Man Being Held By Authorities After Missing Dog Breeder Is Found Slain. But Where Are The Victim's Puppies?

Sergio Ferrer is held on charges in connection with the shooting death of 57-year-old Paul Peavey

• 36-year-old Sergio Ferrer is held on charges of first degree murder and aggravated robbery in connection with the killing of Colorado dog breeder Paul Peavey

• Ferrer's mugshot has not yet been released, but he appeared in court on Aug. 30 for a hearing on the advisement of the charges, and his bail was set at a $1 million cash bond

• Local authorities have said they believe that “as many as 10” Doberman puppies missing from the breeder’s property may be key in investigating the killing
  

A 36-year-old man is being held in connection with the murder of a Colorado dog breeder, whose body was found on his mountain property on Aug. 24.

Sergio Ferrer faces charges of first-degree murder after deliberation and aggravated felony robbery in connection to the slaying of 57-year-old Paul Peavey, according to the Office of the District Attorney of the Fifth Judicial District.

Ferrer – whose mugshot has not yet been released due to “pending photo lineups” per Jenny Fulton of the Clear Creek County Sheriff’s Office – appeared in court on Aug. 30 for a hearing on the advisement of the charges, and his bail was set at a $1 million cash bond, according to prosecutors. (While Ferrer has been made aware of the charges against him, those charges are not due to be officially filed by prosecutors until Sept. 9, Suzanne Karrer of the State Court Administrator’s Office tells PEOPLE.)

Karrer says he has not yet entered a plea to the charges or been bonded.

Related: Murdered Dog Breeder Found by Search Party, Police Looking for Missing Puppies

Peavey was last heard from on the night of Aug. 19 and reported missing two days later, according to the Clear Creek Sheriff’s Office. A private search party found Peavey fatally shot on his grounds.

The local coroner has ruled his death a homicide, per the sheriff’s office which said in a press release say that “the time of death is consistent with the timeframe that Mr. Peavey was last heard from.”

Ferrer was arrested at 4:00 p.m. local time on Aug. 24, which was “within hours” of Peavey’s body being discovered, according to the Clear County Sheriff’s Office. The office noted that Ferrer quickly became a “person of interest” in the homicide, but was initially arrested on an “unrelated warrant out of Nebraska” for failure to appear in court on a previous weapons charge.

Local authorities have said they believe that “as many as 10” Doberman puppies missing from the breeder’s property may be key to investigating the killing, per a post they shared on Facebook.

Following Ferrer’s arrest, authorities say the pups “are still unaccounted for.”

Peavey – who described himself as a longtime “dog lover” – ran the dog breeding company Elite European Dobermans, which per the company’s website produced no more than two litters of puppies each year.

Those pups were each microchipped, according to investigators, who believe the missing puppies have possibly been “sold through social media sites or by other means” since Aug. 20.

Early in their investigation, authorities – who have not publicly released a motive for the killing – said they believed the whereabouts of the puppies could be connected to the murder.

Appealing to the public on Facebook, the sheriff’s office asked that people who had recently purchased a Doberman pup directly from Peavey or from the general central Colorado area to “check the puppy for a microchip” and contact authorities.

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Investigators noted that whether “you received the puppy that was purchased or if you did not receive the puppy” from Peavey, puppy owners and would-be owners alike should contact the sheriff’s office, who was still trying to narrow down the exact number of missing pups.

On his website, Peavey – who himself owned an American Doberman and “mutt rescues” – said that in addition to his breeding business, he had walked local rescue dogs and orchestrated visits with the dogs to senior homes and senior rehabilitation centers.

Held at Clear Creek County Jail, Ferrer is slated to return to court at 11 a.m. Sept. 18 for an appearance of counsel in the case, according to Karrer.

He is separately scheduled to make an appearance in another case in Clear Creek County Court on Wednesday, Sept. 4 at 11 a.m.

He is additionally charged in a third case as a fugitive of justice in Nebraska, according to Karrer.

PEOPLE reached out to the Dillon Public Defender's Office, who is currently representing him, per Karrer. The office declined to comment on the case or to confirm their representation, referring PEOPLE to the Colorado State Public Defender's Office, which did not return requests for comment by phone or email in time for publication.

If you have information about the investigation into Paul Peavey’s killing and/ or the missing Doberman puppies, you may call the Sheriff’s Office tip line at 303-670-7567 or email at crime_tips@clearcreeksheriff.us, or you may anonymously submit a tip at https://bit.ly/CCSOCrimeTips.

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