Homicides don't get much more tragic and senseless than the June 10, 2020, slaying of 21-year-old Isabella "Bella" Thallas. Michael Close allegedly used an AK-47 to kill Thallas and seriously wound Darian Simon near West 30th Avenue and Fox Street after "the suspect got into a verbal altercation with the victims related to the victims telling [their] dog to poop," according to a Denver Police Department report.
Although the Denver district attorney has charged Close with first-degree murder in the case, there's another complication. The AK-47 was owned by then-Denver Police officer Dan Politica, a friend of Close's who insists the weapon was stolen. Politica resigned from the DPD effective March 13, but a lawsuit filed on June 8 in Denver District Court on behalf of Joshua Thallas, Bella's father, and Simon claims that he and his company, Tyrant Arms LLC, were negligent in allowing Close to gain access to the weapon.