In the early hours of a Tuesday morning in Durango, Colorado, the life of 20-year-old Samuel Xarius Gordon, a student at Fort Lewis College, was tragically cut short. On May 24, 2016, a home invasion at his residence on Jenkins Ranch Road turned fatal. Gordon was rushed to Mercy Regional Medical Center after suffering a single gunshot wound to the stomach, but he did not survive.
The incident began around 3:30 a.m.
when three men, their faces obscured by bandanas and armed with handguns, entered Gordon's home through an unlocked sliding glass door. A fourth man waited outside. Inside, Gordon and four other people were taken hostage at gunpoint. The intruders' goal was to steal what they believed to be a large quantity of marijuana from the residence. During the chaotic encounter, one of the victims was bound with zip ties, and others were forced to lie face down. At some point during the robbery, one of the gunmen confronted Gordon. When the gunman's attention was momentarily diverted and then returned to Gordon, it is believed Gordon may have been reaching for a flare gun. It was then that he was shot. Following the gunshot, the three intruders fled the house, running through a field behind the property.
Durango Police officers, responding to the report of a home invasion, were able to stop a vehicle leaving the area shortly after the incident. Inside, they found four individuals who were quickly linked to the crime. The suspects were identified as 19-year-old Kodi Kuauhtli, 22-year-old Alvin Flores, and 20-year-old Daniel Wright, all from Phoenix, Arizona, along with 21-year-old Kuauhtleko Garcia of Scottsdale, Arizona. The investigation revealed that Kuauhtli was a former student at Fort Lewis College and an acquaintance of Gordon's. It was Kuauhtli who allegedly orchestrated the robbery based on the belief that Gordon possessed a significant amount of marijuana.
All four men were taken into custody and subsequently faced charges including first-degree murder, kidnapping, and aggravated robbery. As the case proceeded through the legal system, some of the suspects entered into plea agreements. Daniel Wright pleaded guilty to burglary, and Kuauhtleko Garcia pleaded guilty to second-degree murder for his role in the fatal home invasion.
