The body of 51-year-old Anthony Ray Valdez was found in a garage in the 1500 block of N. Lacrosse Avenue in Pueblo, Colorado, in the late afternoon of May 23, 2022. What was first reported as a suspicious death was determined by the Pueblo County Coroner’s Office to be an apparent gunshot wound; Valdez was pronounced dead at the scene and the Pueblo Police Department opened a homicide investigation.

Detectives developed leads quickly. The next evening officers detained a 36-year-old man, James Matthew Tafoya, after a foot chase along Fountain Creek. Tafoya was booked on charges that include first-degree murder, prohibited use of a weapon, and vehicular eluding. Police continue to request information as the investigation remains ongoing.

If anyone saw activity near the 1500 block of N. Lacrosse Avenue or Fountain Creek on May 23–24, 2022, or has other information about Valdez’s death, please come forward.