WHEAT RIDGE, Colo. — A second person has been arrested in connection with the killing of a Wheat Ridge jewelry store owner in November.
Peter Arguello was shot and killed at his business in the 7200 block of West 38th Avenue on Nov. 29. According to court documents, the front business door is locked and customers have to be buzzed inside.
On the day he was killed, Arguello is seen walking to the front door and letting a man inside. Once inside, the man appears to be looking at stuff at the counter and then pulls a gun on Arguello and forces him to the rear of the store. That person was later identified as Charles Shay, who's been in custody since January.
The video shows a second person, a man wearing a bucket hat, entering the rear of the store, according to an arrest affidavit. That person was identified as Michael McCormack, who was arrested this week in Black Hawk on charges of second-degree murder, second-degree kidnapping, aggravated robbery, and motor vehicle theft.
During the investigation, police learned that McCormack was an associate of Shay and had spent a lot of time together in late 2023, the affidavit says. Investigators interviewed McCormack in mid-January and he admitted he knew Shay and stated they were "fairly" close.
He voluntarily agreed to provide swabs for DNA analysis, but denied that he had ever been involved in anything illegal with Shay and said he had never seen Shay with guns.
At the end of February, detectives contacted McCormack's ex-girlfriend who was in custody at the Douglas County Jail. Even though they were no longer a couple, the affidavit says they remained friends.
When detectives told her they were looking for a second person in Arguello's killing and said they knew that second person hadn't pulled the trigger, she said, "It was Mike," the affidavit says. She reported that after the incident, McCormack had come to her house and "broke down."
According to the affidavit, McCormack told his ex, "It wasn't supposed to be like that," and said, "The guy wouldn't give up and Chuck shot him."
When she was shown photos of the two captured on security video, she identified the man in the bucket hat as McCormack.
She also told investigators that McCormack had told her a man, presumably the next customer, was knocking on the door during the robbery. Investigators noted that they had never released information about anyone observing the robbery through the front window to the public.
Shay was initially arrested in connection with a burglary at the victim's store that occurred about a month after Arguello was killed. After Shay was arrested for the burglary, he told investigators he had broken into the jewelry store on Dec. 26 because he heard about the homicide and saw it as a crime of opportunity.
Shay is being held on charges including murder, kidnapping, robbery, motor vehicle theft, arson, burglary and tampering with evidence. His next court appearance is set for May 14.
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