An Adams County jury found Daniel Ramirez-Ayala guilty of second-degree murder on Aug. 24, a lesser charge than the first-degree murder count initially filed. Judge Jeffrey Dean Ruff sentenced him to 42 years in the Colorado Department of Corrections on Oct. 30, according to KDVR; The Denver Post cited court records for the judge and sentencing date.
The case and the competing accounts
The case stems from a June 1, 2025, shooting outside a home near 77th Avenue and Gilpin Street in Welby. Jose Dominguez Moranchel, 31, died after being shot during a confrontation involving partygoers. Prosecutors said Ramirez-Ayala drew a handgun during the fight; The Denver Post reported prosecutors’ account that deputies found Dominguez Moranchel in the street with gunshot wounds to his left shoulder and the front of his neck.
Prosecutors said Ramirez-Ayala left after the shooting and discarded the gun. The Denver Post reported that deputies arrested him later that day after a traffic stop on Interstate 25 and that he admitted firing the weapon during the fight.
Defense attorney Robert Bernhardt argued at trial that Ramirez-Ayala acted in self-defense and said the case would likely be appealed, The Denver Post reported. The outlet also reported Bernhardt’s account that Ramirez-Ayala believed he faced a threat; the specific details of that account are not repeated here.
The 17th Judicial District Attorney’s Office announced the initial first-degree murder charge in June 2025. Its charge announcement named Ramirez-Ayala as 20 at the time. District Attorney Brian Mason described the shooting as preventable and said the sentence held Ramirez-Ayala accountable, according to KDVR’s report of the office’s statement.
