Former NFL and University of Colorado football player Justin Bannan on Tuesday was formally charged with attempted murder and first-degree assault in connection with a shooting in Boulder last week.
Bannan, 40, was charged with attempted first-degree murder after deliberation, attempted first-degree murder with extreme indifference, first-degree assault with a deadly weapon causing serious bodily injury and first-degree assault with extreme indifference, according to court records.
Prosecutors also filed four crime of violence sentence enhancers for those charges. Boulder County District Attorney’s spokeswoman Shannon Carbone said the two attempted murder charges are Class 2 felonies and could carry sentences of 16 to 48 years in prison if Bannan were to be convicted and crime of violence sentence enhancer was proven, while the assault charge is a Class 3 felony that could carry eight to 24 years with the sentence enhancer.
First-degree burglary was among the charges for which Bannan was arrested, but the count was ultimately not filed. Prosecutors did however add a charge of carrying a weapon on school grounds. The arrest affidavit did not mention a school, and officials with the Boulder County District Attorney’s Office and the Boulder Police Department said they could not yet comment on the added charge.
Bannan, who was released from Boulder County Jail after posting $500,000 bond, now has a preliminary hearing on Dec. 9 to determine if there is enough evidence for the case to proceed.
Boulder police said the shooting was reported at 2:24 p.m. Oct. 16 at Black Lab Sports, 3550 Frontier Ave.
According to police, Bannan used a handgun to shoot a 36-year-old woman in the arm. She was transported to Boulder Community Health’s Foothills Hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
Police said the shooting appears to be “random,” as Bannan and the woman worked in the same building but do not appear to have any other connection and were only distantly acquainted.
According to an affidavit, the woman went to unlock her therapy room in the building when Bannan, who was already in the room, instantly shot her in the shoulder while she was standing in the doorway.
The woman said she knew Bannan, but only because he was part owner of the building and she would see him occasionally pass in the hallway. Bannan is listed as the co-founder of Black Lab Sports, but the woman worked for a company called Element 6 that operates inside the same building but is not a part of Black Lab Sports.
When police found Bannan at the scene, he was carrying a bag containing two loaded handguns, along with an extra magazine. They also found a rolled-up $20 bill coated with a white substance that tested positive for cocaine.
Bannan told police he “didn’t mean to shoot her,” and that he was just hiding in the room because the Russian Mafia was after him and tracking his cellphone. He said he only fired the gun once and that it was an “accident.”
Bannan played for the CU Buffs from 1997 to 2001 before being drafted by the Buffalo Bills in 2002. He spent 11 years in the NFL, including a two stints with the Denver Broncos.
He also played for the Baltimore Ravens, St. Louis Rams and Detroit Lions.
