Court Docs: Line went dead during second 911 call, Colorado Springs man found murdered days later
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) --- Court documents obtained by KRDO reveal what led up to a man being murdered in the mountains, including calling for help twice.
On June 10, the body of 30-year-old Manuel Armando Hernandez-Uribe was found lying along the 5200 block of Old Stage Road. According to the El Paso County Sheriff's Office (EPCSO), Hernandez-Uribe's cause of death was ruled as multiple gunshot wounds.
In November, the sheriff's office announced four suspects had been taken into custody in connection with Hernandez-Uribe's death.
According to the arrest affidavit of one of the suspects, Yessica Cortes-Barcenas, he was reported missing on June 10.
The mother of his two children had reported him missing after not hearing from him since June 6.
She told investigators that Hernandez-Uribe had been staying at a mobile home in the 3600 block of El Morro Road. According to court documents, she told investigators that Hernandez-Uribe had asked her to give him a ride to California to pick up "pounds" of methamphetamine in May. She said she refused.
According to the court documents, the EPCSO found he called CSPD twice the morning he was kidnapped.
The court documents said the first call of service was received at 4:44 a.m. on June 6. Hernandez-Uribe reported hearing a gunshot, glass breaking, and a woman knocking at his door. CSPD officers interviewed Hernandez-Uribe and Gerardo Pineda. According to the affidavit, Pineda said the woman knocking was his ex-girlfriend, identifying her as Jessica Contreras or Jessica Cortes. The affidavit said the audio of the CSPD body-worn footage was difficult to understand.
Police discovered at that time one of the suspects had used a piece of lumber to pry one of the home's surveillance system's cameras out of position. CSPD determined the incident to be "non-criminal," and no report was taken.
At 6:04 a.m., Hernandez-Uribe called 911 again, Pineda had reportedly left for work at this point. Hernandez-Uribe told dispatch the suspects from his previous call had returned and were forcing the front door open.
The affidavit states a review of the audio recording of the 911 call revealed Hernandez-Uribe told dispatchers that he was "in danger." He was also heard yelling in Spanish, telling the suspects, "I don't want any problems, I have two kids," "I didn't do anything," and "I didn't mean to."
A woman's voice can also be heard repeatedly telling him to "shut up."
That's when the line went dead.
According to the affidavit, it took CSPD officers 20 minutes to respond to this call for help. When they arrived, officers found forced entry to the front door and Hernandez-Uribe missing.
The affidavit details surveillance footage later obtained by detectives on June 10. This revealed more information on the morning of June 6.
According to the court documents, a female suspect labeled Suspect 1, and three male suspects, labeled Suspects 2, 3, and 4, arrive in a pickup truck. Suspect 1 knocks on the front door for several minutes without a response. Suspect 4 is seen holding the front of his shirt with his right hand. Investigators write Suspect 4's hand position is "strongly indicative that he had a handgun tucked into his front waistband underneath his shirt." He also had a neck gaiter type of clothing pulled over his face, concealing his mouth and nose.
Suspect 2 is seen using a piece of lumber to pry one of the home's video surveillance system's cameras out of position. After no one answered the door, the four suspects leave 14 minutes later.
During the 6:04 a.m. incident, the same suspects are seen arriving in a red, Ford F250 or F350 quad cab pickup.
Suspect 1, the woman, is seen using a screwdriver and vice-grip type pliers to try and open the door When that's unsuccessful, Suspects 2 and 3 kick the front door in until it opens.
All four suspects enter the home. Several seconds later, Hernandez-Uribe is seen walking out in the same clothes he was found wearing on Old Stage Rd. The affidavit said he was escorted/pushed into the truck by Suspect 3, followed closely by Suspect 4. Investigators said it appeared that Suspect 3 was pointing a gun at Hernandez-Uribe's back as they walked, however, no gun was visible at this time.
The affidavit said Suspect 3 briefly gets into the backseat with the victim but eventually gets back out to help Suspect 1 put a bag in the bed of the truck. When Suspect 3 lifted the bag, a handgun is shown in his right hand.
According to the affidavit, Suspect 1 removes a bag from the home, and Suspect 2 removes a large, unknown container. Both were thrown in the bed of the truck and then they all leave.
The affidavit includes footage obtained from the Broadmoor Hotel which shows the same Ford truck driving through the traffic circle at Lake Circle and Mesa Ave. on June 6, at 6:52 a.m. The truck was seen heading west towards Old Stage Road.
According to the affidavit, his body was found roughly 15 minutes away from that area.
The affidavit later identifies the suspects as:
- Yessica Cortes-Barcenas, Suspect 1
- Braulio Barron-Rubio, Suspect 2
- Ector Sarabia-Cabrera, Suspect 3
- Isidrio Sarabia-Gonzalez, Suspect 4
According to court documents, investigators identified the suspects in part by using social media and cell phone locations. Cortes-Barcenas is identified as the girlfriend of Pineda.
Detectives also obtained arrest warrants to go through the suspects' social media accounts and Facebook messages. In one video, a man can be heard discussing killing another man in Spanish. During that conversation, the affidavit says one man is directing another to "put 2 in him" and then "burying him in the mountains."
The EPCSO Language Service Unit reported hearing, "put two bullets in and kill him, bring him to me and bury him in the mountains."
Sarabia-Gonzalez, Barron-Rubio, and Cortes-Barcenas were arrested in partnership with law enforcement agencies in the Denver metro area.
