Samuel Xarius Gordon, 20, a Fort Lewis College student, was killed during a home invasion at his Jenkins Ranch Road residence in Durango on May 24, 2016. The intrusion began about 3:30 a.m. when three masked men armed with handguns entered through an unlocked sliding glass door while a fourth waited outside. Five people inside the home were taken hostage at gunpoint; one victim was bound with zip ties and others forced to lie face down.

Officers say the intruders were trying to steal what they believed was a large quantity of marijuana. During the robbery one gunman confronted Gordon; when the gunman’s attention returned it is believed Gordon may have been reaching for a flare gun and was shot once in the stomach. Gordon was taken to Mercy Regional Medical Center and did not survive.

Durango police stopped a vehicle soon after and took four men into custody: 19-year-old Kodi Kuauhtli, 22-year-old Alvin Flores, 20-year-old Daniel Wright, and 21-year-old Kuauhtleko Garcia, all from the Phoenix/Scottsdale area. Kuauhtli was identified as a former Fort Lewis student and an acquaintance of Gordon’s and is alleged to have organized the robbery. Charges filed included first-degree murder, kidnapping, and aggravated robbery; plea agreements in the case include guilty pleas by Daniel Wright to burglary and by Kuauhtleko Garcia to second-degree murder.

Anyone who knew Samuel or has information about the night of May 24, 2016, is asked to come forward?