Mother Of Slain Dispensary Guard Begs For Some Closure
AURORA, Colo. (CBS4) - The mother of a security guard who was gunned down while working at an Aurora marijuana dispensary is urging anyone with information about the suspects to come forward.
Travis Mason, a former U.S. Marine, was killed eight months ago and police have few leads in the case.
"It makes me miss him. I wish I could have done something to protect him," said Priscilla Dominguez.
It's not uncommon for the mother of a Marine to know that the life of service comes with great risk. But Dominguez never thought her 24-year-old son would be killed at home.
Mason had only worked at the Green Heart dispensary for two weeks when the crime happened.
"He mentioned several times that he wanted a bullet-proof vest. And to this day that conversation runs through my head all the time," she said.
Mason moved back to Denver with his wife and three children after four years in the Marines. He took the security job while he was in the process of trying to become an officer in the Denver Police Department.
"He was so excited. And he says, 'Yeah, I get to go test, I get to go test on July 12,'" Dominguez said.
Mason died before he could begin the process of testing to join the police department. The dispensary was about to close for the night on June 18 when two masked men stormed in gunning Mason down. The robbers didn't steal anything inside, but Dominquez says what they took from her family was priceless.
"It's hard for us to get through every single day knowing that they're walking around, living their lives and all of our lives have just been shattered," she said.
Mason' leaves behind his wife Samantha, their twins Aiden and Daisy, who are each 4, and Julian, who is almost 2.
"They know he's in Heaven. They say, 'My daddy is in Heaven. The bad guys took him,'" Dominquez said. "Sometimes Daisy will go outside and she'll look up and try talking to him and say, 'Daddy, Daddy.'"
Weeks after the murder, Aurora police released surveillance photos of the men believed to be suspects, but there are still no arrests.
Dominguez said anyone with even the slightest bit of information about her son's death should please call police.
"Please come forward. I'm begging you because we need justice. We need some closure. I want my grandkids to feel safe … that the bad guys who did this to daddy are caught," she said. "I can go to work every day but my heart hurts. Sometimes I cry on the way to work. Sometimes I'm sitting at my desk and I have to get up and leave.
"I just want justice, I want closure, I want these guys behind bars; I want my family to know that this has come to an end and maybe we can have some kind of peace."
Local businesses have generously added to the Crime Stoppers reward in the case. It's now at $50,000.
Additional Reesources
- A GoFundMe page was set up to help Travis Mason's family.
- Aurora police ask that anyone with information that might be helpful in the case call them at (303) 739-6067 or Metro Denver Crime Stoppers at (720) 913-7867.
