A new set of Clear Creek County jurors is expected to hear evidence in the 2022 shooting death of Christian Glass by former Clear Creek County Sheriff’s Deputy Andrew Buen after the first trial ended with a hung jury last year.
The criminal case that captured national attention is set for the spotlight again as prosecutors move forward with the retrial of a Second Degree Murder charge against Buen in Clear Creek County Court in February.
Overnight on June 10-11, 2022, Christian Glass, 22, called 911 for help, saying he was trapped in his car. When officers arrived, they asked him to leave his vehicle. He refused in what turned into a long standoff that ended when officers broke his car window and used a Taser on him, according to public reports.
Buen then shot Glass five times through the windshield, killing him, according to an indictment.
After eight days of testimony and two-and-a-half days of deliberation during the April 2024 trial, a Clear Creek County jury found Buen guilty of reckless endangerment, a misdemeanor, in the shooting death of 22-year-old Christian Glass. However, jurors were unable to reach a decision on the second-degree murder and official misconduct charges.
During a pre-trial conference on Jan. 6 in Clear Creek County, Colorado 5th Circuit Judge Catherine Cheroutes addressed the logistics of the retrial with Buen’s defense attorneys and prosecutors.
All parties agreed to another pre-trial hearing for Jan. 21 to sort motions, jury selection and voir dire.
Voir dire is a process in which prosecutors and defense attorneys question potential jurors about potential bias or personal relationship to the accused (Buen) or any party related to the case.
After the previous trial that ended in a hung jury on the Second Degree Murder charge against Buen, the Courant reported on April 29, 2024 that members of the original jury stated one person was a “hold-out” against the charge and may have had a personal connection with the sheriff’s department.
The jury’s foreperson Kristi Englekirk told the Courant there was one person among the 12 jurors who steadfastly rejected the second-degree murder conviction.
“(She was) really digging her heels in the whole time, saying cops can do no wrong, cops make mistakes, and thought that everything he (Buen) did was reasonable throughout the whole entire encounter,” Englekirk said at the time.
The court has scheduled three weeks for the trial with court-approved, expert witnesses in use-of-force, police practices and victim/witness statements expected, according to testimony Jan. 6.
The Courant’s coverage will continue as the trial progresses.
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