Kansas man found guilty in 2021 La Junta homicide

OTERO COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) -- Tuesday, an Otero County jury convicted a Garen City, Kansas man of first-degree murder for killing a La Junta man in May of 2021.

40-year-old Matthew Perez now faces life in prison for the murder of 50-year-old Ernesto Apodaca.

According to the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, on May 14, 202, Perez shot Apodaca while Apodaca was sitting inside his vehicle in front of his apartment building in the 600 block of Sunrise Ave. in La Junta.

The investigation into the murder was a joint effort by the La Junta Police Department, Colorado Bureau of Investigation, Otero County Sheriff's Office, Colorado State Patrol, Finney County Sheriff’s Office (Kansas), Garden City Police Department (Kansas), Otero County Coroner's Office, and the 16th Judicial District Attorney’s Office.