A slew of new details have been released, shedding light on Monday afternoon’s hostage situation and deadly officer-involved shooting in Longmont.
After the Boulder County District Attorney’s Office identified Wednesday the 20-year-old suspect who was killed as Dariss Yearby, Longmont Public Safety revealed Thursday exactly what happened prior to his death.
On Monday…
Just before 3 p.m., three Longmont Police officers arrived at a home on Bluebird Drive where Yearby had taken a woman hostage. This followed a 911 report from the hostage’s mother who said her 18-year-old daughter was in the house with a man who previously tried to kill her.
The officers entered the house, traveled upstairs, and found Yearby standing behind the women, holding his left arm around her neck while his right hand — which was concealed by a large brown handbag — pointed toward her neck.
Yearby told officers multiple times he had a gun, though at one point, the woman told officers he didn’t have a gun. “He just wants you to kill him,” she said.
A fourth officer arrived to assist and asked Yearby what he had in his hand. Yearby continued to insist he had a gun. The officer ordered Yearby to drop the gun or the officer would shoot him. This back-and-forth continued for several more seconds while Yearby continued to hold the woman and keep his hand hidden.
The officer fired one shot that hit Yearby, who fell to the ground. The woman ran out of the room, and officers called for medical support and began providing medical aid to Yearby.
Yearby was taken to the hospital where he was pronounced dead.
No other shots were fired and no guns were recovered in the room where the shooting happened. An investigation into the shooting is ongoing and the officer who fired his weapon was placed on administrative leave, per policy.
As it turns out, Yearby was already facing criminal charges for attacking the same woman he took hostage on Monday. He was scheduled to go to trial later this year to defend several misdemeanors and felonies, including attempted murder and assault.
Yearby’s background and controversial release:
February, 2025: Police responded to a hospital after a woman reported being strangled multiple times and losing consciousness. She said Yearby assaulted and strangled her roughly 15 times over the course of an hour. Yearby was charged with several misdemeanors and felonies, including assault and attempted murder.
April, 2025: The DA’s Office requested a $100,000 cash/surety bond, but the court sided with the defense and granted a personal recognizance bond, allowing Yearby to go free, without paying any money, as long as he agreed to several conditions, including no contact with the victim.
May, 2026: Yearby violates the protection order by contacting the victim and is arrested again.
June, 2026: Yearby gets out of jail again after the judge imposed only a $20,000 cash/surety bond, rather than the DA-requested $100,000 cash/surety bond.
Yearby’s case was originally set to go to trial on March 6 but faced several delays and was ultimately moved to December 14.