2 teens charged with murder in deadly aquarium shooting

DENVER (KDVR) — Two teenage suspects have been charged with first-degree murder in connection with a shooting outside the Downtown Aquarium, according to Denver District Attorney Beth McCann.

Antonio Vasquez, 19, and Jason Trujillo, Jr., 17, are each facing a charge of first-degree murder for the Valentine’s Day shooting; both will be tried as adults. According to the Denver Police Department, the fatal shooting appeared to be a targeted attack against the victim, Dacien Salazar, 19.

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On April 17, Salazar’s family increased the reward for information in the case to $3,000.

Both Vasquez and Trujillo were given $1 million cash-only bonds, according to McCann. Her office also released the arrest affidavit for the pair.

Affidavit: Victim, one suspect were from Pueblo

According to the arrest affidavit released by the Denver DA’s Office, Salazar had traveled from Pueblo to Denver to spend the day with his friend and his friend’s girlfriend.

The affidavit said that the trio had traveled to Denver because the girlfriend had never been to the aquarium and it was Valentine’s Day. The couple invited Salazar to join them since he was hanging out with his friend.

According to the arrest document, the group was inside the aquarium for “about an hour” before they went to leave. As they entered the crosswalk to return to their car, a four-door black sedan, later determined to be a Chevy Malibu, pulled up and masked individuals wielding guns were inside.

“Shots rang out and they all ran and dropped to the ground,” the affidavit says. “Salazar was the only party injured by gunfire.”

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One of Salazar’s friends told police that the victim “had a lot of people that were after him.”

Salazar’s girlfriend was contacted by police on Feb. 16, according to the affidavit. She told police that she had seen Salazar receive threats on Facebook. She also had a screenshot of one of the threats that police believe was sent by Trujillo, which she forwarded to a Denver detective.

Denver police then went to the Pueblo Police Department to learn more about this homicide and related events in Pueblo. After some investigation, detectives matched shell casings that were fired in a Pueblo incident to the casings recovered in Denver at the aquarium shooting. Detectives also learned that Vasquez lives in Pueblo.

Detectives also learned that Vasquez and Trujillo had obtained a room at a hotel in Denver from Jan. 2 through Feb. 21. According to the affidavit, they were seen on surveillance footage leaving the hotel at approximately 2:21 p.m. on Feb. 14, with one carrying a mask. Detectives then found cellphone records that showed Vasquez’s phone moving to the aquarium on Water Street.

Salazar was shot at approximately 3:04 p.m. on Feb. 14. After review, detectives learned that Vasquez’s phone had been near the aquarium for about 10 minutes before the shooting, which coincides with the time the suspect vehicle was seen on surveillance near REI at 1416 Platte St., when a suspect appeared to remove the temporary permit from the car after the shooting.

The suspects were also seen on hotel surveillance at about 7:06 p.m. returning to the hotel according to the affidavit.

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