JEFFERSON COUNTY, Colorado (WKRC) – A man is accused of shooting a mourner at a deceased mutual friend’s birthday party.
22-year-old Ryan Trujilo-Falcon is accused of killing 20-year-old Geano Eugene Chavez during a birthday party at Crown Hill Cemetery.
“These people all knew each other,” said a spokesman for the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office KDVR. “They went there together to visit the grave of a person they all knew who had just had a birthday.”
According to authorities, the incident occurred shortly before 11 p.m. on Saturday, August 17, when the cemetery was closed. They said a group of mourners had gathered at the cemetery to celebrate the birthday of a deceased friend.
According to an affidavit, Chavez told Trujillo-Falcon he was sick and needed to vomit. Trujillo-Falcon told Chavez to vomit somewhere else, such as on the street, but Chavez instead said he was going to “vomit on the grave next to him.”
Chavez began arguing with an unnamed woman at the gathering before Trujillo-Falcon allegedly pulled out a gun, struck the woman in the head and then shot Chavez.
According to police, Trujillo-Falcon hid the gun and remained in hiding until police arrived at the cemetery and arrested him. Both victims were taken to the hospital, and although Chavez died from his injuries, the woman recovered.
The affidavit states that Trujillo-Falcon admitted to shooting Chavez and that he did not have a permit to use the weapon.
On the victim’s GoFundMe page, Chavez’s brother writes that his brother’s life was “taken by a person he called a friend.”
