Jevon Vigil admitted in court on Wednesday that he was so drunk he couldn’t remember shooting two ranch cows to death in 2024.
Vigil pleaded guilty in district court for Montrose County to aggravated cruelty to animals as part of an agreement with the prosecution to avoid prison time. He was sentenced to three years of probation, and he must complete an alcohol-abuse program that will be determined after an evaluation.
“This, from my perspective, would be a crossroads in your life,” said District Court Judge Laura Harvell. “And this is a big one, and I think that taking time to engage with intensive treatment as a way of understanding the use of alcohol and not just its impact to you and to others.”
Harvell noted that Vigil, who is two months shy of turning 21, has a number of pending cases where alcohol is a factor. Vigil is set to appear before Harvell again on two misdemeanor violations of the protection order in this case.
“You're very young, Mr. Vigil, to be facing such significant consequences,” the judge said. “And I think this is a moment of intervention that is absolutely critical to you.”
At about 10 a.m. Dec. 29, 2024, a rancher in Montrose County went out to open a grate to let his cattle out to graze. He discovered two dead cows and a third cow that was shot, but still walking. An investigator for the sheriff’s office found wounds consistent with a shotgun and a rifle.
Two days after the shooting, Vigil showed video on his cell phone of the shooting of the cows to a group of men in Delta. A witness told investigators “that they had chosen to, ‘beat his a–’ because they believed he was wrong for having shot the cows,” according to Vigil’s arrest affidavit.
Vigil sustained injuries to his eye and stitches to his ear when he was first interrogated by investigators five days after the shooting.
Investigators were told that Vigil had a history of animal abuse, including killing a guinea pig and injuring a dog. When they confronted Vigil about the cows, he quickly admitted to the shooting, and said his roommate, Leeland Hernandez instigated the shooting and shot the cows too with a rifle.
Hernandez asked for an attorney when the sheriff’s investigators asked him about the cows. He pleaded guilty to lesser misdemeanor animal cruelty and received a deferred probation sentence, and the felony animal cruelty charge was dropped.
A family member of the rancher testified at Wednesday’s sentencing that the cows represented “more than a hundred years of breeding and genetics. That’s not easily replaced.” Vigil was ordered by the judge to pay more than $4,000 in restitution.
Vigil was offered a chance to speak before sentencing.
“I understand that this is the farmer's livelihood,” said Vigil. “And yeah, I really want to apologize, and it's just a drunken mistake and honestly, I don't even really remember doing it that night, and other than that, really that's it, and I just apologize and I'm sorry.”
Vigil’s attorney said as part of pleading guilty to a felony, Vigil will never be allowed to legally purchase or possess a gun.
