Defendant found guilty of shooting young mother in Denver

DENVER — A defendant who was 14 when he was charged with a co-defendant in the shooting and killing of 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 February 20, 2021, 32-year-old Pamela Cabriales was driving west on W. Colfax Avenue near Interstate 25 when she was driving along with Cordova and his co-defendant, Neshan Johnson, who was 18 at the time. A Honda was involved in a fender-bender accident. Prosecutors said Johnson “acted as the getaway driver” while Cordova, who was in the passenger seat, got out of the car and shot Cabriales with a high-powered assault rifle after the minor accident.

The defendants then fled the scene.

Cabriales died from her injuries.

“We’re 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.”

Find out more from their loved ones in our 2021 report below.

Family members are demanding justice from the Denver District Attorney after a young mother died in a street shooting in Colfax

During the investigation, police discovered eight bullet marks on her windshield, according to the probable cause statement.

Denver police were able to link the Honda to a shooting at the McDonald's on W. Alameda the night before, in which a suspect shot three times into the restaurant. Surveillance footage captured the car's license plate. The probable cause statement said it had been stolen from Aurora.

Police spotted the Honda the night after the shooting at Colfax and I-25 and maneuvered to stop the driver on S. Tejon Street near W. Byers Place. According to police, 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, as well as a .223 caliber shell casing. They also found two AR-15 rifles in the back seat of the Honda.

On March 1, 2021, the Denver District Attorney's Office announced formal charges against Cordova and Johnson. Both were charged with first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder and more.

Due to the seriousness of the case, Cordova was charged and tried as an adult. A jury found him guilty of both murder and attempted murder on Friday. According to prosecutors, his attempted murder charge stemmed from the driver who was behind Cabriales' car. This driver was not injured.

Cordova is scheduled to be sentenced on December 12th. Because he was a minor at the time of the shooting, he faces life in prison with the possibility of parole after 40 years, prosecutors said.

The defendant was found guilty of shooting a young mother in Denver when she was 14 years old

“I am very grateful to the jury for reaching this fair verdict, which I hope will provide some comfort and a sense of justice to all who knew and loved Pamela Cabriales.” “This was a completely senseless and cold-blooded murder for which Remi Cordova is now held responsible,” said Denver District Attorney Beth McCann. “I want to thank the prosecutors, investigators and victim advocates in my office, as well as the Denver Police Department investigators, whose outstanding work led to today’s verdict.”

A Denver jury found Johnson guilty in March 2023 of two counts of second-degree murder, one count of involuntary manslaughter, one count of attempted assault, one count of vehicular eluding and one count of accessory to murder. On June 30, 2023, he was sentenced to 35 years in prison and 14 years of probation.