Man suspected of fatally stabbing uncle over hot sauce had previously been charge with murder in 2021

DENVER — A 19-year-old charged with fatally stabbing his uncle in a dispute over a bottle of hot sauce was acquitted earlier this year in another killing, 9NEWS Investigates has learned.

Denver prosecutors charged George Vigil with second-degree murder in Sunday’s killing at a home in the 2300 block of Federal Boulevard. That occurred after “an argument erupted between family members over the bottle of hot sauce,” according to court documents obtained by 9NEWS.

In the court documents, the trouble started after the uncle – whose identity hasn’t yet been released by the Denver coroner – asked where the hot sauce was. Vigil replied that it was in his room.

In the midst of the ensuing dispute, others at the home had to separate Vigil and his uncle, according to court documents.

After the uncle suggested something along the lines of “let’s take this outside,” a witness told police she saw Vigil “swing an arm toward” the man’s side. That witness also told police that Vigil often carried a switchblade-type knife in his pocket.

“He punched me in the head so I stabbed him,” Vigil told police, according to court documents.

This wasn’t the first time Vigil has supposedly stabbed someone.

In the documents, with sources confirming, Denver police previously arrested Vigil on Sept. 3, 2021, for the death of Timothy Gama, 54.

According to sources, Gama was sitting on a short landscaping wall outside Vigil’s family home when a dispute occurred.

Gama died of multiple stab wounds, and police arrested Vigil, then 16.

Prosecutors charged him with first-degree murder. Earlier this year the case went to trial, but a jury acquitted him. The case file is sealed, so details of what happened in the courtroom aren’t clear.

If the current stabbing case goes to trial, prosecutors have the option of filing a motion to allow them to present details of the 2021 killing to the jury.

“Prior bad act evidence under the Colorado rule of evidence 404-B is evidence of some prior act, which the prosecution would seek to use as evidence in a current criminal trial,” said Ryan Brackley, criminal defense attorney and former prosecutor.

It would require the judge to conclude that the evidence of the earlier killing was relevant – and that it would not be overly prejudicial if a jury learned about it.

“You can’t use prior bad act evidence just to say someone’s a bad person,” Brackley said. “There has to be some relevant logical purpose for it to be used in the current case.”

He also said that even if a judge were to agree to allow details of that prior case to be shared in court, prosecutors need to think hard about whether they actually need it.

“Appellate courts are very critical of [district attorneys] using prior bad act evidence unless they really need it for a logical, relevant reason to prove an element of the current crime,” Brackley said.

Contact 9NEWS investigator Kevin Vaughan with tips about this or any story: kevin.vaughan@9news.com or 303-871-1862.