A man has been arrested in Longmont after reportedly shooting and killing his mother.
Dennis Barefoot, 48, was booked into Boulder County Jail Saturday morning and is facing the charge of first-degree murder — deliberation with intent involving a gun.
Barefoot is currently in custody on a $10,000,000 bond. His booking photo of him was not immediately available.
According to the affidavit, at 10:47 pm on Friday, Barefoot called 911 and stated that he had just gotten home to find his mother, 69-year-old Fern Fennell, shot on the floor of their Longmont residence.
When officers arrived on scene, they found Barefoot outside the residence smoking a cigarette with a “calm demeanor.” In the affidavit, officers noted that his demeanor did not appear to be consistent with someone whose close family member died.
Fennell was found inside the home with multiple gunshot wounds. Officers later determined Fennell had been shot four to five times in close-range, two of which occurred once she was already on the ground.
According to the affidavit, Barefoot gave the officers little information before being detained. Later, Barefoot told officers that he told his mother he was “feeling funny” and needed to take a walk. Throughout the walk, Barefoot said he began to “mellow out.” Police noted in the affidavit that Barefoot’s demeanor changed multiple times throughout the conversation and would change from being agitated to friendly while also making multiple statements about being God and knowing everything.
Police were told that Barefoot was a paranoid schizophrenic who spent the last 16 years in the state mental health hospital in Pueblo before moving in with his mother three to four months ago. Police were also told Barefoot did n’t take his medications as he didn’t believe he had a problem and was in the hospital for beating up his mother.
Barefoot is a convicted felon with previous charges including harassment, obstructing police, resisting arrest, attempted escape, robbery, assault, menacing and burglary. His criminal history dates back to 1994 and he was found guilty of criminal menacing in 2005, according to the affidavit.
He was initially detained on Friday for possession of a weapon by a previous offender.
According to the affidavit, police were told Barefoot was previously paranoid that people were trying to kill him and he had a gun and needed bullets.
During the search warrant, police found multiple firearms in the house including one in Barefoot’s bedroom and two in Fennell’s bedroom. One gun in Fennell’s room was a Smith and Wesson .357 revolver. Neither gun had ammunition in and a box of ammunition found in Fennell’s room did not match any of the guns in the home. No.357 ammunition was found inside the home.
While reviewing video surveillance of Barefoot’s walk, police saw Barefoot step out of the view of the camera at 10:43 pm on Friday behind a residence. Police later found five spent .357 shell casings on the sidewalk in the area he stepped out of view that matched the caliber of the Smith and Wesson revolver found in Fennell’s room.
