Denver Police have arrested three suspects, including a 13-year-old girl, in connection with the fatal shooting of 19-year-old Maikel Garrasquero Mavo, who was found dead in the passenger seat of a car that had crashed into a parked vehicle in the city's Westwood neighborhood on August 6. An 18-year-old man identified as the alleged shooter and a 17-year-old boy were also taken into custody, and all three are being held in connection with an investigation into first-degree murder.
According to the Denver Police Department, officers responded to the 4100 block of West Custer Place at approximately 11:02 p.m. on reports of shots fired and discovered a car that had collided with a parked vehicle after traveling a short distance. The driver's seat was empty, and officers found Garrasquero Mavo suffering from gunshot wounds in the passenger seat; he was pronounced dead at the scene, as reported by 9News.
Investigators Say Victim Was Lured to the Scene
Police say their investigation indicates Garrasquero Mavo and the driver arrived at the location before three suspects quickly approached the vehicle and opened fire, striking the victim. Denver Police investigators believe the young man was deliberately lured to West Custer Place because of a prior dispute involving at least one of the arrested suspects, according to CBS News. The overall motivation for the killing remains under investigation, and police have cautioned that the account is based on preliminary information that could change as more evidence is analyzed.
Investigators identified 18-year-old Davidson Semeco-Acurero as the suspect who allegedly shot and killed Garrasquero Mavo. The Denver Police Department also arrested a 17-year-old male and a 13-year-old female, it says, who were involved in the homicide, and all three suspects are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. The Denver District Attorney's Office will make the final determination on what charges are filed.
Fleeing Driver Still Unidentified
One of the most significant unresolved threads in the case is the fate of the driver who was behind the wheel when the car struck the parked vehicle. That person fled on foot after the crash, and detectives suspect the driver may have been injured during the shooting and are still working to identify and locate them, per the same police account relayed by 9News. It remains unknown whether that individual was a witness, a target, or something else entirely, and police have not said whether they consider the driver a suspect.
The 4100 block of West Custer Place sits in Denver's Westwood neighborhood, a southwest Denver community patrolled by Denver Police District 4 that also saw a fatal officer-involved shooting in April, according to 9News reporting on that earlier incident.
Teen Suspects Face Different Legal Paths
The mix of ages among the suspects sets up distinct legal tracks under Colorado law. Colorado Revised Statute § 19-2.5-801 allows district attorneys to directly file adult charges in district court against 16- and 17-year-olds accused of Class 1 felonies such as first-degree murder, while younger suspects like the 13-year-old typically face delinquency proceedings or a transfer hearing instead, according to Justia Law. If convicted as an adult, the 18-year-old Semeco-Acurero would face a mandatory sentence of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole under Colorado Revised Statute § 18-3-102, which classifies first-degree murder as a Class 1 felony, per legal summaries published by Mile High Legal.
A June Colorado Supreme Court ruling further complicates custody arrangements for any teen defendants who turn 18 while their case is pending. That ruling established that juvenile homicide suspects held in youth detention facilities must be transferred automatically to adult county jails once they turn 18, confirming that trial judges lack discretion to keep them in youth placements, as reported by Colorado Politics.
Killing Adds to a Citywide Homicide Surge
The West Custer Place shooting lands amid a broader spike in killings across Denver even as most other crime categories have fallen. The city recorded 30 homicides through mid-July, a 37% jump from the 22 recorded over the same period in 2025, making homicide the only major crime category trending upward this year even as non-fatal shootings and property crimes declined overall, according to 9News. That contrasts sharply with 2025, when Denver saw a 48% drop in homicides and recorded just 37 for the entire year, its second-lowest homicide total since 1990, as Hoodline reported at the time, with police crediting focused patrols and gun seizures for the historic low.
Anyone with information about the case, including the identity or whereabouts of the driver who fled, is asked to contact investigators. Metro Denver Crime Stoppers offers anonymous cash rewards of up to $2,000 for tips that lead to an arrest in open Denver homicide cases, with tipsters assigned a code number so they can claim a reward without revealing their identity, per 9News.
