UnitedHealthcare rider fired gun in residential area on ride

Daniel Summerhill of UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling is set to appear in court on July 12 after firing off a handgun towards a hill in a residential area in Jefferson County near Denver, Colorado in February.

Summerfill, 28, was out on a ride on South Deer Creek Road and according to the Jefferson County deputy report of the incident fired off at least three rounds as he road through the residential area. According to the Denver Post, Summerhill said he was having a rough day and needed to vent. Three rounds were found 50 yards apart after police responded to reports of shots fired.

The Denver Post contacted Summerhill on Tuesday. He said he was not guilty but did not elaborate further. In 2017, Summerhill has stage wins at the Tour de Taiwan and the Tour of Japan to his name. He came seventh in the general classification in Taiwan. He also raced the Tour du Maroc in April.

The shots were heard by Joe Porter who lives in the area and followed Summerhill after hearing gunfire on February 21. Porter allegedly confronted Summerhill on a nearby street.

According to the report, Porter “had been able to see a handgun in one of the pouches on the back of the male’s jersey.”

Porter eventually got the cyclist to confess. “The male initially denied shooting, but then admitted that he had a bad day and need to vent, so he decided to shoot.”

Porter’s wife Shawn had heard “loud pops” as she returned home on the day and stepped outside to see a cyclist riding down the street as he fired off two more rounds into a nearby hillside.

“The area that she indicated that he had shot at was a hillside between two driveways, with a freestanding garage and a vehicle parked in front of it,” the report detailed. “There were residences on both sides of the road there as well as one above the hillside where the male had shot.”

A neighbour of Porter also saw Summerhill, who was simply identified at the time as a male cyclist, was unable to confirm how many shots were fired into the hillside across the street from her home.

Porter took a video of the cyclist and upon reviewing it later could identify the rider by his UnitedHealthcare team kit. The deputy was called with Summerhill identified as the main suspect. Deputy Jeffrey Pedersen met Summerhill at a 24 Hour Fitness studio. “He confirmed that he had been riding his bicycle in Deer Creek Canyon on a five-hour training ride and had needed to vent before he got back to his vehicle,” the report stated.

Summerhill told them that he was unaware the area was residential or that it was illegal to shoot at the hillside. Summerhill was summoned for disorderly conduct, discharging a weapon in a public place and reckless endangerment.