Paul Favret Sedalia Colorado man & CEO of Resource Energy accused of pulling gun on Hispanic man Chris Ochoa who got lost & ended up on the man’s property.
A Colorado energy company CEO has been accused of chasing down and pulling a gun on a Hispanic man after he got lost and pulled up to the wrong home while trying to find his friend’s wedding rehearsal.
Paul Favret, CEO of Resource Energy, allegedly held Chris Ochoa, 26, and his girlfriend at gunpoint when the couple took a wrong turn and ended up in the well to do neighborhood of Elk Ridge Estates in Sedalia, 30 miles south of Denver, back on June 12.
Ochoa who self identifies as Mexican-American told police that ‘as a minority I felt in danger’ and feared for his life as Favret pointed a gun at him during the sudden ambush, telling him ‘I want to blow your f***** head off’.
Favret initially denied drawing his firearm to cops but then changed his story when he was shown photos of the incident, saying he could not remember pulling a gun on the couple because he was on pain medication.
In a Facebook post on June 28, Ochoa detailed the alleged June 12 incident alongside images taken by his girlfriend of an armed Favret standing in front of their car.
An innocent mistake ends up with menacing confrontation
In the post, Ochoa said he and his girlfriend had driven into the driveway of Favret’s home that afternoon after their GPS directed them there when they were looking for a friend’s wedding venue in the area.
When they didn’t recognize the other cars on the drive and realized they must be in the wrong place, Ochoa said they did a u-turn and left the property.
In turn, Favret gave chase in a large red truck and blocked the couple off in the main road, Ochoa said.
The energy CEO then allegedly got out of his vehicle and pointed a firearm at the couple.
Ochoa said Favret then ran to his driver’s side window which was down and continued to point the gun at him, yelling he ‘wants to blow my head off!’
The couple – with ‘our hands up’ – repeatedly apologized and tried to explain it was an ‘honest mistake’, but the enraged man would not listen, Ochoa detailed in his post.
Ochoa wrote that his girlfriend managed to call 911 ‘because we felt in danger as he kept pointing the gun at our faces and continued to tell us how much he wanted to kill us.’
Would it shock anyone to learn that Paul Favret is an active member of the Colorado Republican Party who has donated thousands of dollars to Republican candidates at the state and federal level? Probably not, but it is in fact true. https://t.co/DzANC9dh9L
— Michael Steithefukhomovich Ditto (@janus303) July 9, 2020
Energey CEO initially denies pulling gun on couple — only to change story when shown photos of encounter
The incident only ended when the friend whose wedding it was arrived after they came looking for the couple to help them find their way to the venue.
Favret initially denied to authorities that he had pulled out his gun in the confrontation, according to 9 News.
The CEO then backpedaled when he was shown the photos taken by Ochoa’s girlfriend, saying he didn’t remember doing that and blaming it on pain medication.
Favret also insisted Ochoa’s Facebook post is not ‘an accurate version’ of the incident and has claimed not knowing the race of the vehicle occupants.
‘The Facebook post in question does not portray an accurate version of the events. However, I deeply regret my actions that day,’ Favret said through a company spokesperson to 9 News.
‘I had no way of knowing the identities of the individuals in the vehicle.
Resorting to immediate threat of violence
‘I just saw the unknown vehicle very close to the home at a time when we were not expecting any visitors and our property is clearly marked with our address and is about 1/2 mile from their destination.’
Favret went on to defend his actions saying intruders have entered his property in the past.
Ochoa did not press charges initially when cops arrived at the wedding venue to take their statements, because he said the owner of the venue threatened to cancel the wedding if they did.
‘If you press charges and disrupt my community I will cancel the wedding,’ Ochoa said he was told in the Facebook post.
He added: ‘The homeowner decided it was more important to keep the neighborhood where she lived ‘calm and peaceful’ so there wouldn’t be any ‘drama,’ instead of doing what was right and letting me press charges.’
Ochoa said the incident left him so fearful that he did not attend the wedding at all.
Fearing for their lives cause they are minorities
He has since asked police to reopen the case now that his friend’s wedding is over reports the dailymail.
In the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office (DCSO) incident report, Ochoa said he and his girlfriend froze when Favret pulled the gun on them.
‘I stayed as still as possible because I knew he was in a rage, I knew he could shoot any time, and I knew I could die at any time based on how he was reacting,’ he wrote in the police statement.
‘As a minority I felt in danger.’
Ochoa believes the attack was racially motivated, after two other cars also reportedly got lost and drove into Favret’s property but were subjected to such an attack.
He and his girlfriend were reportedly the only minorities in the entire neighborhood at the time.
The DCSO has filed five criminal charges against Favret over the incident including two felony menacing and three misdemeanor charges.
It remained unclear if Resource Energy would take any action against the CEO.
