Apr. 21—A Longmont man was acquitted of all charges in connection with a death in 2020.

Luis Salvador Caraveo was found not guilty Friday of reckless manslaughter and second-degree assault following a week-long trial in Boulder District Court.

Caraveo had been accused by prosecutors of "unlawfully, feloniously, and recklessly caused the death of Honorio Guerrero" by hitting Guerrero over the head with a beer bottle.

"We appreciate the service of the jurors and their work on this tragic case," Deputy District Attorney Nick Trevino said in a statement. "Most importantly, we want to recognize the family of Mr. Guerrero. The loss of his life has had and will continue to have lasting impacts on them day after day, and we hope that they can continue to heal moving forward."

Officials with the public defender's office, which represented Caraveo, could not immediately be reached for comment.

According to an arrest affidavit, police were called to a building in Longmont at 8:42 p.m. Oct. 4, 2020, for a welfare check and found Guerrero lying unconscious in a parking lot next to a sedan belonging to Caraveo's partner.

Guerrero was taken to Longmont United Hospital and later airlifted to St. Anthony's Hospital in Lakewood, but he never regained consciousness and died on Oct. 12, 2020.

According to the affidavit, Caraveo's partner said Caraveo admitted to hitting Guerrero over the head with a bottle after an argument, but Caraveo told police he left Guerrero after a night of drinking.

An autopsy determined the cause of death to be complications from blunt force injuries, but the manner of death was undetermined. A forensic pathologist said there was a fracture on Guerrero's skull that was consistent with hitting a flat object, as opposed to something rounded.

The forensic pathologist said it was possible Guerrero's injuries matched up with Caraveo hitting him with a beer bottle, but also said it was possible he could have sustained the injury by simply falling from a standing position.

The autopsy also showed Guerrero had a blood alcohol level of 0.289.

"Our hearts go out to the victim's family; they suffered a terrible loss in October of 2020 and have to live with it every day" Boulder County District Attorney Michael Dougherty said in a statement. "I want to acknowledge all the hard work that the Longmont detectives and our prosecution team devoted to this difficult case. As in every case, we are grateful to the trial jury for their time and service."