An MS-13 gang member was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for his role in several murders and attempted murders that occurred in 2019, the 18th Judicial District Attorney's Office announced Thursday.
Mauricio Alvarado-Vasquez, 31, was convicted and sentenced in July for several crimes that happened across the Denver metro between September and November 2019.
On September 8, 2019, the Aurora Dispatch Center received a 911 call about a car fire on Interstate 225. After putting out the fire, authorities found a body, later identified as Vicky DeDios, in the backseat floorboard. DeDios was stabbed more than 20 times, the district attorney's office said.
Investigators determined the MS-13 gang perceived DeDios as a rival gang member. While she was out at a bar, she was lured outside, rendered unconscious and driven to a house, according to the DA's office. She was stabbed to death in her vehicle.
After the stabbing, Alvarado-Vasquez and a co-defendant, David Tobias-Carbajal, drove the DeDios' car — with her body in the back — and parked it on the shoulder of I-225. They then purchased gasoline and a lighter and set fire to the car.
Chief Deputy District Attorney Laura Wilson said Alvarado-Vasquez "bragged about stabbing the victim first and then asked her how it feels to die."
Between September and October 2019, Alvarad-Vasquez conspired with two other people on Facebook and another messaging app to kill someone they believed was in a rival gang, according to the DA's office. Members of MS-13 had been trying to figure out the person's employer, work schedule and the type of car they drove so gang members could ambush and kill them.
On November 2, 2019, Glendale police officers were dispatched around 3 a.m. to a crash at the intersection of East Kentucky Avenue and South Birch Street. First responders spotted a man, later identified as Carlos Ramirez-Rivera, slumped over in the driver's seat.
Security cameras footage showed Ramirez-Rivera was stopped at a stop sign when another car pulled up and fired multiple shots, the DA's office said. He was shot in the arms and chest.
Ramirez-Rivera was targeted for his alleged involvement in a rival gang, according to the DA's office. He was followed after he left a bar.
Nine days later on November 11, 2019, Aurora police officers responded to a shooting at an apartment complex on South Ironton Street just before 2:30 a.m. Six people were shot that night, according to the DA's office.
Before the shooting, the victims were at a bar and were labeled as rival gang members by MS-13. However, there was no evidence to suggest that the victims were affiliated with a gang, the DA's office said.
“This is one of the most violent and brutal gangs I have come across in my career as a prosecutor,” District Attorney John Kellner said in a statement. “I cannot stress enough how grateful I am to the state and federal law enforcement team that dedicated years to bringing these defendants to justice. Their efforts prevented this transnational criminal gang from gaining a foothold in our community.”
Between 2019 and 2020, more than a dozen people were charged with MS 13 gang-related crimes, according to the district attorney's office.
