DENVER — A man was found guilty of first-degree murder Wednesday in connection with a neighbor dispute that ended with the fatal shooting of a grandmother in Denver.
The jury found Jason Arroyo guilty of killing Patricia Cruz, 55, in September 2020. His sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 1 and he faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole, according to the Denver District Attorney's Office.
Arroyo was arrested on Sept. 7 following the shooting, which happened at W. 35th Avenue and Mariposa Street. He opened fire on a family after children began playing near his fence, according to an arrest affidavit. Cruz was struck and died 11 days later in the hospital.
![](https://ewscripps.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/e57e438/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1280x720+0+0/resize/1280x720!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fx-default-stgec.uplynk.com%2Fausw%2Fslices%2F7ca%2F0e3a3b3bc3ae4d6eac785fb8a26bdb6b%2F7ca3ca5f75af4596ab4e17799476a92d%2Fposter_032a354445d2429f96ba4023701615ee.jpg)
Local
Backyard shooting ends in death of 55-year-old grandmother
In addition, one man and his daughter were also shot, but survived.
Arroyo was found hiding in an unlocked garage nearby and was arrested.
He was charged with two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of attempted first-degree murder, and one count of menacing.
The jury found him guilty of first-degree murder Wednesday and he will be sentenced in December.
![D7 follow up bar 2460x400FINAL.png](https://ewscripps.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/f8a5a6f/2147483647/strip/true/crop/2460x400+0+0/resize/1280x208!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fewscripps-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F6e%2Fa4%2F513217a74767b21c0e4506bb0026%2Fd7-follow-up-bar-2460x400final.png)