Denver prosecutors charged a 14-year-old boy with first-degree murder Monday after he was accused of fatally shooting a Colorado woman in her SUV in February.
The suspect allegedly fired multiple shots at Pamela Cabriales, 32, while she was driving her SUV on February 20, striking her in the head at least once before killing her, the Denver Post reported.
The Post reported that prosecutors had not identified the 14-year-old suspect because he is a juvenile, although prosecutors have filed a motion with the intent to transfer his case to adult court.
Cabriales (pictured with her son Leo) was driving her 2008 Land Rover at West Colfax Avenue and Interstate 25 around 10:45 p.m. when a suspect, standing next to a four-door Honda on the passenger side, fired a gun six times into Cabriales’s vehicle before fleeing the scene, according to a probable cause statement.
Cabriales suffered at least one bullet wound to her head and was rushed to a local hospital in “extremely critical condition.” She succumbed to her injuries and died several days later.
The two suspects, the unnamed 14-year-old and 18-year-old Neshan Johnson, were able to avoid arrest until the next day when an officer recognized the Honda from a separate shooting at a McDonald’s on February 19. The suspects attempted to flee but their vehicle crashed into a pole and knocked a fire hydrant off of its base.
“DPD Metro SWAT and K-9 units searched the area and found Johnson hiding in a nearby shed,” a news release read. “The alleged shooter and another male juvenile were also arrested.”
The 14-year-old was charged with two counts of first-degree murder, one count of criminal attempt to commit first-degree murder with extreme indifference, two counts of being an aggravated juvenile offender (a sentence-enhancing charge), and one count of criminal attempt to commit first-degree assault with extreme indifference.
Johnson was charged with the same charges as the 14-year-old, in addition to a charge of vehicular eluding.