Grieving Man Kills Fellow Cemetery Visitor Who Threatened To Throw Up Near His Friend's Grave
A man, who started to feel sick during a graveyard visit with a group of friends, was fatally shot by a fellow mourner.
Ryan Trujillo-Falcon is charged with first-degree murder, assault, and unlawfully carrying a concealed weapon, according to 'Law & Crime.' He allegedly killed 20-year-old Geano Eugene Chavez, 20, authorities said, who was celebrating the birthday of a friend at his gravesite. He was reportedly shot because he said he had to vomit on a nearby grave.
Jefferson County Sheriff's spokesperson Jacki Kelley told 'KDVR' how the pair knew "each other. They went there together to visit the gravesite of someone that they all knew, who had just had a birthday."
"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. The cemetery is a place that comforts people," Kelley added. "Oftentimes, it's a place to go visit someone that you've lost, but it's not typically a place of violence."
The fatal shooting occurred at Crown Hill Cemetery in Wheat Ridge, Colorado, on Saturday. The group was there just before 11 p.m.— after the cemetery was closed — authorities said. Trujillo-Falcon, Chavez, and others gathered to celebrate a fellow friend who was also shot and killed two years prior and buried at the cemetery.
According to 'Law & Crime,' Trujillo-Falcon, 22, told Chavez to vomit on the street if he was beginning to feel uneasy. The victim reportedly refused and "was going to vomit on the grave next to him," according to an affidavit said.
Trujillo-Falcon admitted to pulling out a gun and shooting Chavez in the chest after hitting another woman in the head with the firearm. Chavez succumbed to his injuries at a hospital.
The suspect did not have a permit to carry a concealed weapon but carried one because his friend he was visiting was killed by gunfire.
A GoFundMe, titled "Donate to Geano Eugene Chavez's Funeral," was set up for Chavez, who was called the "definition of a true friend" who "would give you the shirt off his back no questions asked" by Jacqueline Chavez.
"Geano was exceedingly talented as an artist with a passion for music. You can bet you'll catch Geano hitting up the basketball court & watching football. A recent graduate as well, he was definitely going places. Tragically Geano knew in that moment as he took his last breath he sadly wasn't going to make it," the fundraiser's description said. "His death hit his loved ones like a train as it was so unexpected and so unfortunate."
As of this writing, the GoFundMe has acquired over $2,600 of it $20,000 goal.
The cemetery said they "are saddened by the circumstances of the night of August 17. This type of situation is highly unusual at a funeral home or cemetery. We are cooperating fully with the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office investigation, as safety of the families we serve is of the utmost importance to us," in a statement to 'KDVR.'
The suspect is being held on $1 million bond at the Jefferson County Jail,
