One man was killed and another wounded early Monday in a shooting at the Iron Horse Inn.
Two men were arrested shortly before 11 a.m., less than eight hours after the 3:05 a.m. shooting, according to the Durango Police Department.
One of the two victims died on the operating table at Mercy Regional Medical Center. The family of the 50-year-old Durango man had not been notified as of Monday evening, so his name was not released.
“We could not find any contact information for any next of kin,” said Lt. Ray Shupe of the DPD at abut 7:30 p.m. Monday. “We did database searches and everything. The Colorado Bureau of Investigation is still on the scene, and they believe they’ll find contact information in the condo.”
The other victim was 53-year-old Brian Keith Moore, of Durango. He was treated for several wounds that were not life-threatening at Mercy and was released.
Police arrested Tyree Anthony Ogsbury-Jones, 22, of Durango, on suspicion of first-degree murder. Ogsbury-Jones, who has moved between Durango and Denver for the past several years, was booked at La Plata County jail without bail.
Aaron Christian Williams, also 22, was arrested on charges of complicity to commit first-degree murder, a Class 1 felony. He moved to Durango from California about eight months ago.
After being granted a search warrant, investigators recovered the weapon, a .22-caliber rifle, early Monday evening at a residence near Hilltop House.
The deceased man, Moore and Ogsbury-Jones were roommates at the Iron Horse up until about two weeks ago.
“The two men who still lived in the condo kicked Tyree out,” Shupe said, “and they had been involved in a dispute about personal property and marijuana plants since then.”
All three men also worked at the Shell gasoline station at west College Drive and Camino del Rio.
“Police detectives are still interviewing both suspects and trying to ascertain an exact motive,” Shupe said in a news release sent shortly before 5 p.m. Monday.
Sarah Pedagno, manager of the Iron Horse Inn, said police told her not to release any information.
The men were shot around 3 a.m. after two assailants, each armed with a rifle, according to witnesses, caused a commotion by banging on the door of an apartment, Shupe said. Tenants on either side of the targeted room looked out and saw the shooters. They were able to give police descriptions of the suspects.
Both men wore dark clothes with their faces covered.
Both the deceased and Moore told police that even though the faces were masked, they recognized Ogsbury-Jones, Shupe said.
Police dogs were brought to the scene, and the San Juan County (New Mexico) Sheriff’s Office sent a helicopter to aid in the search for the suspects, Shupe said. The helicopter made several laps around the Animas Valley about 6 a.m. Monday.
“We wanted to make sure there was no one hiding in the bushes around the complex,” Shupe said. “The helicopter with infrared equipment can detect heat from people and animals on the ground.”
A deputy with the La Plata County Sheriff’s Office spotted the vehicle near Farmington Hill, Shupe said, and followed the suspects to County Road 221, off Colorado Highway 172, where they turned into the Southwest Horizons subdivision. The deputy waited until he had back-up, and he and a DPD officer pulled them over, Shupe said. Both Ogsbury-Jones and Williams were cooperative, he said.
Police were alerted at 3:06 a.m. that gunshots had been fired. Members of the Colorado Bureau of Investigation were at the Iron Horse Inn through the day to assist with a mobile crime lab.
A vehicle was seized and will be searched as soon as a warrant is obtained.
The Iron Horse Inn, 5800 north Main Ave., is a motel that includes condos for short-term monthly renters. It was not immediately clear if the condo, Room No. 156, was a nightly unit or a monthly rental.
daler@durangoherald.com. Herald Staff Writer Ann Butler contributed to this report.
An earlier version of this story erred in saying the Iron Horse Inn had condos under private ownership.
