Colorado man pleads guilty to killing champion dog breeder, aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon

A 37-year-old Colorado man pleaded guilty on Monday to the murder of a champion dog breeder and robbery after stealing his puppies in Idaho Springs last year.

Sergio Ferrer pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon, both felonies. Police say he killed 57-year-old Paul Peavey and stole several Dobermann pinscher puppies that Peavey bred.

Ferrer was also charged with first-degree murder, tampering with a dead body, burglary, and theft valued between $20,000 and $100,000, but those charges were dismissed as part of a plea deal, court records show.

Peavey was discovered dead at his home in late August 2024, several days after friends said they couldn't reach him. Friends and neighbors told CBS News Colorado at the time that four adult Dobermanns were on his property in the 1000 block of Two Brothers Road in Idaho Springs, but the 10 puppies he was raising were gone.

The Clear Creek County Sheriff's Office admitted to not initially handling the investigation with as much care as it should have.

"There were some missteps in our initial reaction and response to the reports that came in on Wednesday evening," sheriff's office spokesperson Jenny Fulton said at the time. "There were some additional things that we should have done, including push information out on Mr. Peavey while he was reported missing on our social media sites."

Days later, after more friends called the sheriff's office, a deputy came to Peavey's property to investigate, but "he didn't have reason to believe there was foul play," Fulton said.

Several more days went by before a deputy returned and found Peavey's body in "about 4 minutes," Bruce Boynton, a friend of Peavey's and organizer of a volunteer search party, told CBS Colorado.

It was another blemish on the department, still in the spotlight from the killing of Christian Glass by a Clear Creek deputy in 2022.

Ferrer was arrested on an unrelated warrant for a weapons charge out of Hamilton County, Nebraska, on Aug. 24, 2024.

The existence of some of the stolen puppies was reported to law enforcement by the mother of a friend of one of Ferrer's children, who said she heard her daughter talking with a friend about puppies for sale.

After interviews with several witnesses and acquaintances of Ferrer, law enforcement from multiple agencies served a search warrant on the home Ferrer was staying at, where they found items stolen from Peavey's property, a 9mm handgun, clothing with blood on it, and other items.

Ferrer was interviewed at the Clear Creek County Sheriff's Office. Officials say he changed his story multiple times, initially saying he bought a puppy from Peavey. He also said that, at one point, Peavey shot at him, that he shot Peavey in self-defense, and that he later covered Peavey's body, "out of respect," according to an arrest warrant. He told investigators he couldn't remember if he stole any items from Peavey's property.

He later admitted to taking the puppies and giving them away in Denver.

Ferrer is set to be sentenced on Jan. 12, court records show, and he faces the possibility of 16 to 48 years in prison. He was represented by the Public Defender's Office.

His wife, Ana Ferrer, was arrested in connection with the case on April 4 of this year and pleaded guilty in September to felony accessory to a crime and misdemeanor theft. As part of her plea deal, an additional accessory charge and a tampering with evidence charge were dismissed, and she received a deferred sentence.

Three of the puppies have since been located. The Clear Creek County Sheriff's Office on Monday told CBS Colorado that the other seven are still unaccounted for. Of the four adult Dobermanns that were taken to the shelter, three were released to a friend and family members of Peavey's, and the fourth was given to a rescue.

Peavey's friend Boynton described him as "a phenomenal dog trainer," going on to say that Peavey trained service dogs, often walking them through town without a leash. "He was better than the rest of us."