PUEBLO COUNTY, Colo. — The Pueblo County Sheriff’s Office (PCSO) has arrested Leon Pantoya, 43, in connection with the 2022 murder of Steven Robinson, 39, whose body was discovered buried in a shallow grave.
Pantoya faces charges of first-degree murder, identity theft, and theft. Robinson’s remains were found on September 25, 2022, when a property owner reported possible human remains in a field near 36th Lane.
Forensic analysis confirmed the remains were human, and an autopsy revealed blunt and sharp force trauma, leading officials to rule the death a homicide. Despite entering the victim into the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System and creating a forensic reconstruction, initial efforts failed to identify Robinson.
A breakthrough came in 2024 when investigators matched Robinson’s DNA to a relative through a genetic genealogy database, identifying the victim as a South Carolina native who had moved to Pueblo in 2017.
Authorities say Robinson lived with Pantoya at the time of his death in January 2022. Pantoya allegedly told friends and the landlord that Robinson died from pneumonia on January 22, 2022. His remains were buried on property owned by Pantoya’s family.
Investigators also discovered Pantoya withdrew over $75,000 from Robinson’s bank account, which continued to receive military disability payments for more than a year after Robinson’s death.
Sheriff David J. Lucero praised Detective Simpson’s dedication, noting the arrest was made exactly three years and one day after the investigation began. He called the case “a testament to modern science and solid investigative police work,” bringing closure to the victim’s family.
