95-year-old accused of shooting, killing Lafayette assisted living facility employee

The 95-year-old man accused of shooting and killing an assisted living facility employee is set for his first court appearance Friday.

Okey Payne was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of first-degree murder and two counts of felony menacing.

Payne is set for a first advisement Friday morning in Boulder District Court, according to court records.

Payne’s case is being filed directly in district court as opposed to going through Boulder County Court, which is not unusual in first-degree murder cases.

Lafayette police Deputy Chief Brian Rosipajla said police were called to Legacy Assisted Living, 225 Waneka Parkway, at 7:15 a.m. Wednesday for a reported shooting.

Rosipajla said police responded and were able to take Payne into custody and found a small handgun.

The victim, a male employee of the facility in his 40s, was transported to Good Samaritan Medical Center and initially placed on life support, but pronounced dead at 2:10 p.m. Wednesday.

While the Boulder County Coroner’s Office has not yet released the man’s identity, a recently released affidavit said the victim was Ricardo Medina-Rojas, a maintenance worker at the facility.

Police believe the shooting took place in the lobby and that Payne also pointed the gun at two other people in the building before he returned to his room, where he was later taken into custody.

Rosipajla said police were able to lock down the facility and clear the building after about an hour. It is believed only one shot was fired.

According to an arrest affidavit, Payne told police in an interview that he believed staff of the Legacy, including Medina-Rojas, were working with his ex-wife to steal from him. Payne told police staff were stealing bills from his wallet and forging checks in his name.

Payne said he waited for Medina-Rojas to check in Wednesday morning and then shot him in the head to stop “the thievery.”

According to the affidavit both Lafayette police and Adult Protective Services had previously investigated Payne’s complaints, but found the allegations were unsubstantiated.

Payne said staff had told him he was not allowed to have firearms on the property by rule, and said his firearms were stored in a storage shed at a separate address.

Payne did not say how he got a weapon into the building on Wednesday.

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