An El Paso County judge on Thursday bound over two counts regarding a new theory of prosecution for the suspect in a shooting outside a Colorado Springs King Soopers that left one person dead.
Dustin Boston, 35, faces charges of first-degree murder and other felonies in the death of TyRay Ikener, 32. According to police, Ikener was found dead Jan. 20, 2025, inside a vehicle near the gas pumps adjacent to the King Soopers near Stetson Hills and North Powers boulevards.
Colorado Springs police said they believe car theft was the motive behind the fatal shooting.
Thursday’s hearing marked Boston’s third preliminary hearing since the case started nearly one year ago. The hearing centered on two newly added counts, second-degree murder and attempted car theft. The new counts stem from a new theory of prosecution, meaning if jurors cannot find Boston guilty of murder after deliberation, they have the option to find him guilty of murder while attempting to steal a car.
Multiple preliminary hearings
According to past Gazette coverage, Judge Catherine Mitchell Helton ruled to dismiss a “special offender” charge while binding over five charges during Boston’s first preliminary hearing in April. Those charges include one count each of first-degree murder, first-degree murder with “extreme indifference,” second-degree murder, felony menacing and possession of a controlled substance.
Shortly after the hearing, Boston entered not guilty pleas on all five counts.
Prosecutors added two charges after that preliminary hearing, and a second evidentiary hearing was set for November. Both charges, possession of a controlled substance and possession of a firearm by a previous offender, were bound over, court records show.
Boston also pleaded not guilty to those charges.
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Colorado Springs police Detective Justin Hamblin was the only person called to the stand Thursday, and testified to witness statements and footage capturing the incident.
The gas station surveillance video was shown in court, during which a man can be seen exiting a vehicle and running with a handgun to the black Mercedes sedan Ikener was driving, opening the door and firing at least one gunshot.
An eyewitness to the shooting said they saw the gunman walk up to the car Ikener was found in and yell “something to the extent of ‘give me my car back’ a few times” before the gunshot, Hamblin testified. Another witness, a gas station attendant, told investigators she overheard that same comment allegedly made by Boston.
A woman in the passenger seat, later identified as Ashley Ikener, was not on scene when officers arrived, but later identified Boston as the shooter.
Hamblin also testified that he has reviewed up to 1,000 calls, text messages and video visits Boston has had while in custody. In those recordings, Hamblin says Boston put himself at the scene or identified himself as the shooter multiple times.
A video call made between Boston and another woman in March 2025 was also played in court, during which Boston claims self-defense in the shooting.
In the recording, Boston is heard claiming that Ikener reached for a pistol and tried to run him over when he approached the black sedan. Boston said he initially was just going to hit him, but “misfired” when Ikener allegedly reached for the weapon.
When the woman asks if he would plead guilty to the charges he faces, Boston said he would plead guilty to “self-defense” or some kind of manslaughter.
“He came to my momma’s house and stole my car,” Boston said in the video recording.
There was some contention regarding the car theft charge, as Boston alleges it was his car that was stolen, but Ikener was in possession of the vehicle at the time of the offense.
Still, the judge ruled to bind over, or accept, the charges for trial, and Boston pleaded not guilty Thursday to the two new counts.
Boston appeared in custody from the El Paso County jail where he remains on a no-bond hold. His trial is scheduled to begin Jan. 20 and is likely to last over a week.