DENVER (KDVR) A Lakewood mother is getting an update months after her son was killed in a Denver jail.
A press release from June 30 reported the Denver Police Department’s announcement about the arrest of 38-year-old Rick Roybal Smith in connection with a homicide that took place at the Downtown Detention Center. Coincidentally, June 30 is also when Vincent Chacon’s family reported that his girlfriend received a text indicating he had been released from the same facility.
“From what we understood, we believed he had been released, but it turned out that was actually the time he passed away; we were unaware of this,” explained Chacon’s sister, Holly Dock. “We didn’t find out until Tuesday (that he died).”
Now piecing together and understanding what this meant, local affiliate KDVR asked how the family feels.
“It’s a betrayal in numerous ways,” remarked Angela Herndez, Chacon’s mother. “Initially, she mentioned it was a homicide, and I was shocked. I thought, wait, what? Then she asked, ‘Oh, they didn’t inform you?’ and we responded, ‘No’. They claimed, ‘He choked on an apple.’”
“The order in which the information was communicated was completely mixed up,” Holly stated. “From the first call to my mom, to it being a day later, and then explaining how it happened – everything was jumbled. That’s why processing all this has been so difficult, because nothing has been straightforward. There are no clear answers—just a lot of uncertainty.”
In this dark, gray period, family tells KDVR, Chacon’s body has been at the medical examiner’s office.
“In the three months following, we hadn’t heard anything until last Monday when the medical examiner, coroner, contacted us saying it was being ruled a homicide,” Hernandez mentioned.
KDVR reached out to the office of the medical examiner, which shared the following information:
As of Thursday, DPD stated that the homicide investigation is still ongoing. No arrests have been made, and no further updates are available for release at this time.
Roybal-Smith, the man DPD initially announced they arrested on suspicion of first-degree homicide in this death, is currently facing two murder charges for deadly stabbings in Aurora the day before Chacon’s death. On June 30, the Denver police release said Roybal-Smith was in jail on a DUI and the two shared a cell.
“We was in a cell with my son, so he didn’t even go to detox,” Hernandez said. “Justice don’t stop with my son and this monster being charged. Justice happens when things change and stay changed.”
KDVR asked the family about what accountability they want to see.
“Denver City Jail, the parole board, case managers for not monitoring the way they rate their, how they classify parolees before they get out. Officers that do intake,” said Hernandez.
“Someone was in charge that night,” said Titus Dock, Chacon’s father. “Where were they? What happened? When you are on your shift, you have to make sure everything is being done properly, according to protocol, and when that doesn’t happen, this is what ends up.”
KDVR asked the sheriff’s office and the Denver Department of Public Safety a series of questions in July. We re-asked these questions with this new update about the homicide ruling.
On Thursday, KDVR received the following statement from the Denver Sheriff’s Department:
“We extend our heartfelt condolences to the family of Mr. Chacon. As this matter is currently under investigation by the Denver Police Department and a review by the Denver Sheriff Department Public Integrity Division, we are unable to provide additional comment at this time.”
Denver District Attorney’s Office tells KDVR the team is continuing to investigate this case and consider charges.
Family is now preparing to receive Chacon’s body and bury him. They have created a GoFundMe to help with this process.
