Colorado mom demands answers after son killed in Denver jail
Share and Follow


DENVER (KDVR) A Colorado mother who made headlines last year for starting an in-home cake business to pay for her son’s headstone is now facing another unimaginable loss.

Angela Hernandez’s younger son, Vincent Chacon, was killed while in custody at the Denver Downtown Detention Center. According to Hernandez, the family was told Chacon had been released, only to learn days later that he had died in custody.

“We received a text from Denver County Saturday saying they had released him,” she said. “Monday morning, they said they didn’t have him there. Then Tuesday morning, the coroner called to tell me he had passed.”

Denver police say the suspect is 43-year-old Ricky Lee Roybal-Smith, who has a lengthy criminal history, including prior arrests for assault and domestic violence. Hernandez says her son, who was being held on a traffic charge, should never have been placed in the same unit.

“They need to be accountable for putting him in the same cell. Within three hours, he ends up dead,” she said.

The incident is now being investigated as a homicide. The Denver Sheriff Department has not yet commented on how Chacon and Smith came to be housed together.

Hernandez is now planning another funeral and demanding accountability from the jail.

“I just want justice for my son,” she said.

affiliate KDVR reached out to the Denver County Sheriff’s Department for more information.

Share and Follow
You May Also Like
Federal government plans to air-drop sterile flies over Texas to fight flesh-eating maggots

Federal government plans to air-drop sterile flies over Texas to fight flesh-eating maggots

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles! The federal government is…
Mets' Edwin Diaz shows no rust after layoff, continues dominant stretch

Mets’ Edwin Diaz stays sharp after break, excels in recent games

A closer on a team sinking by the day often doesn’t have…
Sean 'Diddy' Combs got off on sex trafficking, racketeering charges after feds built 'weak' case: experts

Experts say federal prosecutors had a weak case against Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs for sex trafficking and racketeering charges, resulting in his acquittal.

They puffed it up. Legal experts have criticized federal prosecutors for their…
Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez stuck as $60M mansion FAILS to sell

Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez’s $60M mansion fails to find a buyer

Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez are giving up on their mission to…
Will Diddy go to jail after mixed verdict in sex trafficking trial?

“Uncertainty Surrounds Diddy’s Future Following Varied Verdict in Sex Trafficking Trial”

Combs was acquitted on the most serious charges against him, but convicted…
Cold-blooded steps Bryan Kohberger took to cover up Idaho slaughter

How Bryan Kohberger tried to hide the Idaho killing

Prosecutors have now revealed that Bryan Kohberger meticulously tried to cover his…

Chairman of the FCC scales a 200-foot Nexstar tower to present policy objectives

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) – The chairman of the Federal Communications Commission…
Bryan Kohberger's 6am phone call that changed everything

The 6am call that transformed Bryan Kohberger’s life

The grieving families of four University of Idaho college students savagely murdered…