DENVER — A man was sentenced Tuesday to 40 years in prison in connection with a murder at west Denver gas station in 2024.
Ronnie Hernandez, 18, was sentenced by a judge Tuesday after pleading guilty to second-degree murder in connection with the crime.
Hernandez, who was 16 years old at the time, was accused of shooting two people while the victims sat in a parked car at a gas station on Sheridan Boulevard near the intersection with W. 5th Avenue on the evening of June 6.
Manuel C. Luque Quintana, 29, died in the shooting.
Crime
Arrests made in Denver double shooting that left 1 dead, wounded another
A woman was shot and walked away from the area but was later spotted by police and transported to the hospital with critical injuries.
Police said Hernandez and another suspect, 31-year-old Simon Eugene Elijah Gurule, drove up to the scene, where one of them got out of the passenger side and opened fire. The motive behind this incident remains under investigation.
Gurule was picked up in Denver while the juvenile was arrested in Arvada, police said.
His trial is scheduled to begin on Jan. 6, 2026. He is facing numerous charges, including first-degree murder.
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