As the case approaches its first anniversary, the defendant in the Golden-area RV murder case is scheduled for an April 22 motions hearing ahead of this summer’s trial dates.
Donald Harris, 51, has pleaded not guilty to murdering Matthew Hire, 57, who was found dead of a gunshot wound in his RV last spring.
Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office investigators believe Hire was killed in late March, but his body wasn’t found until April 14, when a deputy found his RV door swinging open in the Golden-area Wooly Mammoth Park-N-Ride lot.
Harris — an acquaintance of Hire’s — has been charged with first-degree murder, a felony charge of possession of a weapon by a previous offender, and two sentence enhancers.
Harris, who’s in custody in Denver for a separate case, had a $2 million cash-only bond set in the murder case.
He pleaded not guilty Nov. 29 and is scheduled for a July 23-Aug. 2 trial.
He’s also scheduled for a daylong motions hearing at 8:30 a.m. April 22 at the Jefferson County Courthouse. This is his last scheduled court appearance before the trial begins July 23.
Harris appeared virtually for his brief March 5 pretrial conference, where Judge Jason Carrithers scheduled Harris’ April 22 motions hearing. Carrithers also discussed a few procedural details regarding evidence and motions during the March 5 hearing.
As of a Jan. 24 hearing, the prosecutors and defense attorneys said the discovery process, including testing various pieces of evidence, was on track for the July 23-Aug. 2 trial dates.
History of the case
During Harris’ Aug. 11 preliminary hearing, Jeffco Sheriff’s Office investigators testified how, on the night of March 25, Hire’s RV was parked outside the Golden hotel where Harris and his girlfriend were staying. Harris and Hire were in the RV, and Harris reportedly didn’t come back to the hotel room that night and didn’t answer his phone.
The next morning, the RV was gone and Harris wouldn’t tell his girlfriend where he’d been, the investigators said.
Harris’ girlfriend later told investigators how, before Hire’s death, she’d overheard Harris and another friend talk about having access to Hire’s money and how they were going to “rip him off.”
According to JCSO, cell phone data showed both Harris and Hire’s phones were at the Wooly Mammoth lot between 3-3:30 p.m. March 26.
However, a few hours later, the Golden Police Department contacted Harris at the Golden Home Depot and arrested him on outstanding warrants in Denver.
After Hire’s body was found inside the RV on April 14, JCSO investigators examined the items Harris had when he was arrested and found a jacket with Hire’s blood on it. Harris also had Hire’s cell phone and keys to storage containers inside Hire’s RV.
Investigators also reviewed messages Harris sent and received while he was in jail, where he reportedly coordinated with friends to hide evidence, such as the RV itself and his girlfriend’s Jeep.
In searching the Jeep, JCSO found a .22-caliber revolver that’s believed to be the murder weapon. It had a single fired shot in it, which matched the bullet fragments found in Hire’s body. The revolver also had Hire and Harris’ DNA on it, investigators stated.
During the Aug. 11 preliminary hearing, Harris’ defense attorneys contested the first-degree murder charge, saying there was little to no indication of any premeditation or physical evidence the homicide took place in the RV.
JCSO investigators confirmed there was no visible blood spatter, and all the tested surfaces were negative for blood. There also wasn’t anything to indicate a gun had been fired in the RV, or that the RV had been cleaned, the defense argued.
“There’s no evidence this homicide even happened in Jefferson County,” one of Harris’ attorneys said. “ … (The prosecution) hasn’t presented any evidence as to where the homicide might have occurred.”