On February 5, 2023, at around 12:50 a.m., numerous 911 calls were received by the El Paso County Sheriff's Office Communications Center on reports of hearing multiple shots fired.
Gunshots were heard in the 12200 block of Point Reyes Drive, a Meridian Ranch neighborhood located in the Falcon subdivision of unincorporated El Paso County.
Deputies arrived on scene and found multiple victims with gunshot wounds.
Five victims were transported to local area hospitals with varying levels of injuries.
Despite the timely efforts by first responders and medical personnel, one of the victims, a juvenile, succumbed to his injuries at the hospital and was pronounced dead.
Sadly, five days later, on February 10th, a second juvenile victim died from his injuries as well.
The El Paso County Sheriff's Office Investigations Division immediately began a comprehensive and extensive investigation into the incident.
Multiple persons of interest were identified, most of which were minors which complicated the investigation process.
The El Paso County Sheriff’s Office enlisted the help of partner agencies, such as the 4th Judicial District Attorney's Office, Pueblo Police Department, Pueblo County Sheriff's Office, Colorado Springs Police Department, Fountain Police Department, Colorado State Patrol, FBI Safe Streets Taskforce, ATF Taskforce, US Marshals Fugitive Task Force, Wichita Kansas Police Department, and Crime Stoppers.
Since the incident, the El Paso County Sheriff's Office and the Pueblo Police Department have been conducting a joint operation in reference to multiple violent crimes in each jurisdiction.
As a result, our investigations teams identified two suspects in the Falcon Homicides.
In July, after hours of investigations and research, a juvenile male was arrested on charges of attempted murder and other charges related to this incident.
The El Paso County Sheriff's Office joined the Pueblo Police Department, Pueblo County Sheriff's Office, FBI, and ATF, in a multijurisdictional operation in late July, which led to additional information regarding the February 5th event and the successful arrest of a male juvenile. This individual is charged with first-degree murder for the murders of Javier Lopez and Caleb Nickerson.
In total, six suspects were arrested on various charges for their involvement in the Pt. Reyes incident and on unrelated warrants. All individuals were booked into juvenile detention centers.
Additional arrests are likely in the future, as law enforcement continues to investigate crimes allegedly committed by this group of individuals.
“I want to acknowledge the hard work and unrelenting efforts of my Investigations Division,” said Sheriff Joseph Roybal.
“Crimes like this take time, resources, and patience to solve. Our dedicated team of detectives continues to do an exceptional job of getting results for citizens in El Paso County.
“I want to thank the multitude of law enforcement agencies who partnered with us during this investigation, for their robust and unwavering collaboration and efforts to solve this case.
“Lastly, I also want to thank the community for their patience and affording my office the opportunity to ensure justice is served.”