Bonus Episode — The 1981 Death Penalty Trial of Johnny Arguello

Editor’s note: This episode contains some talk about suicide. If you or someone you know is contemplating suicide, the North Range Behavioral Health Center in northern Colorado offers 24-hour emergency services at [phone]. The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is a free and confidential service for suicide prevention and mental health crisis. Call toll-free at 1-800-273-8255. In May 2019, Greeley resident Kelly Baker went to trial in the 2017 murder-for-hire death of her husband, Randy Baker. During the course of covering her three-week trial, The Greeley Tribune learned about an interesting connection to an old case: the 1981 murder of 20-year-old University of Northern Colorado student Rodney Allen Russell. Russell was working in December 1981 at the University Standard Station on 8th Avenue in Greeley, Colo., when he was beaten to death by Johnny Arguello during a robbery. Kelly Baker is Russell’s sister. Given the connection, we decided to postpone the episode we had planned to air this week to instead sit down with Al Dominguez and Mike Peters. Dominguez, a former Weld County District Attorney and longtime Greeley defense lawyer, defended Arguello. Peters, a former Tribune reporter, covered the story more than 37 years ago. This episode originally aired June 3, 2019.