Three people have been arrested in the slaying of a reputed northern Colorado gang member, the Larimer County Sheriff’s Office announced today.
Steven Marble, 24, of Greeley, was shot six times on Sept. 8 in the parking lot of a Laporte liquor store. He was pronounced dead at a hospital.
Other men were seen fleeing the scene, and one was later found with a stab wound and hospitalized.
On Saturday, the man with the stab wound, 34-year-old Pedro Mercado, was taken from Medical Center of the Rockies under “heavy armed guard” to the Larimer County Jail, where he was booked on suspicion of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder, the sheriff’s office said today.
Two others also have been arrested in the case. Richard Bastian, 36, is being held at the jail without bail on suspicion of first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder, accessory to murder and aggravated motor-vehicle theft. Calvin Bennett, 33, is being held on suspicion of first-degree assault and conspiracy to commit assault.
Larimer County Sheriff’s spokeswoman Eloise Campanella said she could release few details about the case. Investigators believe the incident was gang-related.
The Fort Collins Coloradoan has reported — citing law-enforcement sources and friends and family of the men involved — that Marble and Mercado were members of rival gangs and that detectives are examining whether the men met in Laporte the night of the killing to discuss a dispute over cocaine sales.
Staff writer John Ingold can be reached at 720-929-0898 or jingold@denverpost.com.
