Much remains unknown about the shooting at the Iron Horse Inn early Monday morning. But public documents, social media and friends’ accounts provide some information about the accused suspects Tyree Ogsbury-Jones and Aaron Christian Williams, both 22.
Tyree Ogsbury-Jones
After graduating from Denver East High School, Ogsbury-Jones was recruited to play football at Fort Lewis College in 2011. According to his statistics on www.goskyhawks.com, he played in 10 games during the 2011 season but does not appear on the roster after his freshman year.
His original Skyhawks player biography states he was a business administration major with a focus on management, loved Mexican food, enjoyed watching “The Family Guy” and actor Will Smith and was a fan of the Denver Broncos and the Denver Nuggets. A music lover, his favorite musician was Jay-Z.
Ogsbury-Jones dropped out of FLC in 2013.
“He was always really nice to me, always genuine from what I saw,” fellow Fort Lewis student Sydney Carter said. Carter, who will graduate in May, also attended Morey Middle School with Ogsbury-Jones in Denver. “I never really saw him. We were both doing our own thing, but when we talked, he was always really polite.”
Previously a dedicated Facebook user, Ogsbury-Jones stopped posting altogether in the week before the shooting. One of his most recent posts was lengthy, disjointed and preoccupied with family. After seemingly referencing feeling disappointed by his father, he wrote, “Cheer up. Why can’t you just be happy? And I’m trying and I’m lying if I said I wasn’t scared but in life and death if I ain’t here, apologize in order..if it was up to me you would be with me.” (Sic)
Ogsbury-Jones’ arrest on suspicion of first-degree murder Monday was not his first tangle with the law.
In January 2012, he was arrested for domestic violence and criminal mischief after Ogsbury-Jones told police that a young woman had stolen items from his dorm room. The woman, who romantically was involved with Ogsbury-Jones, told FLC police he had keyed her car when she tried to leave during a fight.
In June 2013, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department arrested Ogsbury-Jones for possession of cocaine and Xanax with intent to sell, according to an arrest affidavit provided by Nevada’s Clark County District Attorney’s Office.
In Durango, he apparently had other brushes with the police, though none ended in an arrest. Although the cases were closed, the Durango Police Department refused to release them, citing the ongoing murder case as the reason.
Police said Ogsbury-Jones tried to obtain a handgun in Durango but was denied because of his criminal history. Instead, he went to New Mexico and illegally obtained the Remington .22-caliber semi-automatic rifle used in the murder, said Lt. Ray Shupe with the DPD.
“He said he purchased it from a man on the street after he was denied a permit by the (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms) based on his history when he tried to purchase a handgun two or three days earlier,” Shupe said.
The DPD still is working to track down the rifle’s history, he said.
Aaron Williams
Williams grew up in Compton, California, and graduated from Dominguez High School in 2011. Competing in baseball, football and track and field for his school, Williams was a scholar-athlete who made the honor roll three out of his four years in high school.
He transferred to FLC in March 2014 after playing at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff and then Cerritos College in Norwalk, California.
Williams said on his FLC player biography that he enjoys tacos, hot wings and pizza, likes the TV show “Martin,” is a fan of the band Migos and roots for the Oakland Raiders. His favorite book is The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene.
Judging by Williams’ prolific Twitter feed, he took intense interest in women, friends, football and self-improvement, often sharing sentiments such as, “Thank God for another day [to] strive for better opportunity.”
As of Monday, Williams still was enrolled in FLC as an art major, focusing on graphic design, FLC spokesman Mitch Davis said.
In an interview Thursday, FLC football head coach John L. Smith said Williams’ football scholarship was pulled when his grades became so poor last semester that he lost his spot on the team.
“Aaron has a big personality; he’s, you know, fun to be around, smiling,” Smith said. “He’s always been very upbeat, very positive in the things he does, at least as I knew him on the football field.”
Williams does not have a criminal record, according to the 6th Judicial District Court Clerk’s office.
How Williams went from being an academically gifted college football star to a failing student embroiled in a homicide within just a few months remains mysterious, but Smith had an idea.
“Any kid goes away to school – if he’s far away, the support is farther away,” he said. “The college kids who are more grown up figure they can go off on their own, thinking they don’t need as much support.”
cmcallister@durangoherald.com, abutler@durangoherald.com.
