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More charges dropped in Peoa Browns Canyon shootout

The shooting occurred in the early morning hours of May 19 about 4 miles up Browns Canyon Road (above) from Peoa.
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The shooting occurred in the early morning hours of May 19, 2024, about 4 miles up Browns Canyon Road (above) from Peoa.

The number of felony firearms charges in a Peoa shootout last May has gone from six to three.

Third District Judge Richard Mrazik dismissed charges against Jose Carlos Mendez-Villa, during a Jan. 15 hearing to decide whether the 26-year-old was justified when he opened fire during the May 19, 2024, incident.

That was when a verbal dispute turned violent between party organizers and a group of men at a Browns Canyon Airbnb.

One of six men allegedly involved in the early morning melee, Summit County prosecutors charged Mendez-Villa with five felony charges for discharging a firearm. 

Court documents didn't say whether Mendez-Villa was among the party organizers, or with the men kicked out of the party.

Investigators believe about 50 shots were fired, and two people were reported injured. Court documents also state party organizers were the first to fire their weapons.

In dismissing the Mendez-Villa case Jan. 15, Mrazik found prosecutors had failed to prove the West Valley man wasn’t justified in using force during the firefight.

Mrazik also dismissed gun charges against Jose Enrique Zuniga-Diaz, on Oct. 23, 2024, for similar reasons. Diaz, 19, was among the group of men that had been kicked out of the Browns Canyon party.

Prosecutors charged another man kicked out of the party before they realized he was a juvenile. They dropped those charges once they learned his age last June.

That leaves just three men — all party organizers — still awaiting trial for discharging their firearms.

Francisco Enrique Romero-Fuenmayor, 24; Manual Augusto Pimentel-Gonzalez, 24; and Alejandro Carreno-Romero, 22, were placed on house arrest while their cases play out.

They’re set for another hearing Feb. 4.