BRIGHTON, Colo. — The man accused of opening fire inside a Thornton Walmart that left three people dead made his first court appearance on Friday morning and was ordered to be held without bond.
Scott Ostrem, 47, is facing three counts of first-degree murder for the shooting on Wednesday night. He appeared in front of Adams County District Court Judge Ted Tow at the Adams County Courthouse.
Ostrem was shackled and appeared in a light blue jumpsuit. He has been appointed a public defender.
He only spoke to answer basic questions about his rights that were posed by Tow.
Prosecutors hinted that more charges might be coming and asked that an advisement hearing be pushed to Tuesday.
“There’s going to be multiple counts in this case,” a prosecutor said.
Tow denied the request and set the hearing for Monday.
If Ostrem is formally charged with first-degree murder, he could face possible punishment of the death penalty or life in prison.
Ostrem’s public defender Emily Fleischmann said Walmart has not allowed her into the store and asked that the Thornton Police Department reseize the crime scene so those representing Ostrem can have an “independent evaluation.”
Tow denied the request, saying he didn’t have the authority to grant such an order.
The store remained closed Friday after the shooting, but police have relinquished their control back to Walmart.
He was identified by police as the gunman by security video recorded at the Walmart store at 9901 Grant St.
Police spent hours reviewing the images to come up with the ID. He was taken into custody after a 14-hour manhunt that lasted into Thursday morning.
A citizen tip led police to Ostrem’s residence at the Samuel Park Apartments at 7121 Samuel Drive. A SWAT team went inside on Thursday morning, but Ostrem was not found.
Just before 8 a.m., the 2017 red, four-door Mitsubishi Mirage associated with Ostrem drove past the apartment complex.
Law enforcement quickly took off and followed the vehicle, stopping it at West 72nd Avenue and Federal Boulevard where Ostrem was apprehended without incident.
Police have not said what the motive for the attack was.
The Thornton Police Department said Ostrem walked into the south doors at the Walmart around 6:10 p.m. Wednesday and “nonchalantly” began firing with a handgun.
Victor Vasquez, 26 of Denver, and Carlos Moreno, 66 of Thornton, were pronounced dead at the scene. Pamela Marques, 52 of Denver, was taken to a hospital but later was pronounced dead.