A suspect has been arrested in connection to a shooting death in Denver’s Elyria Park.
Alejandro Blanco, 32, is being held on investigation of first-degree murder for the death of Sergio Ordonez Valencia, according to police.
At about 11:15 p.m. on July 20 Valencia was shot in the area of East 48th Avenue and High Street, police said. Blanco is also being investigated for three counts of attempted first-degree murder — extreme indifference.
Officers responded to a 911 call on a shooting and found Ordonez Valencia in Elyria Park. There were three witnesses to the shooting, according to an arrest affidavit. Ordonez Valencia was taken to Denver Health Medical Center where he was pronounced dead.
The driver of a white pickup truck drove by a picnic table where people gather to chat and play dominos, according to the affidavit. The driver of the truck stopped and said something that the group of four, including Ordonez Valencia, did not understand. The driver of the truck pulled away, stopped and backed up to the same area where it had previously stopped.
“He yelled he was going to kill everyone” and two shots were fired, according to the affidavit. Investigators have video surveillance footage from a nearby recreation center that supports the witnesses’ accounts. Two .22 caliber shell casings were recovered from the area.
At about 1 a.m. on Thursday an Adams County sheriff’s deputy spotted a similar truck in a motel parking lot in the 7300 block of Pecos Street, according to the affidavit. Denver investigators were alerted. Blanco, who is wanted in El Paso County for felony auto theft and eluding, came out of a motel room and was arrested without incident.
Investigators matched characteristics and details from the seized pickup truck, a 2007 GMC Sierra, including the front grill, and LED light bar, and front-end damage, to the pickup truck in the surveillance video, according to the affidavit. A loaded .22 caliber hand gun was found hidden, when investigators served a search warrant, in the toilet tank of the motel room where Blanco was staying. A methamphetamine pipe was also found in the toilet tank. Investigators recovered .22 caliber bullets and a casing from under the seat of the truck.
Denver police investigators will present their case to the District Attorney’s Office for consideration of formal filing of charges.
