A that rocked a small southern Colorado town came as two armed men masked in bandanas broke into a family’s apartment, according to an arrest warrant.
Jose Hugo Perez told investigators he was lying in wait with an accomplice in Ivan Antonio Alfaro Sanchez’s home when he opened fire on the 26-year-old man, the document says.
Sanchez’s girlfriend and child were huddled in a nearby bathroom as he died on their living room floor.
Perez, 26, and faces nine counts in the slaying, including first-degree murder, first-degree burglary and second-degree kidnapping. He was charged in Saguache County court.
Sanchez died of a shotgun blast to his chest, authorities in the tiny community of Center say.
Sanchez’s girlfriend said Perez and his accomplice broke into the apartment and told her they were looking for Sanchez because he had “done something really bad,” according to the warrant.
Perez told the Colorado Bureau of Investigation in an interview after his arrest that he shot Sanchez during a struggle.
Authorities have not released a motive in the killing.
“This incident has deeply impacted the community,” Center Police Chief Bill Lucero said in a statement. “While the investigation remains ongoing, I’m extremely proud of the efforts of the members of the Center Police Department, the CBI and our area law enforcement partners to conduct this extensive investigation.”
Perez is being held at the Rio Grande County Detention Facility without bond.
Center is a San Luis Valley town of roughly 2,000 that sits near the intersection of Colorado 112 and U.S. 285 about 15 miles north of Monte Vista.
Jesse Paul: 303-954-1733, jpaul@denverpost.com or @JesseAPaul
