The man accused of killing his Breckenridge roommate in 2019 is now in Summit County after turning himself into authorities following a nine-month manhunt by the U.S. Marshals Service. 

The Summit County Sheriff’s Office arrested Miles Fernando Tovar on Nov. 22 on an outstanding warrant related to charges of manslaughter, first-degree burglary, first-degree criminal trespass and harassment in connection to the death of 29-year-old Brendan Rye. 

The arrest comes after Tovar turned himself into deputy marshals in Bridgeport, Connecticut, who were conducting a nationwide search into leads regarding Tovar’s location since the Breckenridge Police Department issued a warrant on Feb. 3. The U.S. Marshals Service was investigating leads in Colorado, Florida, California, Maine and New York for about nine months, according to a press release issued in October. 

Tovar was transferred from Bridgeport willingly to Summit County ahead of his arrest.  

Summit County Sheriff’s Office detentions commander Jake Straw said Tuesday that Tovar is currently in custody of the Summit County Detention Facility with bond set at $51,500. 

The charges stem from a Nov. 6, 2019, physical altercation between Tovar and Rye, which reportedly happened after a night of drinking. The Summit County Coroner’s report of the incident says Rye was found unconscious and not breathing while Tovar suffered from a gunshot wound to his right thigh. 

Rye was taken to a hospital in Lakewood where he was pronounced dead on Nov. 7, 2019 around 6 a.m.

The Summit County Coroner’s Office lists Rye’s manner of death as a homicide and his cause of death as manual strangulation. 

The report says Tovar told authorities that he was outside of the doorway of a bedroom and that Rye was inside the room before the altercation. Tovar reportedly said he heard a “loud bang” and noticed pain in his leg. Another bang was heard by Tovar as the pair wrestled to the ground, according to the report, and Tovar reported that he continued to hold Rye on the floor until Rye was no longer moving. 

Tovar says he acted in self defense, according to the coroner’s report. 

A protection order has been ordered in the case, according to court minutes from recent hearings, and the court ordered that Tovar cannot leave Colorado without the court’s permission if he posts bond. 

Tovar is scheduled to appear for an arraignment and preliminary hearing at 11 a.m. on Jan. 10, 2023, in Summit County.