Man convicted of murdering roommate in 2019 and sentenced to 14 years in prison

BRECKENRIDGE, Colo. — A Breckenridge man who was convicted of murdering his roommate in 2019 was sentenced Thursday to 14 years in prison.

On March 8, a jury found Miles Fernando Tovar, 40, guilty of involuntary manslaughter and first-degree criminal trespass.

On November 6, 2019, just before 10 p.m., the Breckenridge Police Department responded to a call along the 1000 block of Grandview after receiving a report of shots fired. When police arrived, they found a 35-year-old Breckenridge man – later identified as Tovar – with a gunshot wound to the leg, according to police. They also found his roommate, Brendan Rye, who did not appear to have been shot but had serious injuries, according to police. A third person reported the call and was not injured.

Rye, who had recently moved to the area from Florida, died of his injuries at Saint Anthony Hospital in Lakewood. The coroner determined that Rye died from manual strangulation.

Tovar's injuries are not life-threatening, police said. He was released on November 7, 2019, according to police.

According to the initial police investigation, an altercation had broken out between Tovar and Rye. Police recovered a handgun at the scene.

According to the Fifth Judicial District Attorney's Office, Tovar, Rye and the person who called 911 were all temporarily living in the apartment while they renovated it as contractors. The condo owner lived nearby and invited them to dinner to thank them for their hard work.

The prosecutor's office said Tovar became “heavily intoxicated” during dinner and was asked to leave by the apartment owner. He kept coming back, and Rye “intervened several times and physically took Tovar away and toward their unit,” the prosecutor's office said.

The last time, Tovar pushed Rye out of the unit, slammed the door behind him and said he didn't like being disrespected, the prosecutor's office said. Tovar then went to Brendan's room in the next unit for a “man's talk” with Rye when the fatal confrontation occurred.

An arrest warrant was issued for Tovar in February 2022. He then turned himself in to the US Marshals Service in Bridgeport, Connecticut in October 2022.

On Thursday, Judge Karen Romeo sentenced Tovar to 12 years in prison for manslaughter and two years in prison for trespassing. The sentences will be served consecutively, bringing the total prison term to 14 years.

Tovar was given credit for 598 days already served.

“We appreciate the efforts of the Breckenridge Police Department in investigating this matter, and the U.S. Marshals Service in holding this defendant accountable for the crimes he committed. Mr. Rye's family and friends have waited more than four years for this justice and I sincerely hope that they can finally begin their healing process,” prosecutor Heidi McCollum said in a statement.