Defendant in Longmont drive-by shooting case takes plea deal

Nicky Andrews, Daily Times-Call, Longmont, Colo.
·2 min read

Apr. 22—A defendant in an August Longmont drive-by shooting case pleaded guilty April 4 as part of a deal which dismissed two attempted first-degree murder charges.

Manuel Munoz-Vaquera, 20, pleaded guilty to being an accessory to a crime and using a prohibited weapon. Two of the four sentence enhancers Munoz-Vaquera was initially charged with were dismissed with their corresponding charges, according to court records.

In December, Munoz-Vaquera pleaded not guilty and was set for a five-day trial to start Monday. He now remains in custody on a $500,000 bond and awaits sentencing on May 31.

In January, co-defendant Marcos Padilla was sentenced to nine years in prison with 207 days of credit for time served after he took a plea deal in which he pleaded guilty to attempted first-degree assault with a deadly weapon and two sentence enhancers. All other charges, including two counts of attempted first-degree murder — after deliberation, were dismissed.

According to an affidavit, at 4:10 p.m. Aug. 26, Munoz-Vaquera was driving his 2013 orange Hyundai Veloster with Padilla in the passenger seat north on Country Lane in Longmont when shots were fired from the driver's side window at two people standing on the driveway of a residence.

At the time of the shooting, the two individuals ducked down and were not injured from the gunfire. They both told police they did not know why they were shot at.

Munoz-Vaquera surrendered after he said he saw his image on Facebook. Munoz-Vaquera, then in custody, told police he was driving Padilla to the airport to pick someone up, when Padilla called out to him to open his window, according to the affidavit.

Munoz-Vaquera told police a piece of wood was then thrown at his car and he stopped his car to say something when all of a sudden he "heard a shot." Munoz-Vaquera then told police he saw Padilla holding a gun before Padilla said, "Go! Go! Go!"

Munoz-Vaquera then said another piece of wood was thrown at his car and Padilla reached back again to fire another round out of the passenger side window, according to the affidavit.