Copyright The Denver Post
The woman killed in an attempted carjacking in Westminster in late October was a janitorial worker at a nearby Colorado Division of Motor Vehicles office, police said in an arrest affidavit. Officers were called to reports of gunshots in the 8400 block of Decatur Street around 8 p.m. on Oct. 27 and found Maria Ines DeLuna Ojeda, 34, had been shot in her car. She was taken to the hospital, where she died from her injuries. The shooting was caught on cameras outside the DMV building, which showed Ojeda getting in her car when a second car pulled up next to her. A man got out of the passenger side and pointed a gun at Ojeda, then shot at the car as she was backing up, according to the affidavit. Police found four bullet holes in Ojeda’s windshield and driver’s side window. The car suspected in the shooting was later found abandoned with most of the doors open near 88th Avenue and Clay Street, investigators wrote. The car was registered to a Thornton address, and a man living there, 24-year-old Michael Fernandez Jr., was seen driving it before the shooting. Investigators identified the suspected shooter, 19-year-old Daniel Romero, because he had been with Fernandez at Denver Health earlier in the day. Police showed Romero’s photo to an Adams County youth services worker, who confirmed his name and that he was released from the Colorado Department of Corrections Division of Youth Services at the end of September. Romero served a three-year sentence after he was convicted of attempted murder, according to the affidavit. Both Romero and Fernandez are set to appear in Adams County District Court for filing of charges hearings on Monday. Denver-based sausage company Charcutnuvo posted a tribute to Ojeda on Monday and said she was a former employee. “She brought warmth, dedication, and kindness to our workplace every single day,” company officials wrote on Facebook. “Her sudden and tragic passing has left our entire team devastated, and we know the road to healing will be long.” Ojeda is survived by her husband and 13-year-old daughter.
