The latest update in the trial re Ryan Guitron: Kelly Meehan pleaded not guilty to his murder. Her boyfriend Vencil Leo Ash III has requested that some evidence against him is suppressed. Judge Weimer denied that request. Jury trial will start June 25, 2012.
Guitron, an oil field worker, was last seen in Fort Collins about midnight Oct. 14, 2003. He was supposed to go to his girlfriend’s Fort Collins home, but never arrived.
The break in the case came when police responded to a domestic disturbance in Cheyenne, Wyo., and arrested Vencil Leo Ash III. During the investigation, it became clear that Ash was a former roommate of Guitron.
Authorities think Guitron was executed after being taken to the farmstead. A single gunshot wound to the head was discovered. On April 14, 2010, dental records showed the remains were Guitron’s. Guitron was known to associate with people involved in making and selling methamphetamine. Authorities suspect drug activity might have played a role in his disappearance.
Ash has a lengthy Colorado criminal history. He was sentenced to four years in state prison in 1998 after pleading guilty to felony assault and vehicular eluding police in Morgan County, according to court records. Other charges from the 1998 incident, including arson and using a gun while drunk, were dismissed, court records said.
To be continued!