2 Colorado Teens Charged With First-Degree Murder For Fatally Shooting Young Mother

2 Colorado Teens Charged With First-Degree Murder For Fatally Shooting Young Mother

KEY POINTS

  • Pamela Cabriales was fatally shot on Feb. 24 in Denver
  • Prosecutors believe a 14-year-old shot Cabriales
  • The suspects were charged with two counts of first-degree murder

Two teenagers have been charged with first-degree murder for fatally shooting a 32-year-old mother in Colorado.

Pamela Cabriales, the mother of a 6-year-old boy, was shot in the head while she was in her vehicle on Colfax and Interstate 25 in Denver on Feb. 24. Cabriales was rushed to a hospital, but was declared dead, NBC-affiliated 9 News reported.

A 14-year-old juvenile male and 18-year-old Neshan Johnson were arrested in connection with the murder. Cops didn’t identify the juvenile male.

Prosecutors believe the 14-year-old shot Cabriales while Johnson drove the car, the state District Attorney’s office said in a statement Monday. The motive for the shooting was not clear.


The Colorado state District Attorney’s Office had filed a motion to press adult charges against two teenagers. The suspects were charged with two counts of first-degree murder, one count of criminal attempt to commit first-degree murder with extreme indifference, and one count of criminal attempt to commit first-degree assault with extreme indifference, 9 News reported.

In addition to that, the 14-year-old male was facing two counts of the sentencing-enhancement charge of being an aggravated juvenile offender, the media outlet reported. 

The Denver Police Department officers responded to the shooting at around 10.45 p.m. ET and found Cabriales’ vehicle to have been shot at least eight times. The suspects were arrested after a brief police chase involving a SWAT and K-9 unit, 9 News reported. Two AR-15 rifles, 16 live rounds of .22 caliber ammunition and one .223 caliber shell casing were retrieved from the vehicle during the search.

The suspects were also being linked to a Feb. 19 incident in which a person aboard a dark-colored SUV identical to that used during Cabriales’ killing got down from the vehicle and pointed a handgun at an employee during an argument. 

handcuffs-3655288_640 (5) An unidentified man has been taken into custody in connection with the shooting Photo: pixabay