Ranch settles with kin of slain hunter
The deal ends a suit. The worker accused of the accidental slaying was caught in Mexico.

By Felisa Cardona
The Denver Post
Article Last Updated: 05/28/2008 11:07:38 PM MDT

Jeffrey Rando Garrett was turkey hunting in 2005 when he was shot.

The family of Jeffrey Rando Garrett, the Qwest executive killed while turkey hunting in Garfield County, has reached a settlement with the company that hired the man who accidentally shot him.

Garrett, 37, was found dead May 14, 2005, in the East Elk Creek area near New Castle.

Charlotte Garrett and her two children, Olivia and Adam Garrett, filed a federal wrongful-death lawsuit against Land West Ventures, a Georgia corporation doing business as Bear Wallow Ranch in Garfield County.

Bear Wallow had hired Oscar Hoyos DeLaCruz as a ranch hand and another employee, Juan Salido-Talavera, had provided him with the .22-caliber rifle that killed Jeffrey Garrett.

The lawsuit said that DeLaCruz fired blindly into the brush when he heard a turkey call and struck Garrett, who was dressed in camouflage.

DeLaCruz, an illegal immigrant, told Talavera that he shot someone, but the two left the scene without rendering aid and did not report that a person had been shot, the suit said.

The lawsuit also accused Land West Ventures and Salido-Talavera of helping DeLaCruz catch a flight back to Mexico and conceal the facts of the shooting from law enforcement.

The terms of the settlement were not disclosed. U.S. District Court records show a request to have Judge Richard P. Matsch dismiss the case was filed by Land West Ventures on Wednesday.

Charlotte Garrett did not return a call seeking comment and neither did her attorneys or lawyers for Land West Ventures.

In 2006, Mexican authorities arrested and charged DeLaCruz with "imprudent homicide," which is similar to a manslaughter charge in the United States.

Information about the disposition of the case in Mexico was unavailable late Wednesday because the attorney monitoring the case on behalf of the Colorado attorney general's office could not be reached.

Felisa Cardona: 303-954-1219 or fcardona@denverpost.com

http://www.denverpost.com/headlines/ci_9408945