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Witnesses: Strip club party murder suspect tried to put hit on girlfriend

Details of what happened at the Cherry Creek reservoir last August have not been previously available, as the records in the case were sealed.
Joseph Washington mug shot.

A suspected drug dealer charged with killing a 26-year-old man at a party hosted by a strip club at the Cherry Creek State Park also tried to get rid of a key eyewitness in the case, according to testimony given Wednesday morning at the Arapahoe County courthouse.

Joseph Washington is accused of killing Jackson Chavez on August 13, 2017.

Details of what happened at the Cherry Creek reservoir last August have not been previously available, as the records in the case were sealed.

At the Wednesday preliminary hearing for Washington, an investigator laid out what the Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office has learned about what led to events on August 13 and what Washington is accused of doing after he’d been arrested.

Joseph Washington mug shot.

According to court testimony, the shooting was the result of a fight.

It all started with Chavez, his ex-girlfriend and a number of others camping at the reservoir and then getting on a boat.

While on the boat, according to court testimony, Chavez had an argument with his ex-girlfriend and tried to physically hurt her. When the couple got to shore, they went to a barbeque attended by the employees and patrons of PT’s Showclub.

According to testimony in court, the strip club’s DJ and Washington tried to talk to Chavez and asked him to leave the party.

An investigator with the Arapahoe County Sheriff’s office told the judge, Chavez at one point punched the DJ, knocking him out. Some witnesses told investigators they saw Chavez hit Washington.

Washington is accused of shooting Chavez twice, in the neck and chest.

According to court testimony, Washington fled the scene and was later arrested by a fugitive team.

At least two witnesses told investigators Washington sold drugs for a living, selling cocaine, molly and ecstasy.

Washington’s cellmate told investigators Washington reached out to two inmates asking them to “take care” of his girlfriend, who was an eyewitness to the shooting.

According to court testimony, those inmates interpreted the remark to mean the witness needed to be killed.

The Arapahoe County Sheriff’s office investigator also told the court that despite a protection order prohibiting Washington from contacting his girlfriend, a witness to the shooting, he repeatedly called her from jail, including using other inmates’ accounts, and wrote her at least one letter, instructing her to use a different name when writing him back.

Washington is facing a number of charges, including murder.

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