A Denver man has been sentenced to 48 years in prison for a 2022 shooting that turned into a deadly crash on Peoria Street, killing two teenagers and another driver. The punishment caps a year-long investigation into an April night that left three families mourning and a neighborhood shaken.
Sentenced After Guilty Plea
A judge handed down the 48-year sentence on Tuesday after Luis Rivas-Newcomb pleaded guilty in October to multiple charges tied to the shootings and the crash, according to 9News. Prosecutors told the court the plea deal resolved the most serious counts in a case investigators said connected several shootings around the metro area.
The 2022 Crash And Victims
The violence unfolded on the evening of April 8, 2022, when witnesses reported gunfire along North Peoria Street, and a sedan later slammed into a pickup on an overpass. Two teens in the sedan, 13-year-old Jayden Hoyle and 14-year-old Adrion Foster, along with the pickup driver, 37-year-old Uriel Reyes-Medina, died from their injuries, according to reporting by CBS Denver.
How The Case Unfolded
Investigators later said ballistics evidence and electronic data tied the April shooting to other incidents, and court filings show Rivas-Newcomb, who was a juvenile at the time, was arrested in late November 2022 after a confrontation with Aurora officers at a shopping center. Prosecutors used those connections to consolidate multiple charges into the case that produced the recent plea and sentence, according to reporting by The Denver Gazette.
Charges And Legal Context
Rivas-Newcomb pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and other related felonies, convictions that carry potential decades in prison under Colorado law. The plea spared victims' families a trial and closed the most serious counts prosecutors had filed, as reported by 9News. The elements of second-degree murder are set out in Colorado Revised Statutes §18-3-103, available through Justia.
Family Reaction And Rewards
Family members have repeatedly urged witnesses to come forward, describing the teens as kind, close friends who did not deserve what happened to them. Law enforcement increased reward offers after the killings, and the ATF later announced up to $10,000 for information that led to an arrest and conviction, according to an ATF release.
Prosecutors have said the sentence delivers a measure of accountability for the victims' families after a complex case that crossed city lines and dragged on for years, even as the loss and its ripple effects continue to hang over the community.
