Montrose - Daily Press

Marco Antonio Vargas Salvador didn’t have much in common with Steven Kublin — nothing, in fact, but a tragic fate.

The two men were slain within 10 days of each other last year, in unrelated homicides that shocked Montrose.

Salvador was gunned down outside a local bar late Oct. 28, 2006, in front of his young girlfriend and other patrons. He died early the next morning at the age of 25. The men accused of killing him remain at large nearly one year later.

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Kublin, 50, was found by a passing cyclist Nov. 9 in an arroyo near the county landfill, his body so badly burned that he could only be identified — nearly a week later — by a fingerprint.

Investigators say only those with guilty knowledge of his death know its cause, so they are not releasing that information.

The manner of death was, however, ruled a homicide and characterized by the former coroner as “heinous.”

No suspect has been named.

Both police and sheriff’s investigators say they cannot disclose possible motives in either case.

Marco

“It appeared to be an execution,” Montrose Police Chief Tom Chinn said during a Tuesday interview about the Salvador case. “That’s exactly what it was.”

Salvador was shot multiple times outside the Costa Alegre restaurant and bar on North First Street. The gunfire that shattered the frigid October night was audible from at least three blocks away; police are not releasing the type of gun used or the exact number of times Salvador was hit.

Salvador had only come into Costa Alegre for a beer. Instead, he got into an argument that could have led to his death.

“There were some words exchanged,” Montrose Police Det. Justin Perry said, declining to specify what argument was over.

Costa Alegre’s manager last year said he had to have security intervene, which stopped the disagreement inside the bar. But another altercation erupted in the streets, one that led to Salvador’s untimely death and arrest warrants for brothers Miguel and Gilberto Godinez and Luis Partida.

Miguel Godinez is the alleged triggerman, police said, and he is being sought on a warrant for first-degree murder. Gilberto Godinez is accused of complicity in first-degree murder, while Partida is sought as an accessory.

“We still have an active investigation. There are a lot of fact we’re not able to discuss,” Chinn said. “We’re hopeful we’ll be able to find these people and, with help from Mexico, we’ll be able to prosecute.”

Little is publicly known about the victim. He was known to be dating a young Montrose woman and was working construction in San Miguel County at the time of his death. He lived in Montrose, Perry said, and was here on a valid work visa.

“As far as his pastimes and hobbies, I couldn’t tell you,” Perry said.

Salvador’s family members were last known to be living in Acapulco and could not be reached for comment.

Police do know that Gilberto Godinez and Partida both have minor criminal histories and were in the country illegally at the time of the shooting. Whether the low-level alcohol offenses that showed up in their offense histories told the whole story isn’t known, Perry said.

“They were here illegally and we had no (other) information on them,” he said.

Miguel Godinez was married to a U.S. citizen and had no known criminal history, Perry said.

The men, who are thought to have fled in a black car, could be in Mexico, or could have re-entered the United States. They have been entered into both the National Crime Information Center and Colorado Crime Information Center databases.

“That is a big start,” Chinn said. “Anyone who crosses the border in the U.S. or who is contacted by any law enforcement agency anywhere in the U.S. (is checked).”

Steve

Kublin was originally from Massachusetts and had loose ties to the White Buffalo Ranch in Paonia. The free-spirited drifter was associated with the Rainbow family and by all accounts was an open, honest soul.

“It’s difficult,” his father, Bennett Kublin said by phone from Florida. “It’s very painful, to say the least.”

He said the family was informed of the murder Nov. 15. Kublin’s brother has been keeping in touch with authorities here, but they have little to share.

“We’ve exhausted all of our leads at this point. It’s still an open case,” Montrose County Sheriff Rick Dunlap said Tuesday.

“Hopefully, somebody will come forward with evidence. He was a philosopher and a seeker of truth,” Kublin’s friend from White Buffalo Ranch said Wednesday. He identified himself as Wayne, but did not want his last name used.

“He was a rather soft soul. It’s terrible people go and prey on people like that, but it’s the kind of society we’ve created,” Wayne said. “We would like to see some justice come to the matter.”

Wayne said Kublin, whom he’d known for six or seven years, helped out at the ranch from time to time. He last saw his friend about a month before his death.

Authorities say Kublin might have been spotted on Highway 92, but was last seen by a motorist who picked him up hitchhiking Nov. 6 and dropped him off near Delta on Highway 50.

“That was the last time anyone actually saw him alive,” Dunlap said. “He might have been picked up there by whoever committed this heinous act. The only thing we know for sure is that’s where he was last seen.”

He said the entire area was later searched for “clues of any kind,” but none were found.

Dunlap said he believed that however the encounter between Kublin and his killer or killers began, the murder itself wasn’t random.

“I think in the end, it was planned. The person or persons knew they were going to kill this person and they knew they were going to conceal what they had done,” he said.

Richard DeWeber was the first investigator at the site where Kublin’s body was found Nov. 9.

He could not divulge many details about what was discovered in the area and said the Colorado Bureau of Investigation was still processing evidence.

 “Every piece of evidence is going through process(ing). With as active as it has been for the CBI in this district, it is very difficult for them, with their manpower, to just stay on this case alone,” DeWeber said.

The site was where Kublin was burned, but has not been confirmed as actual place of death.

DeWeber couldn’t disclose whether Kublin had sustained injuries other than the fatal ones, how many people might have been involved, or whether Kublin had been restrained.

Dunlap said his office has for now ruled out the likelihood Kublin’s death was related to Denver-area cases a few years ago, in which transients were murdered.

“At this point, we don’t have anything that would connect ours with theirs,” he said.

What now?

Though the horror of senseless death lingers in both cases, there are critical differences that go beyond the circumstances and the victimology.

Simply put, Salvador’s is considered effectively “solved,” while Kublin’s remains shrouded in mystery.

In addition to clear suspects, there were several witnesses in the Salvador case. Montrose Police also have the aid of the Colorado Attorney General and Mexican Consulate.

“The best part about this case is we have suspects and warrants,” Chinn said. “For all practical purposes, this case is solved.”

It’s a matter of collaring the Godinezes and Partida, Chinn and Perry said. Investigators have identified different areas of Mexico where the suspects are believed to have ties.

“We’ve had information they have been in the U.S. and in Montrose,” Chinn said, but the information did not check out.

Once the suspects are found, the state attorney general’s foreign prosecution unit could take the lead. If found in Mexico, the men could be extradited, or possibly tried in Mexico.

“There are some cases that are actually prosecuted in Mexico. We’re not sure where it’s going to fall when it does fall,” Chinn said.

Solving Kublin’s murder is going to take a tip from the public.

“Without human leads, what I’m depending on right now are forensic leads. I don’t have anyplace else to turn,” DeWeber said.

“I don’t have anybody coming forward. I am just hoping we get some forensic leads and the sooner the better. I want these people badly. ... You just have to feel for these people (Kublin’s family). It’s really difficult.”

The tip that breaks the case could seem inconsequential to the person with the information Dunlap said, pleading for anyone with information to come forward. Still, he remains hopeful.

“I think we’ll eventually get a break. It only takes one.”

Anyone with information about the Kublin case should call the MCSO at 252-4023 or their local law enforcement agency.

Information about the Salvador case is being received at the Montrose Police Department, 252-5200.

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