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A Colorado parolee once classified as a “very high” risk to reoffend is now charged in four separate killings across three counties — including three counts of first-degree murder tied to an alleged 2025 crime spree.
Ricky Lee Roybal-Smith, 38, faces two counts of first-degree murder in Adams County, one count of first-degree murder in Denver and a newly filed second-degree murder charge in Arapahoe County connected to a 2022 death.
He is being held without bond in the Denver jail, prosecutors confirmed.
In 2022, Roybal-Smith was accused of threatening customers at a retail store. One day later, a woman named Meg Eberhart was found unconscious at a light rail station and died days later, 9NEWS reported. Police suspected foul play and focused on Roybal-Smith, who was on parole for a previous offense at the time. But prosecutors did not file charges because the coroner ruled her cause of death “undetermined.”
Ricky Lee Roybal-Smith is facing multiple murder charges across three Colorado counties, according to prosecutors. (Denver Police Department)
Instead, Roybal-Smith was sentenced to four years in prison for the incident at the retail store.
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According to 9NEWS, Roybal-Smith later became eligible for parole and was released in January 2025 after his risk level had been downgraded from “very high” to “moderate.”
Within months, police allege he launched a violent spree in Aurora.
According to police and the Adams County Coroner’s Office, Roybal-Smith brutally stabbed two homeless men to death in separate attacks. Authorities alleged one of the homeless men was stabbed roughly 90 times.
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An Aurora Police vehicle is seen at a crime scene after authorities arrested Ricky Lee Roybal-Smith in connection with a series of killings and violent incidents across the Denver metro area. (Aurora Police Department)
Later that same day, Roybal-Smith was arrested in Denver in connection with an alleged hit-and-run involving two pedestrians, according to Law & Crime.
After being booked into jail, his cellmate, 36-year-old Vincent Chacon, was found dead within hours.
The Denver Office of the Medical Examiner ruled Chacon’s death a homicide caused by “asphyxia due to external compression of the neck,” or strangulation. Roybal-Smith was charged with first-degree murder in that case. He was also charged with two counts of first-degree murder in connection to the homeless men’s stabbing deaths.
In addition, prosecutors charged Roybal-Smith with second-degree murder in connection to Eberhart’s 2022 death.
“While the manner of the death ruling of the Arapahoe County Coroner has not changed, our office continued to review the evidence… and have determined that the Second-Degree Murder charge is appropriate at this time,” Assistant District Attorney Ryan Brackley told Digital. “As with every case we file, we will only pursue charges when we believe the evidence can reasonably prove the allegations beyond a reasonable doubt in court.”
District Attorney Amy Padden added that while her office does not control parole decisions, the case raises broader concerns.
“We are aware of several cases in which repeat, violent offenders have been released from prison to parole earlier than expected only to go on to commit additional crimes,” Padden said. “The privilege of parole should only be granted when there is substantial evidence of rehabilitation, acceptance of accountability, and lack of danger to the community.”
An Arapahoe County spokesperson emphasized that Roybal-Smith is not on the streets and remains in custody on a no-bond hold related to his Denver case.
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Interior view of the Arapahoe County Detention Center in Colorado, used as a reference image in a case involving multiple homicide charges in the Denver metro area. (RJ Sangosti/The Denver Post)
A 9NEWS Investigates series previously reported that Roybal-Smith’s assessment scores contained errors and that he had been downgraded before his release.
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Digital reached out to the Colorado Department of Corrections and the Colorado State Board of Parole for comment but did not receive responses by publication.
George Brauchler, a Republican district attorney for Colorado’s 23rd Judicial District, said the case reflects broader sentencing and parole policy changes.
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“We Lead with our humanity” sign at Van Cise-Simonet Detention Center in Denver, Colorado on Thursday, August 3, 2023. (Hyoung Chang/The Denver Post)
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“This gets attention because it’s so incredibly huge — a guy killed three people and menaced someone else,” Brauchler said. “But parole violators occur everywhere all the time.”
Brauchler argued Colorado has reduced incarceration levels even as its population has grown.
George Brauchler, a Republican district attorney for Colorado’s 23rd Judicial District, said dangerous people are being put back on the street. (Photo by RJ Sangosti/MediaNews Group/The Denver Post via Getty Images)
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“The simple answer is this state, through the legislature and the governor and the parole board, has made a conscious decision that we choose to put these people back out on the street and put the community at risk more than we want to spend the tax dollars to keep them incarcerated,” he said.
Colorado Senate Minority Leader Cleave Simpson also criticized the state’s parole system, calling the case a “serious failure” in Colorado’s criminal justice system.
“These latest charges in this tragic case highlight a serious failure in Colorado’s criminal justice system,” Simpson said in a statement to Digital. “Families are grieving today because he was allowed back onto our streets.”
Simpson said the case underscores the need to strengthen parole oversight and ensure violent offenders serve appropriate sentences.
“Parole must never become a revolving door for violent offenders,” he said. “Public safety must remain the top priority here in Colorado.”
He added that government agencies must be held accountable if system failures contributed to repeat offenses.
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Eberhart’s daughter, Zada Veniegas, previously told 9NEWS she felt relief upon learning prosecutors had finally filed charges in her mother’s death.
“At least the fact of what he did is being acknowledged on the legal end of things,” she said. “I think it’s important that she wasn’t forgotten.”
Roybal-Smith is scheduled for an arraignment in Adams County on March 30 and remains in custody on a no-bond hold.
Stepheny Price covers crime, including missing persons, homicides and migrant crime. Send story tips to [email protected].
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