Trinidad Burglary Update: One Suspect Dead, Another Caught

Trinidad police are searching for one more suspect after a burglary attempt in Trinidad.

Police said it happened on the 600 block of Spruce Street around 2 a.m. Saturday morning. Investigators said the people in the home were asleep when they heard a knock at the front door and then heard the door being forced open.

Police said three to four men came in the home. A woman ran to the bathroom and hid, investigators said. The homeowner ran into the bedroom, got a gun and confronted one of the men, according to police.

Police said the suspect yelled “he has a gun,” and the men began to flee. Officials said the homeowner fired shots through the bedroom door at the fleeing men. When he thought they had left, he came out of the bedroom to investigate, according to police.

Officers said the homeowner noticed blood and saw Rory Rodriguez, 24, lying on the front lawn. Rodriguez was transported to Parkview Hospital in Pueblo and is being treated for a gunshot wound, officials said. Rodriguez was shot in the head and later died at a Pueblo hospital. Rodriguez is from Denver, but had been living in Trinidad for about a year.

Police were initially searching for two men, Alejandro Antonio Rodriguez, 21, and Mario Chavez, 21.

Alejandro Rodriguez was taken into custody by the Denver Police Department on Monday morning.

Rodriguez was contacted at a Denver Hospital while being treated for a gunshot wound to the abdomen. That gunshot wound does not appear to be related to the Trinidad burglary but to a separate incident in Denver.

Police are still looking for Chavez.

Officials say Rodriguez and Chavez face charges of first degree burglary, first degree trespassing, menacing and attempted theft.

The district attorney will determine if the homeowner will face any charges. According to Colorado’s Make My Day Law, a homeowner can protect his home and family if an intruder comes in.

Police believe this could be gang related.