After an hour’s worth of deliberation February 19, a Colfax County jury found Gregg Steele guilty of second-degree murder and evidence tampering in the killing of Taos’ Patrick Larkin.
Steele admitted to fatally shooting Larkin in August of 2019, moving his body and disposing of evidence including shell casings, a rifle, and the murder weapon, believed to be a large-caliber handgun, which was never recovered. His claim that he acted in self-defense did not sway the jury, however.
Larkin, well-known in Taos as the owner of the World Cup café, was reported missing August 27, 2019. His body was found concealed in brush along a roadway two days later, and Steele was arrested within hours of that discovery.
Due to the high-profile nature of the case and the fact that the parties involved are known throughout Taos County, the trial took place in Raton. The Eighth Judicial District Court streamed the proceedings to the Taos County Courthouse, where masked and socially distanced members of the public were invited to observe – a first for the Court.
In their closing arguments, prosecutors Consuelo Garcia and Angela Macdonald, pointed to a “bunch of lies” and “convenient” excuses put forth by the defendant as evidence that he was indeed the aggressor. Garcia argued that Steele’s behavior following the murder was inconsistent with that of someone who had used deadly force in order to defend himself.
“The prosecutors presented a strong case, and I am grateful that the jurors saw through the self-defense claims of an obviously guilty man,” District Attorney Marcus Montoya said. “I would like to thank our prosecution team, the hardworking officers whose investigation helped cement this outcome, the civilian witnesses who testified with the safety and wellbeing of their community at heart, Judge Shannon for his deft handling of a high-stakes case in a time of pandemic, and the jurors for their time and consideration. The people of the Eighth Judicial District can feel a sense of relief, as I do, knowing this murderer will remain behind bars.”
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