DENVER — The Denver district attorney announced Monday morning that two people — a 14-year-old juvenile and an 18-year-old — have been formally charged in connection to the murder of a 32-year-old woman.
Denver District Attorney Beth McCann said the male juvenile and and Neshan Johnson, 18, have both been charged in connection to the murder of Pamela Cabriales, who died following a shooting on W. Colfax Avenue and Interstate 25. She was shot in the head while sitting in her car on Feb. 20, police said. She was transported to a hospital, where she died.
During the investigation, police found eight bullet marks on the windshield, according to a probable cause statement.
The Denver Office of the Medical Examiner ruled her death a homicide.
READ MORE: Family members call on Denver DA for justice after young mom dies in shooting on Colfax
According to prosecutors, the 14-year-old shot Cabriales while Johnson drove the car. They were arrested the following day when a Denver police officer recognized the vehicle from a separate shooting at a McDonald's the night before the fatal shooting. In that case, employees told police a dark-colored Honda had pulled up to the drive-thru window and the driver got into an argument with an employee. A male exited the Honda from the passenger's seat and pointed a handgun at the employees. The driver of the Honda pulled forward and three shots were fired into the restaurant, according to a probable cause statement.
Surveillance camera was able to identify the license plate number. It had been reported as stolen out of Aurora and was also involved in a shooting in northeast Denver on Feb. 18, according to a probable cause statement.
When police spotted the dark-colored Honda on Feb. 21 — the day after Cabriales was fatally shot — the officer pursued it and Johnson ended up crashing it into a wooden pole on Tejon Street about a block north of Alameda, according to a probable cause statement. The crash knocked a fire hydrant off its base and also damaged a chain link fence before the car came to a stop in a front yard on W. Byers Place. The officer who pursued the car said she saw three males run from the car, so police immediately set up a perimeter.
Johnson was found hiding in a nearby shed. The 14-year-old and second juvenile were also found and arrested.
Police said they found 16 live rounds of .22 caliber ammunition in the shed where Johnson was and one .223 caliber shell casing. They also found two AR-15 rifles in the back seat of the car Johnson crashed.
The juvenile — whose name is being withheld due to his age — has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder, one count of criminal attempt to commit first-degree murder with extreme indifference, one count of criminal attempt to commit first-degree assault with extreme indifference, and two counts of the sentencing enhancing charge of being an aggravated juvenile offender.
Johnson was charged with two counts of first-degree murder, one count of criminal attempt to commit first-degree murder with extreme indifference, one count of criminal attempt to commit first-degree assault with extreme indifference, and one count of vehicular eluding.
Cabriales was described by her family as a loving mother to her 6-year-old son.
Her brother, Alex Cabriales, said she was an amazing mother, daughter, sister and friend.
"She was everything," he said. "She was a ray of sunshine. She was always worried about other people, always wanted to help others."
A family friend has set up a GoFundMe account. The funds will be used as an investment in college for the 6-year-old.
