Today, Boulder County District Attorney Michael Dougherty held a press conference to announce the main suspect, Juan Jose Figueroa Jr., in the disappearance of Rita Gutierrez-Garcia was indicted by a grand jury.
More than three years ago, Gutierrez-Garcia left 3’s Bar in Longmont in the early morning hours. She had spent the evening celebrating St. Patrick’s Day with family and friends.
There are accounts of Gutierrez-Garcia interacting with Figueroa inside the bar around 1:30 a.m. An hour later, her cousin saw Gutierrez-Garcia in a parking lot behind the bar, this is the last time she was seen. Witnesses placed Figueroa in the same area at the same time, according to court documents. Gutierrez-Garcia is presumed dead.
During the investigation, police discovered that Gutierrez-Garcia’s phone followed the same path as Figueroa’s truck, which was caught on camera in at least two different Longmont locations.
Figueroa became the suspect of interest in the case, however, when police asked to talk to him, they learned he had fled to Mexico. A few weeks later, he attempted to cross back into the U.S. when he was arrested at the border for a warrant issued for the sexual assault of another victim, also a Longmont resident.
For this crime, Figueroa is currently serving a 93 year to life sentence.
For the murder of Gutierrez-Garcia, Figueroa faces charges of first-degree murder after deliberation, felony murder and second-degree kidnapping, according to court documents.
Since the kidnapping charge is a felony, felony murder applies when a person dies during the commission of a felony.
The journey to find and charge Figueroa for the murder of Gutierrez-Garcia has been long. Dougherty said the “significant issue” being the absence of Gutierrez-Garcia’s body among a number of other factors.
“The fact that it’s a no-body homicide is why it took some time to get here today,” Dougherty said.
Prosecutors wanted to try the sexual assault case against the other victim before pursuing Gutierrez-Garcia’s case, which also held up the charges.
Around the time police could move forward with these charges, the pandemic hit which prevented prosecutors from seating a grand jury, posting the proceeding until April, 2021.
Figueroa is being held in Buena Vista Correctional Facility serving his sentence for the other sexual assault case. It is still unknown, due to travel restrictions, when he will appear in Boulder County courts. “He will be held fully responsible,” when he does arrive, Dougherty said during the press conference.
