Man arrested in Douglas County road rage shooting told investigators it was ‘overkill’

The man killed Tuesday in a Douglas County road rage shooting had exited his car and was reaching into the suspect’s vehicle, allegedly punching him, when he was shot, according to court records.

Parker police responded to the shooting at Twenty Mile Road and Longs Way, near Railbender Skate & Tennis Park, just after 6:30 p.m. Tuesday.

When officers arrived, they found a gray sedan stopped on northbound Twenty Mile, with a man slumped on the ground outside the open door, police wrote in court documents.

The victim, identified as 25-year-old Carl John Cooper, was dead, police said.

Matthew Littlefield, 27, was arrested roughly 2 1/2 hours after the shooting on suspicion of second-degree murder, according to court records.

A witness who was at the intersection when the shooting happened, waiting to turn, told investigators that two vehicles stopped next to each other on northbound Twenty Mile. An SUV stopped in the left turn lane for the Railbender parking lot, next to Cooper’s sedan in a through lane.

She heard shouting but couldn’t make out what was being said, according to Littlefield’s arrest affidavit.

Cooper exited his car and was reaching into the other vehicle when the witness heard at least three shots in quick succession, she told investigators in the affidavit. The SUV then made a U-turn onto southbound Twenty Mile and fled the scene as Cooper collapsed to the ground.

Another witness told police that Cooper appeared to be “beating on” the SUV driver, believed to be Littlefield, before the shooting, according to the arrest affidavit.

Police traced the suspect vehicle to two Elizabeth residents, the parents of Littlefield. Shortly after, a Douglas County sheriff’s deputy stopped Littlefield near Parker Road and Founders Parkway in Franktown, police said.

Littlefield told the deputy he had a gun in the car, police said. He was taken to the Parker Police Department for questioning.

The man told investigators that he and the gray sedan had collided on Mainstreet, and he made an illegal U-turn to follow the driver. When the pair stopped on Twenty Mile, they each rolled down their windows.

Littlefield said he was trying to tell Cooper he wanted to exchange insurance information, but said Cooper exited his vehicle and began repeatedly hitting Littlefield in the face. Littlefield then reached into what he described as a “go bag” to grab his handgun.

When Cooper kept punching him, Littlefield said he felt like “the only option he had was to ‘put round(s) in him,” according to the arrest affidavit. Littlefield told investigators the first rounds didn’t seem to have an impact, so he kept firing. He later admitted it was “overkill.”