BOULDER COUNTY, Colo. (KDVR) — A woman was shot and killed in a vehicle when she and her mother came upon another vehicle with three people inside after midnight Sunday, the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office said.
BCSO said the 21-year-old Denver woman was the passenger in the vehicle with her mother driving when they came to a stop at the intersection of Highway 287 and Yellowstone Road around 12:30 a.m.
“The suspects got out of their disabled vehicle and one of the suspects shot at the victim’s vehicle with a handgun, striking the victim. It is believed that the primary suspect had shot at the victims’ vehicle in an attempt to carjack them,” BCSO said.
The woman ended up at a Longmont hospital where she died shortly after arriving, but BCSO didn’t report how she got there. The county received a call from the City of Longmont about the gunshot victim being treated at a local hospital.
Deputy chased suspect vehicle before shooting
The suspects’ vehicle had been pursued about 15 minutes before the call came into BCSO by a Larimer County Sheriff’s Office deputy on a possible DUI from an unincorporated area through Berthoud. It was last seen heading southbound on Hwy. 287 near Highway 56 when the deputy stopped the pursuit.
Fifteen minutes after the pursuit, Boulder County got a call about a suspicious vehicle at the intersection of Hwy. 287 and Yellowstone Road with people running away from it.
Several agencies locate suspects, make arrests
BCSO deputies along with SWAT and deputies from LCSO searched the area of the call and quickly found four suspects, two women and two men, in a camper on a residential property nearby. Three of the four suspects were arrested:
- Martin Cerda, 23, of Greeley: Facing a second-degree murder charge, attempted aggravated robbery, vehicular eluding, possession of a weapon by a previous offender
- Adriana Vargas, 24, of Greeley: Facing a second-degree murder charge, possession of a weapon by a previous offender and several other unrelated outstanding warrants
- Marissa Ruiz, 24, of Greeley: Arrested on several unrelated outstanding warrants out of Weld County
The identity of the woman who was killed has not yet been released. FOX31’s Rogelio Mares is following up on the investigation and new information will be added when it’s received.
Victim identified by family
The half-sister of the woman shot and killed identified her as Taylor Mahkenna Smith. FOX31’s Courtney Fromm is following up on this story and speaking with others about what happened.
Smith’s friends set up a GoFundMe to help out with the expenses incurred throughout this tragic time.
*Editor’s note: This post was updated on Oct. 31 with the family’s correct identification of the victim. Police and the coroner’s office have not confirmed the ID.