Homeless man killed saving teens from random attack, police say

A homeless man was beaten to death on a Denver street last week when he came to the defense of two teenagers who were being attacked by another man, authorities said.

KDVR in Denver reported that the teens were attacked around 4 a.m. Friday. When officers arrived, they found the victims, one of whom had serious facial injuries.

The alleged attacker, Dejuan Stamps, was found about a block away, where officers said he was beating a man who was lying in the middle of the street.

The news station reported that officers were able to subdue Stamps, but the beaten man, identified as 62-year-old James Farmer Jr., died at the scene from blunt force injuries.

Farmer's family told KDVR that he moved to Denver from Seattle for a job. He was staying in at the St. Francis Center homeless shelter to save money in order to move back home and be with his fiancée.

Officials at the shelter described Farmer as a good man.

"People who know what's right, do what's right," one official told the news station. "And he was one of those people who did it. He stepped up to help. And unfortunately, it cost him his life."

Stamps is being held on charges of assault and first-degree murder.

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