GLENWOOD SPRINGS, Colo.—A man who was arrested on suspicion of shooting his nephew to death faces an additional count in connection with the slaying, authorities said Thursday.
Jesus Hernandez de Jesus, 33, was already facing a first-degree murder charge for the June 25 killing of 20-year-old Ricardo Navarrete-Prudencio. Hernandez de Jesus was arraigned on that charge Wednesday, as well as possession of a handgun by a convicted felon.
Police have said the suspect shot his nephew at the Ponderosa Lodge because Navarrete-Prudencio had an affair with the suspect’s wife in Florida.
Relatives of Navarrete-Prudencio told investigators he had been living with Hernandez de Jesus in Florida, but moved to Colorado after the suspect learned Navarrete-Prudencio was having the affair, according to an arrest warrant affidavit.
The affidavit also indicated Navarrete-Prudencio told his mother he was afraid for his life, and that he planned to go to Mexico in late June in order to avoid his uncle.
Judge Denise Lynch previously ordered the case file sealed. Garfield County District Judge Daniel Petre is now handling the case, but did not cancel or modify that earlier order.
A motions hearing for Hernandez de Jesus, who remains jailed on $3 million bond, was scheduled for July 20.
His public defender, Garth McCarthy, indicated he would file many motions, including one allowing Hernandez de Jesus to be able to wear regular clothes in court. He appeared Wednesday in a red jumpsuit that are given to people held in the maximum security section of the Garfield County jail.
