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JEFFERSON COUNTY, Colo. — Opening statements were held Wednesday in the trial of a man accused of fatally shooting another man at a Tesla charging station in Edgewater in May 2023.
Jeremy Smith, 40, was charged with second-degree murder, a Class 2 felony, and reckless manslaughter, a Class 4 felony, in connection with the shooting. He pleaded not guilty to both charges on Sept. 23, 2024.
Denver7 began covering this case on the morning of May 3, 2023, when officers with the Edgewater Police Department responded to a Tesla charging station outside the Edgewater Public Market after hearing about a shooting. A 33-year-old man with gunshot wounds was brought to the hospital, where he died. He had also been maced. He was later identified as Adam Michael Fresquez of Denver.
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Trial begins after 2023 fatal shooting at Edgewater Tesla charging station
During their opening statements, the prosecution showed a video of the two men as they were engaging in the road rage incident before pulling into the Edgewater Public Market. Prosecutors argued that both men were equally responsible for the road rage.
Though Fresquez initiated the fight and had a gun on him, the prosecution said Fresquez never pulled out his firearm and there was no imminent threat to Smith’s life.
Smith’s defense team, however, argued in their opening statements that Smith was acting in self-defense. They said Fresquez was the aggressive driver who escalated the situation and was trying to pick a fight.
Defense attorneys argued that Smith “shouldn’t have had to wait until it was too late to save his own life or defend himself.” They also claimed Fresquez “pulled out a gun and pointed it directly at Smith’s face” before putting it back in his waistband.
Lena Fresquez-Mendez, Fresquez’s mother, said those claims were false and that it was the first time she’d ever heard those claims.
“There’s no evidence that Adam’s gun was ever pulled out, and there was no witnesses saying that Adam ever said, ‘I’m going to kill you,'” she said. “Adam is not here to say his part of it, and Jeremy is. So we have to go by what Jeremy is saying? That’s not true. That’s not right. And I have to advocate for my son. And in advocating for my son, I believe both stories need to come out. That’s why I’ve always asked for a fair investigation.”
It’s unclear how long the trial will last, but Denver7 will continue to follow it until a verdict is reached.
