DENVER — A defendant who was 14 years old when he was charged, along with a co-defendant, of shooting and killing a woman after a fender bender in Denver has been convicted of murder.
On Friday afternoon, the Denver District Attorney's Office announced that Remi Cordova was convicted by a jury of first-degree murder and attempted first-degree murder.
On Feb. 20, 2021, Pamela Cabriales, 32, was driving westbound on W. Colfax Avenue near Interstate 25 when she was involved in a fender bender crash with Cordova and his co-defendant Neshan Johnson, who was 18 at the time and driving a Honda. The district attorney's office said Johnson "acted as the get-away driver" while Cordova, who was in the front passenger seat, got out of the car and shot Cabriales with a high-powered assault rifle after the minor crash.
The defendants then fled from the scene.
Cabriales died of her injuries.
"We are all just devastated," Mayra Zambrano, a longtime friend, told Denver7 in February 2021. "She was such a great person that we can't see our lives without her."
Hear more from her loved ones in our 2021 report below.
During the investigation, police found eight bullet marks on her windshield, according to a probable cause statement.
Denver police were able to link the Honda to a shooting at McDonald's on W. Alameda the night prior, where a suspect fired three times into the restaurant. Surveillance footage captured the car's license plate. It had been stolen out of Aurora, according to the probable cause statement.
Police spotted the Honda the night after the Colfax and I-25 shooting and used a maneuver to stop the driver on S. Tejon Street near W. Byers Place. Police said an adult and two juveniles took off on foot, but all three were taken into custody. Police found 16 live rounds of .22 caliber ammunition in the shed where Johnson was found hiding and one .223 caliber shell casing. They also found two AR-15 rifles in the Honda's back seat.
On March 1, 2021, the Denver DA announced formal charges against Cordova and Johnson. Both faced charges of first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder and more.
Cordova was charged and tried as an adult due to the severity of the case. A jury found him guilty on Friday of both murder and attempted murder. His attempted murder charge stemmed from the driver behind Cabriales's car, according to the district attorney's office. That driver was not injured.
Cordova is set for sentencing on Dec. 12. Because he was a juvenile at the time of the shooting, he faces a maximum of life in prison with the possibility of parole after 40 years, the district attorney's office said.
“I am very grateful to the jury for returning this just verdict, which I hope will provide some comfort and a sense of justice to everyone who knew and loved Pamela Cabriales. This was an entirely senseless and cold-blooded murder, for which Remi Cordova is now being held accountable,” said Denver District Attorney Beth McCann. “I want to thank the prosecutors, investigators and victim advocates in my office, as well as the detectives with the Denver Police Department, whose outstanding work resulted in today’s verdict.”
A Denver jury in March 2023 found Johnson guilty of two counts of second-degree murder, one count of criminal attempt to commit manslaughter, one count of criminal attempt to commit assault, one count of vehicular eluding and one count of being an accessory to a crime. On June 30, 2023, he was sentenced to 35 years in the Department of Corrections and 14 years of parole.
Denver7 is committed to making a difference in our community by standing up for what's right, listening, lending a helping hand and following through on promises. See that work in action, in the videos above.