In a statement to the police, a guy from Colorado describes the circumstances that led to him allegedly shooting and murdering his buddy as the two of them were standing together in sorrow for the loss of another friend who had been slain in a shooting two years before.
A group of pals were having a moment of introspection when one of them reportedly opened fire on another after expressing that he was feeling nauseous and may have to throw up. This moment of violence developed into a moment of violence for the group.
It is believed that Ryan Trujillo-Falcon, age 22, and Geano Eugene Chavez, age 20, were present in Crown Hill Cemetery in Wheat Ridge, Colorado, before to 11 o’clock at night on August 17, 2024, in order to commemorate the birthday of a buddy who had been shot and murdered two years earlier.
It was not possible for them to visit the cemetery since it was closed at the time.
“Everyone in this group was familiar with other individuals. Jacki Kelley, a spokesman for the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, told KDVR that the individuals went there together to pay their respects at the gravesite of a person who they all knew and who had just celebrated their birthday.
At this time, Trujillo-Falcon is being charged with illegally carrying a hidden firearm, assault in the second degree, and murder in the first degree. Chavez has passed away.
Chavez reportedly told Trujillo-Falcon that he was feeling unwell and believed he would need to vomit while he was among a group of mourners who had all come to memorialize their late buddy on his birthday, according to the document filed by the court. Trujillo-Falcon was there at the time.
According to the affidavit, when the police arrived at the site not long before 11 o’clock at night, they discovered Chavez suffering from a gunshot wound to the right side of his chest. He was taken to a local hospital in an ambulance, where he was declared passed roughly one hour after his arrival.
The cemetery was searched, and Trujillo-Falcon was apparently brought into jail when the search was completed. The sheriff’s officers who responded to the scene reported that Trujillo-Falcon waived his Miranda rights and provided them with information on the location of the pistol that was used in the incident.
The statement that Trujillo-Falcon made to Deputy Alex DeLeon in the court document is that he said, “I shot the n—a that I thought was my brother.”
As stated in the court records, Trujillo-Falcon provided a thorough account of the events that transpired the previous evening. It was said that he indicated that he had come to the cemetery at around eight o’clock in the evening in order to pay his respects to his buddy Christian Cabrera, who had been murdered two years before.
Chavez is said to have told Trujillo-Falcon that he needed to throw up while he was there with his family and friends around the burial of his comrade. He responded by saying that if he was going to get ill, he needed to walk out into the street. However, the suspect said that Chavez rejected to do this and instead claimed that he was going to do it on the grave next to him. This information was sent to the police.
In his statement to the police, Trujillo-Falcon said that he had started a fight with Chavez and another mourner named Ariana Martinez. In the next statement, he said that Martinez exacerbated the disagreement by striking her in the mouth and yanking him to the ground by his hair, as shown in the paperwork.
During the time that Trujillo-Falcon was lying on the ground, he allegedly brought out his firearm and hit Martinez in the head with the butt of it. This information is included in the affidavit. The letter states that he then regained his feet and instructed Chavez to halt what he was doing. Trujillo-Falcon reportedly informed authorities that he fired one shot shortly after Chaves began approaching him. Chaves was allegedly approaching him at that time.
Despite the fact that Trujillo-Falcon confirmed that he did not possess a concealed carry license, he said to the deputies that he had started carrying a pistol after Cabrera was shot, and that he had concealed it in his front waistband on that particular day. According to the statements made by the suspect to the police, he gave up his jacket, threw away the pistol, and made an effort to conceal himself before ultimately standing up and giving himself in.
According to Law & Crime, Martinez was discharged from the hospital after receiving treatment for wounds that were not considered to be life-threatening. Chavez passed away while he was in the hospital. Additionally, Trujillo-Falcon is being detained at the Jefferson County Jail on a bail of one million dollars.
“This is the first for me in my career that we’ve been dispatched to a cemetery that was in reference to the shooting of a person who ended up dying,” Kelley told the television station. “The cemetery is a location that brings solace to those who visit there. In most cases, it is a location to go see someone who you have lost, but it is not often a place where there is violence against people.
The cemetery issued a statement to KDVR in reaction to the shooting that resulted in the loss of a person. The events that transpired on the evening of August 17 have left us feeling very distressed. The occurrence of a circumstance like this at a cemetery or funeral home is really remarkable. Because the well-being of the families that we assist is of the highest importance to us, we are providing our full cooperation to the investigation being conducted by the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office.
“His life was taken by a person he called a friend,” Romeo Chavez, Chavez’s brother, said on a GoFundMe page that was established following Chavez’s passing in order to provide financial support for the burial rites. Instead, Geano exemplified what it means to be a genuine friend. Without any questions being asked, he would give you the clothing that was on his back.
Tragically, Geano was aware of the fact that he was not going to survive when he was taking his final breath at that very time. The words “his loss hit his loved ones like a train because it was so unexpected and so unfortunate” were also included in the text of the announcement.