Two teens were taken into custody and charged with the highest level of murder for their involvement in the shooting.The 19-year-old Dacien Salazar was killed in the drive-by shooting outside Denver’s Downtown Aquarium in February. The incident took place outside the Downtown Aquarium in February.
According to court records, 19-year-old Antonio Vasquez and 17-year-old Jason Trujillo Jr. were arrested on May 1 for first-degree murder, three counts of first-degree attempted murder, and three sentence-enhancing counts for violent crime.
Vasquez and Trujillo were identified as suspects after a lengthy police investigation involving gang-related social media threats, surveillance video, ballistic reports, and cellphone location data. A redacted arrest affidavit stated that the suspects were identified through a thorough police investigation. According to a redacted arrest affidavit, the suspects were identified through an extensive police investigation.
Salazar and two friends drove from Pueblo to Denver on Feb. 14 to visit the aquarium at 700 Water St.
As Salazar and his friends were leaving the aquarium around 3 p.m., they were targeted by a person in a black mask in a drive-by shooting.
Salazar was fatally shot, while his friends were unharmed during the incident.
Friends of Salazar informed the police about the threats he had been receiving from gang members, including Trujillo.
The police report mentioned threats against Salazar from gang members on Facebook, including Trujillo, but the name of the gang and other details were redacted.
Investigators tracked down the car used in the shooting and connected it to Vasquez, who resides in Pueblo.
Additionally, detectives obtained search warrants for cellphones with Pueblo area codes near the aquarium during the shooting and found a previously unlisted number linked to Vasquez.
Police utilized license-plate reader data to locate the car at a redacted hotel, where surveillance footage revealed two men leaving shortly before the shooting, with one of them carrying a mask.
According to the affidavit, Vasquez’s phone was tracked from the hotel to the aquarium, then to Colorado Springs, and back to the hotel around the time of the shooting.
Trujillo was identified through a tip to Crime Stoppers and on the hotel surveillance footage by a Pueblo police detective.
