DENVER — Three pursuit suspects were arrested after a 21-year-old woman was shot and killed in what the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office believes was an attempted carjacking early Sunday morning.
The carjacking victim, who was a passenger in a vehicle being driven by her mother, was shot when she happened across the suspects’ vehicle sometime after midnight as it came to a stop near the intersection of Highway 287 and Yellowstone Road, according to the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office.
The sheriff’s office said the suspects got out of their disabled vehicle and one of the suspects shot at the victim’s vehicle with a handgun, striking the victim.
The 21-year-old woman — identified as Taylor Smith — was taken to a Longmont hospital where she was later pronounced dead.
The suspects were identified as Martin Cerda, 23, Adriana Vargas, 24, and Marissa Ruiz, 24. All three are residents of the Greeley area, the sheriff’s office said.
The incident began as a pursuit around 12:15 a.m. in Larimer County after the driver of the vehicle, suspected of DUI, failed to stop for a Larimer County Sherriff’s Office deputy.
The vehicle eluded the deputy in the Berthoud area and was last seen southbound on Highway 287, near Highway 56, when the deputy stopped pursuing the vehicle.
According to the sheriff’s office, the vehicle ended up being abandoned near the intersection where the shooting took place. Witnesses told investigators they saw people running from the disabled vehicle.
Shortly after, deputies and investigators with the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office and the Larimer County Sheriff’s Office responded to investigate. Additionally, personnel with both Boulder County SWAT and Larimer County SWAT responded to assist with searching the area.
Deputies were able to quickly locate four suspects in a camper trailer parked on a residential property in the immediate area and took two men and two women into custody without incident. Only three of the four found in the camper are facing charges.
Cerda and Vargas are each facing second-degree murder charges and possession of a weapon by a previous offender. Cerda is facing additional charges of attempted aggravated robbery and vehicle eluding. Ruiz was arrested for several outstanding warrants, the sheriff’s office said.
According to an arrest affidavit, both Cerda and Vargas has been selling fentanyl leading up to the incident. The court document states, "It was also learned that all occupants of the vehicle had been consuming drugs and that Martin [Cerda] and Adriana [Vargas] had been selling blues (a common street name for illegal Fentanyl) and made approximately $30 previously in the night."
All three suspects were booked into the Boulder County Jail. Investigators do not have reason to believe there is any ongoing threat to the community related to this incident.
Vargas-Martinez had been released on parole March 24 of this year, and Cerda on Aug. 18, per a spokesperson from the Colorado Department of Corrections.
Denver7's CB Cotton contributed to this report.
