Ross Woessner’s name has been in headlines since early March — accused of hitting the same late-night Shell convenience store five times and another store once, police say — and now, in a move that has left employees, prosecutors and neighbors angry and bewildered, an Arapahoe County judge has dismissed the criminal case against him on competency grounds.
Police say Woessner, 20 and an Aurora resident, was arrested March 4 after detectives tied him to six armed robberies that began July 21, 2024. Surveillance footage shown by Aurora’s Gang Robbery Investigative Team reportedly captured the suspect brandishing either a handgun or a large knife, jumping over counters and stealing vapes, cigarettes and beer — often in the small hours between midnight and 4 a.m. Authorities recovered property during a search of his home and booked him on aggravated robbery and menacing charges; bond was set at $50,000.
But the criminal case didn’t move forward the way many expected. Local court proceedings — and a separate earlier Denver arrest from May 2023 that led to mental-health evaluations and a dropped charge in September 2024 — meant Woessner’s mental competency to stand trial became central to whether prosecutors could proceed. This week, a judge concluded the competency issues made prosecution impossible under current law and dismissed the charges. The courtroom ending has prompted a flood of online outrage and a lot of anxious questions from the people who work the overnight shift at those gas stations.
That reaction isn’t surprising. For the clerks behind the counters — the folks who bag groceries, stock shelves and sometimes confront masked customers — the idea that someone suspected of repeatedly scaring them off the clock will be back on the street feels raw and immediate. Employees told local reporters they’d already been shaken by the robberies, which weren’t flashy smash-and-grabs but quick, repeated confrontations that left a lasting sense of vulnerability. The imagery of the same person returning to the same store multiple times has made this case especially unsettling for the neighborhood.
The legal wrinkle here traces back to Colorado’s handling of competency and restoration. In recent years the state changed the rulebook: when a defendant is found incompetent to stand trial and cannot be restored to competency, judges now have a mandatory pathway to dismiss charges rather than keep someone in prolonged custody. That shift — intended to protect defendants’ rights and reduce indefinite detention without resolution — has also produced headlines where victims and prosecutors say justice was derailed by mental-health limits in the system. Advocates and lawmakers have been debating whether the balance needs adjusting; some say the law protects vulnerable people, while others say it leaves communities exposed.
Prosecutors in the 18th Judicial District will no doubt be weighing options: dismissal can carry civil commitments, diversion opportunities or other interventions, but it does not deliver a criminal conviction. Police leaders who worked the case praised the investigative work that led to the arrest and recovery of stolen items, and they’ve emphasized that arrests and prosecutions are only one piece of public safety. Still, for store owners who lost product, and for workers who replay the surveillance clips in their heads, a dismissed criminal file feels unsatisfying.
This case lands amid a broader local conversation: how should the justice system handle suspects with serious mental-health issues who nevertheless pose a public safety concern? Colorado news outlets and community leaders have highlighted other high-profile instances where cases were dismissed or charges dropped because defendants were found not competent and not restorable — prompting calls for better restoration services, clearer pathways for civil commitment when warranted, and legislative fixes that don’t leave victims feeling abandoned. Whatever reforms come next, residents say they want two things: that people who are dangerous get appropriate treatment and that victims aren’t left without answers.
For now, the daily rhythms around that Shell on South Tower Road and the 7-Eleven on Hampden Avenue include an added edge. Shopkeepers are tightening procedures, managers are reconsidering overnight staffing, and neighbors are talking about watching the area more closely. The question you raised — “Why does this keep happening?” — echoes through those conversations: it’s a mix of criminal behavior, gaps in mental-health care and a legal framework that sometimes forces a blunt choice between protecting rights and protecting communities. Whatever your view, the human cost — the shaken clerk, the small-business owner counting losses, the neighborhood that once felt safe enough to sleep at night — is the part of this story that lingers.
If you want to follow developments closely, keep an eye on the local court docket and statements from the 18th Judicial District and Aurora Police — this is the kind of case where the next move might be administrative (civil commitments, monitoring) rather than criminal, and communities will be watching to see whether the system’s answer gives them more safety or simply more questions.
