A retired Denver Police detective who left his cell phone on a bus and then argued with a man who picked it up and refused to return it unless he paid money has been arrested after a gun clash in a food court, Jefferson County Sheriff authorities said Thursday morning.
Former Denver detective Martin Vigil, 67, was arrested near the Southwest Plaza Mall food court Wednesday evening and faces charges of felony menacing and impersonating a peace officer.
The trouble began Wednesday afternoon when Vigil was riding a bus and got off a bus but accidentally left his phone behind, sheriff officials said in a press release. Vigil then called his phone.
“The other man answered it and said he would give it back if Vigil paid him money,” officials said.
The two men agreed to meet at the food court in the mall.
There, after an argument, Vigil allegedly pulled the gun and pointed it at the other man.
Mall security agents confronted Vigil. Sheriff deputies soon arrived. Vigil “claimed he was a peace officer,” officials said.
The deputies convinced Vigil to put the gun down. No shots were fired. No one was hurt.
Vigil retired from the Denver Police Department in 2019. He has been taken into custody.
A suspect is in custody after pulling a gun on a man inside the food court at Southwest Plaza Mall. The suspect is a retired Denver Police detective.
Full press release: https://t.co/LHE0ljcIiK pic.twitter.com/Y96YwZ6VDM— Jeffco Sheriff (@jeffcosheriffco) August 3, 2023