A 21-year-old man was sentenced to 40 years in prison on Thursday for the murder of Ricardo Santos, Jr., in April 2022.
Vincent Tapia was found guilty of second-degree murder by a jury on Aug. 11 in the shooting death of Santos, according to the Denver District Attorney’s Office.
Santos and Tapia were in a car with two other passengers the night of April 1, 2022 when Santos, who was driving, rear-ended another vehicle and then drove away.
According to an arrest affidavit, Santos and Tapia started arguing about the crash before stopping and getting out of the car to fight in the area of West 16th Avenue and Irving Street, which is between Sloan’s Lake and Empower Field at Mile High.
Tapia shot Santos twice before fleeing the scene, according to the affidavit. He was arrested shortly after. Santos was transported to a local hospital, where he died.
In a statement, Denver District Attorney Beth McCann thanked the prosecutors, investigators and detectives who worked to bring a measure of justice for Santos’ family.
“This is another senseless act of violence and further evidence of the tragedy that often results when handguns are used to resolve disputes. I am very pleased that Vincent Tapia will pay a significant price for his actions that day,” McCann said.
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