“Given the totality of the circumstances that presented Trooper Rosario, the State could not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Trooper Rosario was not reasonable in his belief that his action in shooting Mr. Thomas was necessary to defend himself or that his action was necessary to stop Mr. Thomas from endangering life or inflicting serious physical injury upon another,” the letter stated.

A man was staying at the Three Bears Tok Motel off the Glenn Highway on Oct. 30, 2023, when he called troopers four times between 2:35 am and 3 am and reported that Thomas, of Northway, was drunk and trying to break into his motel room and other motel rooms.

Rosario later told investigators that he had been on three calls involving Thomas, including an incident during which Thomas reportedly shot into a house and assaulted a family member. Thomas was on bail conditions that required him to remain with a third-party custodian and prohibited him from drinking alcohol.

Rosario arrived at the motel at 3:01 am and called another trooper for assistance. Rosario had not been issued a body worn camera at the time.

Rosario saw Thomas walking down the concrete sidewalk in front of the rooms, looked at Rosario, and continued walking towards the back of the hotel.

He saw Thomas carrying a rifle and told Thomas to stop and drop the gun. Thomas did not respond to the command, the letter stated.

“He didn’t listen … he stopped and looked at me,” Rosario told investigators. Rosario said he saw something that looked like a magazine fell out of Thomas’ hands, pocket or the gun.

Thomas continued walking, and Rosario again told Thomas to drop the gun. Thomas responded “No, I’m good,” and quickly walked away.

Rosario told investigators he was concerned that Thomas was going to shoot at him, run away into a nearby residential area or set up a standoff with troopers. Rosario said that he “fully thought (Thomas) was going to shoot at me.”

When Thomas was no longer in front of the motel rooms, Rosario fired three shots at Thomas’s back. Thomas was declared dead at the scene.

“Approximately one minute later, Trooper Rosario aired over the radio that ‘He has a gun’ and then, almost immediately after, he reported ‘Shots fired’,” the letter stated.

Thomas had been carrying an AK-47 style rifle. There was no magazine or round in the rifle at the time of Thomas’s death. Troopers found a magazine in front of nearby motel rooms.

Thomas died due to gunshot wounds to his trunk, according to a medical examiner. His blood alcohol concentration was 0.218 at the time of his death. He also had cocaine, benzoylecgonine and cocaethylene in his system.