierce, 38 years old at the time
was wanted on a felony warrant from The Larimer County Sheriff’s Office for alleging vehicular eluding, DUI with two or more prior convictions, DUI per se with two or more priors and reckless driving, according to a release.

For those charges, the Sheriff’s Office listed a $30,000 bond for him.

On April 29, 2019 officers responded to the report of an unresponsive man, later determined to be Joseph “Sonny” Brigman, 62 years old at an apartment on Verbena Way. The man was transported to an area hospital and died as a result of his injuries. The Larimer County Coroner’s Office has officially ruled Brigman’s death as a homicide. His cause of death was exsanguination (blood loss) from a gunshot wound.

In 2023, Brigman's case was revisited, and that is when Pierce was connected and became a suspect for first-degree murder.
Subsequently, official charges in the murder of Brigman were filed against Pierce with the DA after his death recently on Aug. 20, 2024.

Pierce’s exact motives for his actions that day are not known. However, his level of intoxication, the fact that he had armed himself with two ghost guns, the writingof“last day” ona bottle he was. carrying, the likelihood that he was responsible for a cold case homicide under investigation, and the fact he had committed several criminal offenses related to the crash by the time officers arrived on scene, all combine to provide a reasonablebeliefthat Pierce was prepared to engage in any and all actions, up to and including killing officers, to prevent being taken into custody and may have been intentionally seeking confrontation.