Breckenridge man sentenced to more than a decade in prison after being convicted of murdering his roommate in 2019

A Summit County judge on Thursday, June 13, sentenced a man convicted of murdering his roommate to more than a decade in prison, according to a news release from the 5th Judicial District Attorney's Office.

Earlier this year, a jury found Miles Tovar, 40, guilty of involuntary manslaughter, a Class 4 felony, and one count of first-degree criminal trespass, a Class 5 felony.

Tovar had claimed during the trial that he acted in self-defense when he strangled Brendan Rye, then 29, on November 6, 2019, resulting in Rye's death. But the jury ultimately sided with the prosecutor's office, which argued that Tovar instigated the deadly confrontation and provoked Rye.

On Thursday, Judge Karen Romeo sentenced Tovar to 12 years in prison for manslaughter and an additional 2 years in prison for trespassing, which he will serve consecutively, for a total of 14 years in prison, the release said. Tovar received 598 days of credit for time already served while awaiting trial.

During sentencing, Romeo reportedly noted Tovar's criminal history over the past 20 years, which includes multiple alcohol-related violent incidents.

The two-week trial revolved around a confrontation between Tovar and Rye in the Grandview Drive condominium unit they lived in while doing construction work there.

Law enforcement officers and paramedics who responded to the scene found Rye — who died hours later — unconscious in the master bedroom with a gun under his body, according to testimony. Tovar was found in the apartment hallway with a gunshot wound to his leg.

Before the deadly encounter, Tovar allegedly drank whiskey in an adjacent condo, but began making women staying there uncomfortable with his behavior.

Despite being asked to leave, Tovar returned more than once that night to the apartment next door, with one of the women staying there testifying that they had locked him out but forgot to lock the door once.

When Tovar went back inside, apparently looking for the bottle of Jim Beam, the woman who lived there said Tovar pushed Rye, who was escorting her to their apartment. The fatal incident reportedly occurred about an hour later in their apartment.

While Tovar said he and Rye fought face to face, prosecutors argued that was not possible since he was shot in the right leg while Rye apparently had the gun in his hand right, which would force him to shoot Tovar while holding out his hand. his body, in the “most disconcerting way”. Tovar admitted to choking Rye from behind until he stopped struggling, although he claimed it was in self-defense.