On the first day of 2009, Larry John Fuller, a 49-year-old male, was celebrating the new year with his wife at the Sidekick Lounge in Ignacio, Colorado. A diesel mechanic who had moved to the state in 2000, he decided to walk home from the bar in the early hours of the morning. Tragically, he never made it. While walking down the street, he was shot and killed.
His body was discovered slumped over on a sidewalk.
For over a decade, the case of Larry Fuller's death remained cold, leaving his family with unanswered questions and a community with a lingering sense of unease. Investigators believed the shooting may have been connected to an altercation at the bar earlier that evening, but with little evidence, the investigation stalled. The years passed, and while the memory of the husband and father of four remained, the hope for justice began to fade.
A breakthrough in the case finally came in May of 2023, more than 14 years after the fatal shooting. Acting on new information, the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, which had recently taken the lead on the cold case, identified a suspect. David Hendren, then 38 years old, was arrested in Arizona on the Navajo Nation. Witness interviews conducted over the years ultimately led to his identification and arrest.
The subsequent investigation revealed a tragic case of mistaken identity. It is believed that Hendren had been involved in or was connected to a fight that had occurred at the Sidekick Lounge earlier that night. Investigators concluded that Hendren mistook Fuller for the individual his brother had fought with at the bar, as both men shared similar physical traits. Following his extradition to Colorado, David Hendren faced a charge of first-degree murder. In September 2025, a jury found him guilty of the murder of Larry John Fuller, finally bringing a measure of closure to Fuller's family after a long and painful wait for justice.
