Former U.S. Space Force Sergeant Sentenced to 54 Years in Prison for Fatally Shooting One Teenager and Injuring Another

Brighton, CO – The District Attorney’s Office announced today that Orest Schur, 29, has been sentenced to 54 years in the Colorado Department of Corrections following his conviction for Second-Degree Murder and Second-Degree Attempted Murder. An Adams County jury returned the guilty verdict on June 16, 2025. 

On July 5, 2023, at approximately 11:00 p.m., Schur was awoken by a car alarm outside his home in the 19000 block of East 59th Place. Suspecting someone was attempting to steal his Hyundai Elantra, Schur armed himself with a pistol and began driving around the block in the Elantra. While circling the neighborhood, he saw a vehicle he believed was involved in the attempted theft. 

Rather than calling police, Schur pursued the fleeing vehicle and fired multiple gunshots into its rear. Aurora Police officers later found the vehicle the victims had been driving crashed into the backyard fence of a home along East 58th Circle. The trunk, roof, and rear windshield were damaged by gunfire, and investigators determined that one bullet had passed through the driver’s seat and into the driver’s back. 

The two juvenile occupants fled the vehicle after the crash as Schur continued firing at them. The passenger, a 14-year-old boy, was found unconscious a short distance away with gunshot wounds to his back and head, sustained while running from the vehicle. He died at a local hospital. The driver, a 13-year-old boy, was shot in the back but managed to reach a relative’s home and was taken to the hospital. He survived his injuries. 

Schur claimed he fired in self-defense after being shot at, but an extensive investigation found no evidence that anyone other than the defendant possessed or fired a weapon. Forensic testing determined Schur fired a total of eleven shots during the incident. At the time of the shooting, Schur was a Technical Sergeant with the U.S. Space Force in Aurora. 

On August 15, 2025, Adams County District Court Judge Caryn Datz sentenced Schur to 54 years in prison. 

“This was vigilante violence at its worst and now a young man is dead,” said District Attorney Brian Mason. “The defendant took the law into his own hands, chasing down a fleeing vehicle and opening fire on its occupants. A 14-year-old boy will now never grow up because of the defendant’s actions. I’m grateful to the Aurora Police Department for their investigation and to my team at the DA’s Office for securing justice in this case.” 

Senior Deputy District Attorney Todd Bluth and Senior Lead Deputy District Attorney Brittany Martin prosecuted the case.