RV murder suspect has bond set at $2 million

BY CORINNE WESTEMAN CWESTEMAN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

Donald Harris, who’s accused of murdering the man who was found dead in an RV parked near Golden, has had his bond set at $2 million cash only.

Matthew Hire, 57, was found dead of a gunshot wound in his RV, which was parked at the Wooly Mammoth Park-N-Ride lot o Interstate 70. Investigators believe Hire was killed in late March, but his body wasn’t found until April 14, when a deputy found the door of his RV swinging open.

e 51-year-old Harris — an acquaintance of Hire’s — has been charged with rst-degree murder, felony charge of possession of a weapon by a previous o ender, and two sentence enhancers.

Harris, who’s in custody in Denver for a separate case, is scheduled to enter a plea in the case at 1 p.m. Sept. 27 at the Je erson County Courthouse.

At his Aug. 11 preliminary hearing, Judge Jason Carrithers found probable cause on both counts for the case to proceed through the judicial system. ey also noted how, at the time of his arrest, he didn’t have a stable residence or employment. He also didn’t have any family locally who could help him, as his longtime girlfriend, Stephanie Montoya, is

He set a bond amount for Harris, as a recent Colorado Supreme Court ruling found that courts can’t deny a defendant’s bail request, even in Class 1 felony cases. Because Colorado no longer has a death penalty, there are no longer capital o ense cases and defendants can’t be held without bond. In general, judges decide the dollar amounts based on the individual cases and each defendant’s ight risk, criminal history, risk to the community, etc.

According to the DA’s O ce, there is no ceiling on how high bonds can be set. Recent Goldenbased cases have seen bonds range from $500,000 to $1 million.

Prosecutors argued for a $2 million bond based on the severity of the charges, Harris’ extensive criminal history, and his possible risk to the community. ey noted his “violent history,” including a case where he allegedly assaulted his mother and threatened to kill her.

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6 also in custody. ey said he only had one failure to appear on his record, and that was for a case that was eventually dismissed.

Harris’ defense attorneys argued that setting such a high bond would essentially be the same thing as holding Harris without bond, as he would never be able to pay it.

Harris used to be a certi ed mechanic, but hasn’t been able to work since he was in a motorcycle accident that’s required several surgeries, his attorneys said. He had a Denver-based friend he could live with, and he wanted to remain active in his stepdaughter’s life.

Carrithers ultimately agreed that, given Harris’ high risk in his pretrial assessment, the severity of the allegations and the possible risk to the community, that a $2 million cash bond was appropriate. If Harris does make bond, Carrithers ordered drug and alcohol monitoring, along with a GPS ankle monitor.

During the preliminary hearing, Investigator Cody Erickson of the Je co Sheri ’s O ce testi ed how Hire had received a large settlement from a motorcycle accident and purchased his RV in early 2023.

Harris helped Hire buy the RV, including going with him to withdraw $15,000 at a bank.

Montoya later told investigators how, before Hire’s murder, she’d overheard Harris and another friend talk about having access to Hire’s money and how they were going to “rip him o .”

On the night of March 25, Hire’s RV was parked outside the Golden hotel Harris and Montoya were staying at. Harris and Hire were in