ALAMOSA — Three men are now in custody for the August 9th shooting death of Mathias Fritz, 40, of Alamosa.

Facing multiple charges including first-degree murder are Shem M. Brown, 26, of Monte Visa, Robert P. Martinez, 29, of Del Norte, and Shawndon J. McVey, 25, of Texas and most recently living between Monte Vista and Alamosa.

According to Detective Sergeant Sam Coffman of the Alamosa County Sheriff’s Office, Martinez is in the Rio Grande County Jail where he has previously been held on other charges, McVey was apprehended by Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI) agents in Colorado Springs on Monday, and by Monday evening the third suspect, Brown, had been taken into custody.

Coffman stated that on October 29 felony no bond warrants were issued for the three men in connection with Fritz’s murder and the assault and shooting of Alma Salazar, who is recovering in an undisclosed location in another part of the state. Salazar had been flown out for treatment following the assault.

All three suspects face charges of murder in the first degree, kidnapping, robbery, felony menacing and multiple crimes of violence enhancers. According to Coffman, Fritz was beaten before he was shot to death.

“It was a very violent crime,” added Alamosa County Sheriff Robert Jackson.

The crime occurred in the early morning hours of August 9 in an apartment above the Extreme Graphics office near Vendola Plumbing & Heating in East Alamosa. Neighbors reported the shooting after finding the female victim wandering around with gunshot wounds. Authorities found Fritz deceased at the scene.

Detective Sergeant Coffman has been following leads and processing evidence with the CBI, which has assisted with the investigation along with the Colorado State Patrol. Information provided through Crime Stoppers led to the identification of the three suspects.

Coffman added that multiple search warrants were served on Facebook and cell phone accounts that provided information to charge the three men with murder and related charges. The CBI crime lab is also analyzing multiple pieces of evidence. 

“We are waiting for more test results,” Sheriff Jackson said.

Coffman said one of the tests pending with the CBI is ballistics on the firearm used in the fatal shooting. A gun, bullets and casing have been recovered in connection with the crime, Jackson said. Other weapons were also recovered.

The sheriff said many man hours have gone into this investigation. Coffman explained that reviewing and processing information and evidence has been time consuming.

He said there might be other defendants charged with conspiracy as the investigation continues.

He added that the victim’s family has been notified of the arrests in this case.

The sheriff’s office requests any information regarding this case be called in to Crime Stoppers, 719-589-4111 or to the Alamosa County Sheriff’s Office Investigations Division, 719-589-6608.