Driver now facing murder charge in connection with Pearl Street death
May 27—The driver accused of hitting and killing a person on Pearl Street in April is now being charged with one count of second-degree murder.
Alan Moody, 21, was originally charged with vehicular homicide, leaving the scene of a crash involving death or injury and false reporting.
Moody at a hearing on Friday attempted to plead guilty to all three charges with no plea agreement from the Boulder County Jail with his attorney, Kathryn Herold.
But upon hearing that Moody was trying to enter a guilty plea, Boulder Deputy District Attorney Joshuah Lisk objected to the move, saying the case was still under investigation.
When Boulder District Judge Thomas Mulvahill said charges had been filed in April and that Moody had the right to enter a guilty plea, Lisk asked for a short break. He then returned with Boulder County District Attorney Michael Dougherty and said he was now filing a motion to add a count of second-degree murder.
In light of the added count, Herold instead asked that Moody be set for a preliminary hearing on the new charge on June 27.
"Since the day that the victim was killed, the DA's Office has been working closely with the investigators on this case," the District Attorney's Office said in a statement. "The Boulder Police Department conducted an extensive investigation. We are committed to fighting for justice for this victim."
According to an affidavit, police were called to the 4800 block of Pearl Street at 5:54 a.m. April 1 after a person was found in a parking lot.
The person — who has been identified as Zachary Taggart, 21, by the Boulder County Coroner's Office and charging documents — was declared dead at the scene with significant traumatic injuries.
According to the affidavit, blood and other physical evidence was found in several parking stalls and a curb and planter next to where the body was found.
Police in the area then found a black Saturn sedan registered to the victim about a block away from the crime scene with heavy front-end damage and two flat passenger-side tires. The car also had traces of blood and hair along the passenger side.
Police found the victim's cellphone and camping citations naming both Moody and the victim buried in a dirt mound next to the vehicle. Police said the Moody and the victim had reportedly been living together in the car and had been seen together by Boulder and Broomfield police several times in the weeks leading up to the incident.
According to the affidavit, footage from a security camera in the area showed a black sedan traveling east on Pearl Street at 10:35 p.m. March 31 when the passenger side of the vehicle appears to strike an object, causing the front of the vehicle to raise up shortly before the rear of the vehicle does the same. Detectives said it was noticeable because of the taillights changing orientation, and that the car then appears to level out as sparks can be seen.
Detectives applied for a warrant for Moody's cell phone data, and detectives said call data places the phone in the 4800 block of Pearl Street two minutes before the time the vehicle is seen hitting something on the security footage.
Using that cell phone data, Moody was located at the Boulder Shelter for the Homeless on Friday evening, and he was taken into custody. He had not spoken to detectives at the time the affidavit was written.
