MONTROSE, Colo. -- Hate-crime charges have not been ruled out against two men faced with first-degree murder charges in the killing of a gay man in Montrose, a prosecutor said Tuesday.

Assistant District Attorney Mark Adams said the investigation has not ended into the July slaying of Kevin Hale, 36, in the southwestern Colorado community.

"We are waiting as is appropriate in a case of this magnitude," he said. "It's appropriate for us to proceed with caution and be certain of what we are doing."

The Associated Press erroneously reported that prosecutors have declined to file hate crime charges, based on a story contributed from the Montrose Daily Press.

Todd Fiske and Adam Hernandez were advised of several new charges facing them Monday, including conspiracy to commit robbery and intimidating a witness or victim. Those new charges are in addition to first-degree homicide charges filed Friday in connection with the killing of Hale.

Hale had told police he was being threatened because he was gay. His body was found in a town park July 30.

Prosecutors were seeking to have Fiske and Hernandez held without bail.

The Colorado Anti-Violence Program and Western Equality, two Western Slope groups, said they're not asking prosecutors to seek the hate crime aspect because of the enhanced penalty.

"We are asking the DA to do this because violence targeting members of specific communities has a significant ripple effect," said Avy Skolnik of the Colorado Anti-Violence Program. "These crimes send messages to other (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered) people that they are not safe in the world."

Tammy Gonzales, who divorced Hale in 1997 when he stopped hiding his homosexuality after 10 years of marriage, said she Hale told her he was worried someone would try to kill him. The couple have a 13-year-old son.

Court records show Hale was arrested on a domestic violence complaint in 2000, according to the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel.

Hernandez has previous convictions for criminal mischief and violating a restraining order, according to Montrose County court records. Hernandez had also been arrested four times for petty theft or shoplifting, according to the newspaper which reviewed police records.

Fiske has no prior record of arrest by the Montrose Police Department.

Family and friends said one of the alleged attackers had worked with Hale at a real estate company. Hale's uncle, Larry DeVinny, said his nephew apparently made a pass at one of his attackers more than a year ago.