ArticleShooting suspect fled - Illegal immigrant sought in death of turkey hunterBy Ellen Miller, Rocky Mountain News, June 17, 2005 http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/state/article/0,1299,DRMN_21_3862249,00.html GLENWOOD SPRINGS - A ranch hand working in the country illegally is suspected of fatally shooting a Qwest executive May 14 and then fleeing to Mexico, Garfield County Sheriff Lou Vallario said Thursday. Vallario said he doesn't believe the ranch hand knew he was shooting at Jeff Garrett, who was turkey hunting and heavily camouflaged, but the man apparently realized he had done so and fled the same morning. The sheriff refused to name the suspect or his hometown in Mexico.... He worked at Bear Wallow Ranch, about five miles northwest of Glenwood Springs. A Colorado Bureau of Investigation analysis confirmed that a rifle from the ranch was the firearm that killed Garrett, the sheriff said.... Within the past 48 hours, investigators reinterviewed Bear Wallow Ranch managers about who may have been in the area when Garrett was killed. "We got real interested" when the managers said they sometimes send a .22-caliber Magnum rifle with ranch hands heading out to do brush and fence work in remote areas in case they encounter a mountain lion or bear. Garrett, 37, of Aurora, was an assistant vice president for Qwest whose duties included lobbying the state legislature. He is survived by his wife, Charlotte, and children Olivia, 3, and Adam, 1.... Garrett died on Bureau of Land Management property northeast of New Castle. The ranch hands were clearing brush and fixing fences on a BLM grazing allotment nearby, Vallario said. Turkey hunting in the spring is restricted to shotguns, so the rifle used by the suspect was not a legal hunting weapon for that season. Read the complete article. |