Colorado police officer charged with murder, held on $1 million bond

[November 15, 2014]  By Keith Coffman
 
 DENVER (Reuters) - A Colorado police officer is being held on a $1 million bond after he was arrested on Friday and charged with murder in the shooting death of a man last month, authorities said.

James Ashby, an officer in the small town of Rocky Ford, is charged with second-degree murder in the slaying of Jack Jacquez, Otero County District Attorney James Bullock said in a statement.

Jacquez died in hospital after being shot during an incident at his home early on Oct. 12. Bullock said prosecutors obtained an arrest warrant for Ashby after a month-long probe conducted by the Colorado Bureau of Investigation.

Details of the case are contained in arrest warrant affidavits, but a judge has ordered them sealed, Bullock said. Relatives of Jacquez have told local media the 27-year-old was shot twice in the back by Ashby.

Ashby is set to appear in court next week, Bullock said.

Rocky Ford, which has just a few thousand residents, lies in farming country about 50 miles east of the city of Pueblo.

(Reporting by Keith Coffman; Editing by Daniel Wallis and Sandra Maler)

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