Three suspects jailed following LaPorte homicide

By JoAn Bjarko
North Forty News

A Fort Collins man, a Loveland man and a transient are suspects in a Sept. 8 homicide in LaPorte.

They are being held in the Larimer County Detention Center, and details of the crime have been sealed by court order.

Two of the suspects are charged with first-degree murder in the death of Steven Anthony Marble, 24, of Greeley, who died of multiple gunshot wounds.

According to sheriff's department reports, Marble was shot about 9:25 p.m. in the parking lot at 3212 W. County Road 54G, between Branding Iron Liquor and LaPorte Pizza.

Witnesses reported that a white Lincoln Navigator and a white motorcycle had fled the scene before deputies arrived. Fort Collins police later found the Navigator with a man suffering from stab wounds.

The stabbing victim, Pedro Ruperto Mercado, 34, of Loveland underwent surgery at Medical Center of the Rockies and was transferred to the detention center on Sept. 15.

Mercado faces charges of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit first-degree murder. He is being held without bond and will appear in court again on Oct. 5.

Investigators are not saying whether Marble or someone else stabbed Mercado.

"It's still being investigated," said Eloise Campanella, press information officer for the Larimer County Sheriff's Department. "Charges at this time are not imminent."

District Attorney Larry Abrahamson said affidavits from the investigation are generally released at a suspect's preliminary hearing.

Another suspect, Richard William Bastian, 36, who is listed by the detention center as a transient, faces four felony charges: first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, accessory to first-degree murder and aggravated motor vehicle theft.

His bond is set at $250,000. A preliminary hearing and bond-reduction hearing is set for Oct. 15.

The third suspect, Calvin Allen Bennett, 33, of Fort Collins is charged with first-degree assault of Marble and conspiracy to commit first-degree assault, both felonies. Bennett is being held on $75,000 bond. His preliminary hearing is set for Nov. 9.

The sheriff's department is calling the murder and stabbing a gang-related incident based on the nicknames and monikers of the people involved.

In an online column called The Bull's-eye, Sheriff Jim Alderden wrote about gangs in Larimer County. He estimated 250 to 300 gang members live in the county.

"Following the recent homicide, some have reported that LaPorte is a hotbed and center of gang activity," Alderden wrote. "Other residents have stated there isn't a gang problem in LaPorte and that theirs is a sleepy little community. Both are wrong. Gang activity isn't localized to LaPorte, it is spread throughout Larimer County. We know of some gang houses in the LaPorte community, but there isn't a concentration of gang members in this little town."