Man Who Killed Co-Worker in 2019 Sentenced to 14 Years in Prison
Breckenridge, Colo. (Summit County) – Miles Fernando Tovar, 40, of Breckenridge, was sentenced today to a total of 14 years in the Colorado Department of Corrections (DoC) related to the 2019 death of his (then) co-worker, Brendan Rye. On March 8, 2024, a jury found him guilty of: Reckless Manslaughter (F4), and 1st Degree Criminal Trespass (F5).
During the sentencing, the Honorable Judge Karen Romeo noted Tovar’s extensive criminal history over the last 20 years, mostly involving alcohol-related/violence incidents. Citing his numerous arrests and aggravating circumstances, she sentenced him to 12 years in the DoC for the manslaughter charge. For the trespass charge, she sentenced Tovar to two years in the DoC to be served consecutively with the manslaughter charge for a total of 14 years. He was given 598 days credit for time already served.
Background
On Nov. 6, 2019, at 9:48pm, a co-worker called 9-1-1 to report Mr. Rye was unconscious and not breathing in a Breckenridge condominium they were all living in while renovating it. Upon arrival, law enforcement found Mr. Rye laying unresponsive in the bathroom. He was later pronounced deceased.
Tovar, Rye and the reporting party were all temporarily living in the condo while they renovated it as subcontractors. The owner of the unit lived nearby and invited the men to have dinner in her condo as a thank you for their hard work. Tovar became heavily intoxicated during the evening dinner, and the condo owner asked him to leave. Tovar kept returning to the owner’s residence for various reasons, and Mr. Rye repeatedly stepped in and physically lead Tovar away and back to their unit. The last time, Tovar shoved Brendan out of the unit and slammed the door behind him, saying he did not like being disrespected. Tovar later went to Brendan’s room in the neighboring unit to have a “man conversation” with Brendan. This led to the deadly confrontation between Tovar and Rye. At some point, the reporting party heard loud ‘pops’ inside the unit. Tovar had been shot in the leg once, and Rye’s death was ruled a homicide by manual strangulation.
During the investigation by the Breckenridge Police Department, an arrest warrant was issued for Defendant Tovar in February 2022, and he later turned himself in to the U.S. Marshals Service in Bridgeport, Conn., in October 2022. He was extradited back to Summit County, Colo., to face charges here.
5th Judicial District Attorney Heidi McCollum said, “We appreciate the efforts of the Breckenridge Police Department for investigating this case, and the U.S. Marshals Service in bringing this defendant to answer for the crimes he committed. Mr. Rye’s family and friends have waited more than four years for this justice, and I sincerely hope they can finally start their healing process.”
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