– Teens charged with fatal shooting at Denver Downtown Aquarium
– Denver Downtown Aquarium drive-by shooting suspects arrested.
Accident – Death – Obituary News :
Two teenagers have been arrested and charged with first-degree murder in connection with the drive-by shooting death of 19-year-old Dacien Salazar outside Denver’s Downtown Aquarium in February.
Antonio Vasquez, 19, and Jason Trujillo Jr., 17, were taken into custody on May 1 and charged with first-degree murder, three counts of first-degree attempted murder, and three sentence-enhancing counts for violent crime, according to court records.
The suspects, Vasquez and Trujillo, were identified through an extensive police investigation that involved analysing gang-related social media threats, surveillance video footage, ballistic reports, and cellphone location data, according to a redacted arrest affidavit.
Salazar and two friends had travelled from Pueblo to Denver on February 14 to visit the aquarium located at 700 Water St.
Witnesses reported that as the group was leaving the aquarium around 3 p.m., a black sedan pulled up and an individual wearing a black mask in the back seat began shooting at them. Salazar sustained multiple gunshot wounds and was rushed to Denver Health medical center, where he was later pronounced dead. The other two individuals with him were unharmed.
Friends of Salazar informed the police that he had been receiving threats from various individuals, including Trujillo, on Facebook. The affidavit revealed that Salazar had numerous people targeting him. Details of the gang involved, the threats towards Salazar, and a related shooting incident in Pueblo were redacted from the document.
Investigators were able to identify the car used in the drive-by shooting, a 2014 Chevy Malibu, and a temporary license plate through surveillance footage in the area. The vehicle was linked to Vasquez, who resides in Pueblo.
Further evidence was obtained through search warrants for cellphones with Pueblo area codes near the aquarium at the time of the shooting. An unlisted number was traced back to Vasquez.
Subsequent analysis of license-plate reader data led the police to track the car to a hotel, where surveillance video captured two men leaving the premises just before the shooting. One of the individuals was seen carrying a mask. Vasquez’s phone movements were also tracked from the hotel to the aquarium, then to Colorado Springs, and back to the hotel.
Trujillo was identified based on an anonymous tip to Crime Stoppers and was also spotted on the hotel surveillance footage by a Pueblo police detective.
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teens charged with murder in denver downtown aquarium drive-by shooting
teens charged with murder in downtown aquarium drive-by shooting in denver.
