A suspect is in custody for the murder of a Dolores man found dead last weekend.

Luther Hampson, 26, of Dolores appeared in court Thursday afternoon, where he was advised he is being held under suspicion of murder.

Montezuma County Sheriff’s Deputies responded approximately 1 p.m. Jan. 13 to a report of a body found by hikers. The deceased was later identified as 27-year-old Jonathan Hayes of Dolores.

Hampson is being held at the Cortez Jail on a $300,000 cash bond.

District Attorney Russell Wasley said it appears upon initial investigation that the victim died from a wound to the throat.

“This was a very violent crime,” Wasley said in court.

Representing Hampson, Attorney Justin Bogan fired back.

“I didn’t hear him mention a single shred of evidence to link him to that,” he said.

Although officials have not released a location where the body was found, sources reported it was in the hills west of Dolores.

Details of the case have not been released and the case file has been sealed by Montezuma County Judge JenniLynn Lawrence, who said the move was to preserve the ongoing investigation.

“The Sheriff’s detective’s division has literally worked to the point of exhaustion on this,” Wasley said.

According to a background check through the Colorado Department of Public Safety, Hampson has a long criminal history, including convictions for illegal drugs, paraphernalia, parole violations, fleeing jurisdictions, careless driving and possession of burglary tools — but has no convictions for violent crimes in the state.

He was charged with possession of a weapon by a previous offender in March of 2010 when a .22 caliber rifle was found at the scene of a rollover accident, but the charge was dismissed by Deputy District Attorney Adam Barnhurst when Hampson pleaded guilty to careless driving causing injury in the same case.

After a motion for a shorter sentence was filed citing good behavior in jail — Hampson was denied a reduced sentence.

During the 2010 case, Hampson wrote letters to Judge Todd Plewe alluding to a troubled childhood and a struggle with addiction to methamphetamine.

“As a 25-year-old ex-methamphetamine addict — never mind the ex part, the battle with my addiction is an every day struggle,” Hampson wrote in a June 2010 letter. He continues on to say he is studying to take a medical college admissions test because he wanted to provide health care in the community, and later said he is enrolled to begin classes at a culinary school in Las Vegas Nev.

According to Hampson’s Facebook profile, he was a graduate of Dolores High School in 2003, and attended the University of New Mexico. Among his favorite films listed on his profile are Natural Born Killers, Star Wars, The Quick and the Dead, and Pulp Fiction.

Hampson’s next court appearance is scheduled for Jan. 27.

Dolores Star Editor Shannon Livick contributed to this report

Reach Reid Wright at reidw@cortezjournal.com