Without question, Benjamin Sanchez left his mark on the Greeley community.
Sanchez touched the hearts and minds of the many who knew him as “KniteWolf,” a nickname he carried with him for as long as most can remember. And he quite literally left his mark on the walls, bridges and other structures around Greeley with that moniker tagged in spray paint.
Sanchez was shot and killed July 16 outside a trailer in the 800 block of 26th Avenue. At just 37 years old, he knew a lot of people — and considered every one of them friends, his sister Rebekah Sanchez said.
“He could start a conversation with anybody,” she said. “I could come outside and he could be talking to a 10-year-old and an old lady.”
The number of people he made an impact on was never more apparent than when his family held a celebration of life at Luther Park on July 29 — what would have been his 38th birthday.
“We were there all day long, from 8 in the morning ’til 10 at night. Anybody who wanted to could show up,” Rebekah said. “So many people showed up for him.”
Some — like a Madison Elementary librarian from when he was in school — had known him since he was young. Others he had met later in life, like the mother of one of his friends when he was in his 20s.
The friend’s mother had reached out ahead of the celebration to let Sanchez’s family know she had something of his that she had been holding on to for 17 years.
“It was a slingshot that my father had made him,” Rebekah said.
Sanchez had given it to her after her son had died and told her to hold onto it. In turn, she gave it to Sanchez’s father, the one now grieving the loss of a son.
It was all the old friends pouring in following his death has made the shooting that much more of a shock to those close to him.
Sanchez’s family said he had met the man accused of shooting him, 34-year-old Leandro Jojola, only two days prior. That same day, Sanchez was just released from jail. Sanchez had spent time in and out of the Weld County Jail throughout his life — most recently serving 30 days after pleading guilty to a misdemeanor assault charge.
His wife, Ashley Sanchez, had been out of town prior to that most recent stint, so the last time she saw him was on May 31 — the two’s second wedding anniversary.
“I’m so surprised that it happened, because I can’t imagine anybody really wanting to kill him,” she said.
Jojola was arrested July 18 in Fort Lupton on suspicion of first-degree murder and has a status conference Oct. 23 in Weld District Court.
In his life, Sanchez was known for his generosity and compassion. For many of the people who showed up at his celebration, their most prominent memory was him helping them out when they were in a tough spot.
“He helped out everybody,” Rebekah said. “He would literally give the shirt off his back to somebody if they needed it. He’s come home with no shoes because somebody needed them.”
So thatap what his family plans to do moving forward. To pay it forward. To carry on his memory.
“I always just think, ‘What would he do?’ ” Rebekah said. “Because he would help anybody in a second.”
