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Jacob Kouris
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Carl Torrez
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GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. — One of two suspects in a brawl that left a man stabbed 11 times told Mesa County Sheriff’s investigators he confronted his victim because the tires on his mother’s car had allegedly been slashed in possible gang-related retaliation.
Jacob Kouris, 20, of Clifton, admitted he and 22-year-old Carl Torrez of Clifton assaulted Cory Samora at the Samora family home on Orchard Mesa just before midnight Wednesday, according to court records.
“(Kouris) said he entered the residence then punched Cory Samora in the head hard. He described Samora as larger than him and said Samora threw him around.”
Kouris allegedly admitted using a “credit-card style” knife in assaulting Samora and said Torrez had also stabbed Samora.
When confronted with Kouris’ version of what happened, Torrez allegedly told investigators he wanted to “plead the 5th.”
Torrez had earlier denied involvement and claimed he was home at the time of the incident.
Both Kouris and Torrez were booked early Thursday into the Mesa County Jail on charges including attempted first-degree murder and first-degree burglary.
Samora was stabbed or cut 11 times, including seven blows to his torso and four to his face and scalp. He allegedly identified Kouris as his attacker in a photo lineup late Wednesday at St. Mary’s Hospital.
He remained hospitalized Thursday evening and his condition wasn’t confirmed.
According to court records, Samora said he had met one of the suspects a couple times through a mutual friend.
“The dude rushed me,” Samora told investigators of the attack.
He described “Jacob” throwing punches, while he eventually fought back against the two intruders.
“Cory Samora said he ‘rushed the dude’ (Carl Torrez) and then felt ‘a gushing’ sensation to his back area,” the affidavit said.
Samora said the assault stopped when he screamed for help to his father — asleep at the time in the house — and ran out of the home.
Sheriff’s deputies were called to Samora’s home at 11:48 p.m. Wednesday and were greeted by Samora’s mother, who said her son had been stabbed and the suspects had fled.
Interviewed around 3 a.m. on Thursday, Kouris allegedly acknowledged tires on his mother’s car had been recently slashed.
“Kouris said he was denounced from the North Side Gang, and thought this (tire slashing) could have been retaliation due to him stepping down from his gang affiliation,” the records said.
Kouris and Torrez are being held without bond pending their first appearance in court this afternoon.
Jacob Kouris, 20, of Clifton, admitted he and 22-year-old Carl Torrez of Clifton assaulted Cory Samora at the Samora family home on Orchard Mesa just before midnight Wednesday, according to court records.
“(Kouris) said he entered the residence then punched Cory Samora in the head hard. He described Samora as larger than him and said Samora threw him around.”
Kouris allegedly admitted using a “credit-card style” knife in assaulting Samora and said Torrez had also stabbed Samora.
When confronted with Kouris’ version of what happened, Torrez allegedly told investigators he wanted to “plead the 5th.”
Torrez had earlier denied involvement and claimed he was home at the time of the incident.
Both Kouris and Torrez were booked early Thursday into the Mesa County Jail on charges including attempted first-degree murder and first-degree burglary.
Samora was stabbed or cut 11 times, including seven blows to his torso and four to his face and scalp. He allegedly identified Kouris as his attacker in a photo lineup late Wednesday at St. Mary’s Hospital.
He remained hospitalized Thursday evening and his condition wasn’t confirmed.
According to court records, Samora said he had met one of the suspects a couple times through a mutual friend.
“The dude rushed me,” Samora told investigators of the attack.
He described “Jacob” throwing punches, while he eventually fought back against the two intruders.
“Cory Samora said he ‘rushed the dude’ (Carl Torrez) and then felt ‘a gushing’ sensation to his back area,” the affidavit said.
Samora said the assault stopped when he screamed for help to his father — asleep at the time in the house — and ran out of the home.
Sheriff’s deputies were called to Samora’s home at 11:48 p.m. Wednesday and were greeted by Samora’s mother, who said her son had been stabbed and the suspects had fled.
Interviewed around 3 a.m. on Thursday, Kouris allegedly acknowledged tires on his mother’s car had been recently slashed.
“Kouris said he was denounced from the North Side Gang, and thought this (tire slashing) could have been retaliation due to him stepping down from his gang affiliation,” the records said.
Kouris and Torrez are being held without bond pending their first appearance in court this afternoon.
Driving to the hospital ...
Grand Junction Fire Captain Jamie Richardson, who works at Station Four on Orchard Mesa, said he and a battalion engineer were driving to St. Mary’s Hospital to pick up personnel who transported Samora, when they saw a flaming Dumpster situated behind a business at 529 Pitkin Ave. just before midnight.The two extinguished the blaze and made a gruesome find when the smoke cleared.
“An adult male was lying face up,” said Richardson, who noted massive burns but no other obvious outward signs of trauma on the body.
“There was very little inside the Dumpster except that body.”
The man’s identity wasn’t confirmed by officials Wednesday.
The Mesa County Coroner’s Office ruled the death as an accident — the result of smoke and soot inhalation. The coroner’s office Wednesday afternoon was working to identify the man and notify next of kin.
Reach Paul Shockley at pshockley@gjfreepress.com
