In the early morning of September 16, 2018, a confrontation at a home in Grand Junction, Colorado, ended in the shooting death of 26-year-old Brandon Ray Sanchez. Responding to a call, Mesa County sheriff's deputies found Sanchez's body outside a residence at 3116 Chipeta Avenue. The shooter was identified as Melissa Pruitt, a 34-year-old woman who was a renter in a makeshift bedroom in the garage of the house.
The events leading up to the fatal shooting were contentious. Witnesses at the scene described Sanchez and a male relative as the aggressors, stating that they had arrived unannounced and forced their way into the garage where several people were sleeping. It was alleged that Sanchez and his relative began attacking the occupants with a broomstick and a piece of rebar. The man with Sanchez later admitted that their intention was to remove people he considered 'riffraff' from the property, where he had previously lived. Investigators found a piece of rebar in the garage and a broom next to Sanchez's body.
Pruitt, who had a prior felony record, claimed to have fired the shot that killed Sanchez. She and several others fled the scene in an SUV but were stopped by law enforcement shortly after. A search of the vehicle uncovered three guns and an unspecified amount of drugs. While Pruitt invoked her right to an attorney and stopped speaking with investigators, the circumstances of the shooting led to an examination of Colorado's 'Make My Day' law, which allows for the use of deadly force against intruders.
The family of Brandon Sanchez disputed the characterization of him as an intruder, stating that he was romantically involved with a woman living at the main residence and frequently stayed there. His family was angered that Pruitt, a felon, was not immediately arrested for the shooting. After a thorough investigation, the Mesa County District Attorney's office concluded that Pruitt was legally justified in her actions under the 'Make My Day' statute and would not face charges for Sanchez's death. However, prosecutors did intend to pursue charges against her related to the drugs and weapons found in her possession. The decision not to charge Pruitt for the shooting was met with distress and disagreement from Sanchez's family, who felt that crucial information about his connection to the home had been overlooked.
