A defendant pleaded guilty in Denver to the shooting death of a 61-year-old man in 2015.
Nicholas Lujan, 29, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder for the death of Jose Frias-Olivas, according to a Denver District Attorney’s Office news release.
Frias-Olivas was visiting family in Denver on Aug. 15, 2015, when he was shot while walking through Harvard Gulch Park, in broad daylight, close to Federal Boulevard.
“This was a horrific murder and I am very proud of our Cold Case Unit and that of the Denver Police Department for working long and hard to get justice for Mr. Frias-Olivas,” said Denver District Attorney Beth McCann in the release.
In September 2016, DNA recovered from the murder weapon was connected to Lujan, prosecutors said. Witnesses to the shooting, however, were not forthcoming, and the investigation continued. Lujan was arrested in 2021 and charged in the case.
Lujan is scheduled to be sentenced on June 9.
Sign up to get crime news sent straight to your inbox each day.
