A 16-year-old boy has been arrested in connection with a double shooting in Weld County Wednesday evening, which was reportedly sparked by a fight over a pit bull.
Weld County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Margie Martinez said a 16-year-old is in custody, but deputies are searching for a second suspect in the case, 51-year-old Jose Rodriguez.
The shooting left a man dead and a woman wounded, the result of a simmering dispute involving a pit bull chasing livestock, the Sheriff’s Office said.
The Sheriff’s Office raided a home early this morning looking for two suspects, but the pair had already fled, said Deputy Shane Scofield, a sheriff’s spokesman.
“We are familiar with their identities,” Scofield said of the suspects. “We know who we are looking for.”
The 16-year-old was taken into custody this morning in the Fort Lupton area, Martinez said.
He is being held on suspicion of first-degree murder and attempted first-degree murder.
Last night, investigators released a description of two suspect vehicles, and the car and pickup truck were found — but the suspects probably fled the area by different means.
The fatal-shooting victim has been identified as 43-year-old Hugo Botello-Gonzalez. The woman, who was taken to North Colorado Medical Center, has not been identified. She is in “stable” condition and is “expected to recover,” Martinez said.
The incident started Sunday when a pit bull owned by Botello-Gonzalez chased and harassed chickens and cattle on a rural Weld County property outside Fort Lupton, Scofield said. The property is on Weld County Road 18, between Weld County roads 39 and 41.
Investigators said the victims and suspects live on the same property in separate homes.
After Sunday’s dog incident, tensions simmered and resulted in the shootings at about 9:30 p.m. last night.
Anyone with information on the shootings is asked to call the Sheriff’s Office at 970-356-4015.
Kieran Nicholson: 303-954-1822 or knicholson@denverpost.com
