Man charged in death of dog breeder claims victim was killed over drug cartel

A man is facing multiple charges in connection to the death of a Colorado dog breeder. But according to an arrest warrant, the suspect told investigators the man’s death had nothing to do with dogs, but instead, a drug cartel.

Sergio Ferrer, 36, has been charged with first degree murder, felony murder and aggravated robbery in relation to the killing of Doberman breeder Paul Peavey, 57, the Clear Creek County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release on Facebook.

While Ferrer was arrested just a few hours after the man’s body was found on an unrelated warrant out of Nebraska, the sheriff's office said he was considered a person of interest in Peavey’s death at the time.

A lawyer representing Ferrer did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The investigation began on Aug. 21, two days after Peavey was last heard from. He was reported missing out of Clear Creek County, about 40 miles west of Denver, on Aug. 21, the Clear Creek County Sheriff's Office announced in a news release.

The next day, deputies responded to the area Peavey was reported missing from and found his camper with the door open, according to an arrest warrant. The deputies couldn't find him anywhere on the property, nor did they find food or water for the dogs that were there. The dogs were taken to a shelter, the warrant read.

On Saturday, Aug. 24, community members organized a search party and found the body of a man just before noon on the property. When investigators showed up, a group leader said they found the body 30 yards from Peavey’s trailer. It had been partially covered in branches.

“It looked like the body had been dragged down the hill,” a Creek County Sheriff’s Office detective wrote in the warrant.

The coroner’s office identified the body as Peavey that same day, the sheriff's office announced in a news release. On Aug. 29, the coroner’s office determined his manner of death as homicide, the sheriff's office said. 

He had been shot, the sheriff's office later announced.

Community members told investigators where to look

According to a Clear Creek County Sheriff’s Office news release, Peavey bred Doberman dogs and ran a website called Elite European Dobermans. Investigators said in the release that all of the victim’s puppies are microchipped and multiple Doberman puppies were missing from the victim’s home.

Members of a search party organized to find Peavey gave investigators the suspect’s name, according to an arrest warrant filed in Clear Creek County. The searchers said the suspect’s daughter was selling Doberman pinscher puppies on Facebook.

According to the warrant, one group member said when they called Peavey's cell phone, the person who answered was not Peavey and instead seemed to be putting on a fake accent. The individual also said several items were missing from the victim's property, including up to 19 puppies, metal detecting equipment, jewelry and BB guns and other items.

On Aug. 25, an agent with the Colorado Bureau of Investigation went to the suspect's home for interviews, the arrest warrant said. When the agent looked through a window at the home, he saw wipes that looked like the ones from the crime scene, as well as dog collars.

The CBI agent also spoke to someone who knew the suspect. The individual said they saw the suspect on Aug. 23 holding a small Doberman dog, according to the arrest warrant.

Another individual who lived with the suspect reported seeing the man with a dog on Aug. 21. The suspect said he had bought the dog for his daughter.

The arrest warrant also said investigators tracked down the owners of some of the dogs Peavey had microchipped. One of them showed proof that she purchased the dog on Aug. 21, the day Peavey was reported missing. The dog owner also showed records proving she sent money to a Cash App account named “Ferrer Ferrer."

The sheriff’s office said in a news release Friday that the investigation into Peavey’s death is ongoing and some of his puppies are still unaccounted for. 

Per the arrest warrant, once investigators searched the suspect’s home, they found wipes, jewelry that belonged to the victim and metal detectors belonging to the victim. There was also a cell phone with the victim's name on it. 

Suspect told authorities the victim died over drugs, not dogs

When authorities interviewed the suspect on Aug. 26, they noted multiple discrepancies in his recollection of events. The suspect initially told authorities that he had only been to Peavey’s property once to pick out a puppy for his daughter. He later said he had been to the property at least three other times, then he said he had been there no more than five times, according to the warrant.

The suspect said he had been in touch with the victim to make arrangements to pay for the puppy, choose one and then again months later to pick the puppy up.

He said he met the victim at a store in Idaho Springs two weeks prior to pick the puppy up, the warrant reads. The suspect said he spent no more than 15 minutes with the victim and then he hadn’t heard from the victim anymore.

But the suspect later admitted to being at the victim’s home. While he did not see Peavey there, the home had been ransacked. The suspect said he stayed at the victim’s house for about an hour before he took some items and left, the warrant reads.

The suspect later told investigators Peavey’s death was “a lot bigger than what you think." He said he and the victim were involved in a drug cartel and that Peavey had introduced him to the network.

"Continually during the interview, Ferrer made statements that he was afraid for his safety and safety of his family," the arrest warrant reads. "Ferrer said that he owed Peavey for missing drugs and that Peavey was involved in a drug cartel."

Ferrer said the last time he saw the victim alive, the victim shot at him over the missing drugs. Ferrer said he shot the victim in self-defense, then went back the next day, moving Peavey’s body where someone could find him, the warrant reads.

Investigators ask that anyone with information call the sheriff’s office tip line at (303) 670-7567, submit a tip via email at crime_tips@clearcreeksheriff.us or submit a tip anonymously at www.bit.ly/CCSOCrimeTips.

Saleen Martin is a reporter on USA TODAY's NOW team. She is from Norfolk, Virginia – the 757. Follow her on Twitter at@SaleenMartin or email her atsdmartin@usatoday.com.