CLEAR CREEK COUNTY, Colo. — Investigators with the Clear Creek County Sherriff's Office recommended first-degree murder and other charges against a man in the death of dog breeder Paul Peavey.
On Aug. 24, a privately organized search party discovered Peavey’s body near his home just before noon. The Clear Creek County Sheriff’s Office, with assistance from the Georgetown Police Department, arrested 36-year-old Sergio Ferrer at 4 p.m. that day on an unrelated warrant out of Nebraska for failure to appear on a weapons charge.
At the time of his arrest, Ferrer was considered a person of interest in the 57-year-old Peavey’s homicide, the sheriff's office said on Friday. Investigators have since been able to establish enough evidence to support a recommendation of charges related to Peavey's death.
The Fifth Judicial District Attorney's Office said Friday that Ferrer had been arrested on charges of first-degree murder and aggravated robbery in connection with Peavey's death. Ferrer appeared in court Friday afternoon, where a judge set a $1 million cash-only bond. He is due in court on Sept. 18.
Peavey was last heard from on Aug. 19 and was reported missing two days later on Aug. 21. On Thursday, the Clear Creek County Coroner’s Office completed the autopsy and confirmed the manner of death as a homicide and that his cause of death was a gunshot wound.
The sheriff's office said Peavey's time of death is consistent with the timeframe that he was last heard from.
The investigation into Peavey’s death is ongoing. Investigators are also looking for his Doberman puppies that are still unaccounted for.
Anyone with information about this investigation is asked to call the Sheriff’s Office tip line at 303-670-7567, or submit a tip via email at crime_tips@clearcreeksheriff.us or anonymously via the CCSO website at https://bit.ly/CCSOCrimeTips.