In the early morning hours of March 26, 2018, a disagreement inside a vehicle in Grand Junction, Colorado, turned fatal, ending the life of 43-year-old Eric Ludwick. The white/caucasian male was shot and killed, prompting a homicide investigation by the Grand Junction Police Department.
The investigation quickly led to a suspect, Joseph Peace. He was apprehended on March 28, 2018, at a residence in the 300 block of Weeping Willow.
Peace was initially charged with second-degree murder, and additional charges were later filed, including Possession of a Firearm by a Previous Offender and Possession of a Defaced Firearm.
According to reports, an argument erupted between Peace and Ludwick while they were in a car. Peace claimed that Ludwick, who was driving, reached for something, and fearing it might be a gun, he shot him. An autopsy later revealed that Ludwick had a moderate amount of methamphetamine in his system. Peace alleged that Ludwick had been having a 'serious meltdown' earlier. After the shooting, Peace fled the scene.
Joseph Peace was subsequently convicted of second-degree murder in 2019 and sentenced to over 100 years in prison. However, in a significant turn of events, a Colorado appeals court reversed the murder conviction in August 2022. The court found that the jury had been given a faulty self-defense instruction that was not supported by the evidence presented at trial. The appellate panel noted that the only account of the events inside the car came from Peace, and his statements suggested he was not the initial aggressor. As a result, a new trial for the second-degree murder charge was ordered.
