Eighteen-year-old Fernando Nahum Perez, a Hispanic resident of Thornton, Colorado, was killed on the evening of December 3, 2021, after arranging through social media to meet two people to sell clothing near East 101st Avenue and Clayton Street. What began as a planned sale escalated into a violent robbery; Perez was shot during the encounter. Thornton police arrived around 8:15 p.m. and found him gravely wounded. He was taken to a local hospital and later pronounced dead.

Early reports noted investigators initially believed he had been stabbed, but the cause of death was later determined to be a gunshot wound. Investigators identified two suspects, Jonathan Garcia, 19 at the time, and Matthew McMahon, 18, who were arrested and charged with first- and second-degree murder, aggravated robbery, and conspiracy to commit aggravated robbery. Both men later entered guilty pleas.

Was anyone in the Thornton area that night aware of suspicious activity near East 101st Avenue and Clayton Street?