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Bayfield Marshal’s Office releases identities, details of domestic violence shooting

Robert Lyon suspected of shooting his wife twice before turning gun on himself

A Bayfield woman who was shot last week by her husband was in stable condition Monday at a Denver hospital.

The Bayfield Marshal’s Office identified the victim as 57-year-old Mia Ragonese-Lyon, who works in the health care field in Aztec.

For help

Help for people having suicidal thoughts or for those who fear a person is considering suicide:

Axis Care Hotline:

24/7 local response to your crisis & behavioral health needs: (970) 247-5245

NATIONAL SUICIDE PREVENTION HOTLINE:

(800) 273-TALK (8255) or text “TALK” to 741741

RED NACIONAL DE PREVENCIÓN DEL SUICIDIO:

(888) 628-9454

FORT LEWIS COLLEGE COUNSELING CENTER:

247-7212

BOYS TOWN HOTLINE:

(800) 448-3000.

SAFE2TELL COLORADO:

(877) 542-7233 or safe2tell.org

COLORADO CRISIS SUPPORT LINE:

(844) 493-8255 or text “TALK” to 38255 or online at coloradocrisisservices.org to access a live chat available in 17 languages. The line has mental-health professionals available to talk to adults or youths 24 hours a day.

AMERICAN FOUNDATION FOR SUICIDE PREVENTION:

Colorado chapter information available at afsp.org/chapter/afsp-colorado/

FOR MEN:

A website for adult men contemplating suicide is available at mantherapy.org

The Marshal’s Office also released the name of her husband, Robert Lyon, 61, of Bayfield, who turned the gun on himself after shooting his wife. Lyon, who died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, was the former owner of a tattoo shop in Bayfield, which closed 1½ to 2 years ago.

Lyon called 911 at 8:11 p.m. Wednesday to report he had shot his wife at 81 East North St., said Marshal Joe McIntyre.

“The only thing he stated was that he wanted us to hurry up to get there to help his wife,” McIntyre said. “He was pretty agitated on the phone.”

When deputies arrived, they found Lyon on the front porch holding a .40-caliber handgun. He fired two rounds as deputies arrived, and fired two more rounds as deputies approached the house, McIntyre said.

“He fired four rounds total outside his front door on his front porch,” McIntyre said. “Two of them were fired just as our deputies arrived, and as they’re approaching the residence to contact him, he fired two more.

“He refused to give up his handgun that he had, so that delayed our deputies from getting in there sooner to start rendering aid or getting medical in there to assist … his wife.”

Lyon then retreated inside the house, but left the front door open. Deputies took cover, but were able to see him inside the residence and give commands for him to drop his weapon and come out, McIntyre said.

“One of the deputies observed him use the handgun against himself,” he said. “… Like I said, the front door was open and he could see all the way through the house and he saw Mr. Lyon take his own life.”

The Marshal’s Office was then able to secure the scene and allow medics in to access Ragonese-Lyon.

It was learned Ragonese-Lyon had been shot twice: once in the abdomen and a grazing wound to the back of her neck. “It’s the gunshot wound to the abdomen that is the medical issue,” McIntyre said.

Ragonese-Lyon was taken to Mercy Regional Medical Center in critical condition, but later that night was flown to St. Anthony Hospital in Lakewood. She remained in critical condition until Sunday, when her condition improved to “stable,” McIntyre said.

Law enforcement was still investigating the circumstances that lead to the shooting.

“We are learning through interviews with friends and co-workers that there was domestic violence in the home, but we do not know what started or precipitated this incident yet,” McIntyre said.

Deputies are hopeful they’ll be able to interview Ragonese-Lyon and that she’ll be able to remember the incident and provide details. McIntyre said security cameras were in the home, and the Marshal’s Office is in the process of obtaining a search warrant to review audio and video footage from inside the home.

Domestic violence help

If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, intimate partner violence, dating violence, or stalking, please contact any of these confidential resources.

Alternative Horizons: (970) 247-9619

National Domestic Violence Hotline (incluye ayuda para victimas de violencia domestica en espanol): (800) 799-SAFE (7233)

LGBT National Help Center: (888) 843-4564

StrongHearts Native Helpline: (844) 7NATIVE (762-8483)

“We may learn something before we get a chance to interview her, depending on her condition, and if she gets to a point that she’s more coherent and able to speak with us. We just don’t know yet,” McIntyre said.

Before the shooting, no reports of domestic violence involving the couple had been made to the Marshal’s Office, McIntyre said.

“But we’re pretty confident that there has been domestic violence in the home,” he said.

The Marshal’s Office was investigating whether the handgun was legally obtained. The make and model of the gun were not immediately available this week. Likewise, it was not immediately known how many rounds of ammunition the gun holds, but it is not uncommon for .40-caliber handguns to hold 10-12 rounds, McIntyre said.

The Marshal’s Office has no indication that any of the gunshots fired on the front porch were fired at responding deputies or at any other location in the neighborhood, “so we believe that they were being fired into the air.”

Alcohol use on the part of Lyon is suspected.

shane@durangoherald.com



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