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Crime

On February 20th, 2021, in Denver, Colorado, at around 10:45 pm, 14-year-old Remi Cordova was the passenger in a stolen Honda driven by 18-year-old Neshan Johnson. Another teen sat in the backseat.

Cordova thought the car behind had tapped their vehicle. He reportedly asked Johnson, “Can I bust on them?” Johnson allegedly said, Do what you gotta do, that’s on you.”

Cordova hopped out of the car with an AR-15 and fired 15 to 20 shots into the vehicle driven by 32-year-old mother of one Pamela Cabriales.

She was hit several times. A car behind her was in the line of fire, but the person in that car was lucky they weren’t hit.

Police and medical personnel arrived at the crime scene to attend to Cabriales, get her to the hospital, and figure out what happened.

An hour after the shooting, an officer saw the car with Johnson, Cordova, and the other teen. The teens drove off. After crashing, they fled but were arrested after a short search.

When they were taken in for questioning, Cordova apologized to his mother, but didn’t speak to investigators.

Cabriales died two days after the shooting, and Cordova was charged with three counts of murder and one count of assault. His case was moved from the juvenile system into adult court. His bond was set at $5 million dollars.

Johnson was also charged with murder even though he did not pull the trigger.

Legal Proceedings

According to ABCNews, prosecutors discussed a plea deal that would allow Johnson to be tried as a juvenile and serve seven years in Colorado’s Youthful Offender System. Cabriales protested, feeling that punishment would be inadequate.

Ultimately, Johnson went to trial in adult court, and according to ABCNews, he was convicted of two counts of second-degree murder, vehicle eluding, and several other charges at his March 2023 trial. He returned to court on June 30, 2023, and was sentenced to 35 years in prison plus 14 years of parole.

Cordova was convicted of first-degree murder at trial.

At his December 2024 sentencing, the victim’s ex-husband spoke about the heartbreak their young son is suffering through.

Cordova also spoke. Now 18 years old, he refused to take responsibility for his actions and said he was not what the DA  portrayed him as.

He was sentenced to 40 years to life in prison. He will have his first parole hearing in May 2064 when he is 58 years old.