A Denver teen who brutally murdered a mother at age 14 as part of an alleged gang initiation was sentenced Thursday to life in prison.
Remi Cordova, now 18, was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 40 years for the murder of 32-year-old Pamela Cabriales in February 2021.
Cordova was 14 when he opened fire on the mother with an AR-15-style rifle after a minor fender bender. Prosecutors believe the heinous act was an attempt to gain status in the city’s Eastside Crips gang.
The troubled teen was jailed for a further eight years for attempted murder, followed by a life sentence.
That conviction concerns the driver of the car behind Cabriales’ vehicle.
At a hearing in January, a judge ruled that Cordova, who already had a criminal record, would be tried as an adult due to the severity of his crime.
The 18-year-old has already served four years of his life sentence.
In Thursday’s ruling, District Judge Darryl Shockley acknowledged Cordova’s troubled past, noting that the teen had suffered near-constant physical, emotional and sexual abuse from the time he was a toddler.
“Your life was tragic for fourteen years,” Shockley told Cordova.
Remi Cordova, now 18, was sentenced Thursday to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 40 years for the murder of 32-year-old Pamela Cabriales. In the photo: Remi Cordova in court on Thursday
Cordova was just 14 when he opened fire on Cabriales with an AR-15-style rifle after a minor fender bender, in what prosecutors say was an attempt to gain status in the city’s Eastside Crips gang.
“There were failures at every level – at every level – to bring Mr. Cordova to that fateful night.”
Reports on Cordova’s conflict-ridden childhood were first submitted to the Department of Human Services when he was one month old.
By the time he was three, the agency had eight reports of alleged abuse and neglect, including that he ran alone around his apartment complex, that he had been burned with cigarettes, and that he cursed and acted violently as a toddler. , said James Zorich.
The abuse escalated in subsequent years with continued violence and exploitation, Zurich added.
“This has been ongoing abuse and neglect throughout Remi’s life,” Zorich said.
Cordova denied in court that he committed the murder, as he was arrested along with two other teenagers in connection with the February 2021 murder.
“I want you all to know that I sympathize with all of you and that I completely understand and that I am terribly sorry for the pain you are feeling,” he told Cabriales’ family on Thursday.
“But I can’t take responsibility for something I didn’t do… I am not the monster or the murderer I have been portrayed as by the Denver District Attorney’s Office.”
His friend, Neshan Johnson, 18, who has since been convicted of manslaughter, was at the wheel when the three teens were stopped at a red light on Colfax Avenue on February 20, 2021.
The teenage trio stopped at the intersection around 10:45 p.m. when Cabriales rear-ended the teens in a minor collision.
Sitting in the front passenger seat, Cordova allegedly received permission from Johnson, who authorities said had a higher gang status than Cordova, to “tackle” Cabriales.
Fourteen-year-old Cordova then exited the vehicle and shot Cabriales’ SUV several times before fleeing.
Another teen, also 14, was reportedly in the car with Cordova and Johnson at the time of the shooting.
All three were arrested the next day and were known gang members. prosecutors said.
Pamela Cabriales died after being shot nearly twenty times in the head on February 20, 2021. Cordova and his teenage friends
Cabriales leaves behind a six-year-old son (photo)
Cordova’s defense argued in court that their client did not commit the murder, but that another teen in the vehicle had actually pulled the trigger.
The defense plans to appeal Cordova’s conviction.
Pamela Cabriales was driving home from dinner with a friend when her car stopped at a red light in downtown Denver, moments before the horrific attack.
The mother of a six-year-old son died five days later.
Her brother, Alex Cabriales, spoke on behalf of his sister in court, saying she was the “heartbeat” of the family.
“She was the heartbeat of our family,” Alex said. “She had a heart of gold…she was the example of what love and kindness should be in this world. Remi took that away from us that night.”
His sister’s death in 2021 was the second of his siblings to become a homicide victim.
Alex’s other sibling, Noel, was shot dead in 1994 when he was 15, amid an argument over petting a dog.
When Pamela was also murdered, he said: ‘We have just been stripped of everything we love so much. It’s just a feeling of emptiness.’
Alex told me 9News that he felt like his parents, Mexican immigrants who didn’t speak much English, were abandoned when Noel was murdered.
“We weren’t treated fairly then,” Alex said.
‘There was no one to guide them or explain what was going on. We felt like it was swept under the rug at the time.”
Noel’s killer was found guilty of manslaughter and served only seven years. Alex said he is now determined to get justice for his sister.
“My sister’s life means nothing to that boy,” he said. “To them it was just a gang initiation.”
He added: ‘This was a person, a human being, a very good person and a 14-year-old boy decided her life was worth nothing.’
Alex said he thought Cordova was “a psychopath” and shouldn’t be allowed to walk the streets freely.
“There are people you can rehabilitate,” he said. “He’s not one of them.”