A Denver teen who brutally murdered a mother when he was just 14 years old as part of an alleged gang initiation was sentenced to life in prison on Thursday.
Remi Cordova, now 18, was sentenced to life 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 horrific act was an attempt to gain status in the city’s Eastside Crips gang.
The troubled teen received an additional eight years in prison for an attempted-murder conviction to be served consecutively with the life sentence.
That conviction is related to the driver of the car behind Cabriales’ vehicle.
In a January hearing, 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.
The Thursday sentencing also saw Denver District Judge Darryl Shockley recognize Cordova’s troubled past, as he noted the teen had endured near-constant physical, emotional and sexual abuse from the time he was a toddler.
‘Your life for 14 years, it was tragic,’ Shockley told Cordova.
Remi Cordova , now 18, was sentenced on Thursday to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 40 years for the murder of 32-year-old Pamela Cabriales. Pictured: 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 believe was an attempt to gain status in the city’s Eastside Crips gang
‘There have been failings at every level – at every level – to bring Mr. Cordova to that fateful night.’
Reports of Cordova’s conflict-riddled childhood were first submitted to the Department of Human Services when he was 1 month old.
By the time he was three, the agency had eight reports of alleged abuse and neglect, including that he was running around his apartment complex alone, that he had been burned with cigarettes, and was swearing and acting violently as a toddler, his defense attorney, James Zorich, said.
The abuse escalated in the following years with consistent violence and exploitation, Zurich added.
‘This is ongoing, continual abuse and neglect throughout Remi’s life,’ Zorich said.
Speaking in court, Cordova denied that he committed the murder, as he was arrested along with two other teens in connection to the February 2021 killing.
‘I want you all to know I feel for you all and I understand completely and I’m terribly sorry for the pain you guys feel,’ he said to Cabriales’ family on Thursday.
‘But I can’t take responsibility for something that I did not do… I’m not the monster or the murderer that I have been painted to be by the Denver District Attorney’s Office.’
His friend, Neshan Johnson, 18, who has since been convicted of second-degree murder, was at the wheel when the three teenagers were stopped at a red light on Colfax Avenue on February 20, 2021.
The teenage trio pulled up to the intersection around 10:45 pm when Cabriales rear-ended the teenagers in a minor collision.
Sitting in the front passenger seat, Cordova allegedly received permission from Johnson, who authorities believe had a higher gang status than Cordova, to ‘bust on’ Cabriales.
Fourteen-year-old Cordova then exited the vehicle and proceeded to shoot into Cabriales’ SUV several times before fleeing.
Another teen, also 14, was said to be inside the vehicle with Cordova and Johnson at the time of the shooting.
All three were arrested the following day and were known gang members, prosecutors said.
Pamela Cabriales died after she was shot nearly 20 times in the head Cordova and his teen friends on February 20, 2021
Cabriales leaves behind a six-year-old son (pictured)
Cordova’s defense argued before the judge that their client did not commit the homicide, but rather another teen inside the vehicle 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 abhorrent attack.
The mother of a six-year-old son died five days later.
Her brother, Alex Cabriales, spoke on his sister’s behalf in court, sharing that 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 from us that night.’
His sister’s 2021 death marked the second of his siblings to have been a victim of murder.
Alex’s other sibling, Noel, was shot and killed in 1994 when he was 15, amid a row over petting a dog.
When Pamela was also murdered, he said: ‘We’ve just been stripped of everything we love dearly. It’s just a feeling of emptiness.’
Alex told 9News that he felt his parents, Mexican immigrants who did not speak much English, were let down when Noel was murdered.
‘We were not treated fairly then,’ Alex said.
‘There was no one there to guide them or explain to them what was going on. We felt like then it was just swept under the rug.’
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. ‘It was just a gang initiation to them.’
He added: ‘This was a person, a human being, a really good person and a 14-year-old boy decided her life was worth nothing.’
Alex said that he thought Cordova was ‘a psychopath’, and should not be free to roam the streets.
‘There are some people you can rehabilitate,’ he said. ‘He’s not one of them.’
