Murder investigators arrested a teenage suspect within the demise of a 14-year-old boy who was crushed, stabbed and shot in southwest Denver.
Police introduced the arrest on Saturday in connection to the demise of Josiaz “JoJo” Aragon.
The 17-year-old suspect, who was not recognized due to age, is being held on investigation of first-degree homicide, aggravated theft, tampering with bodily proof in a felony crime and possession of a handgun by a juvenile, police stated in a information launch.
On the afternoon of Aug. 8, police responded to the Southwest Recreation Middle, 9200 W. Saratoga Place, the place Aragon’s physique was discovered. The sufferer was discovered on a baseball area. On the time of his demise, Aragon was simply two days shy of his fifteenth birthday. A passer-by had noticed the physique and alerted authorities.
At a information convention Saturday night outdoors the recreation heart, police stated the pair knew one another by college and so they had been discussing a gun sale over the summer time. They met to finalize the gun deal when the crime occurred.
“The suspect violently assaulted the sufferer and finally killed him and robbed him,” stated Main Crimes Division Commander Matt Clark, on the information convention streamed by Denver7. “This was not a random encounter. It was a deliberate assembly that ended tragically.”
Clark declined to reveal who was the gun purchaser and who was the vendor.
Metropolis Councilman Kevin Flynn lives near the recreation heart within the Marston neighborhood. Flynn stated 140 neighborhood members gathered on the rec heart shortly after the incident and that the neighborhood rallied to assist police attempt to forestall such crimes.
“Weapons within the palms of youngsters produce horrible outcomes,” an emotional Flynn stated, taking time to compose himself at one level. “We absolutely have to handle youth gun violence on this metropolis.”
Interim Police Chief Ron Thomas spoke on the information convention, referring to the incident as “a really tragic scenario.”
An arrest warrant was issued Friday, and officers took the suspect into custody Friday evening in southwest Denver.
“Over the course of the previous seven weeks, Denver police murder investigators tirelessly carried out an in depth, complicated investigation ensuing within the identification of the juvenile suspect,” the discharge stated.
The Denver district lawyer’s workplace will decide what fees, if any, might be filed within the case.