AURORA, Colo. — A man charged with first-degree murder in connection with the July 2022 killing of a Denver community activist who was struck and killed by a stray bullet has been arrested in connection with a separate homicide that occurred in Aurora about two months before the death of Ma Kaing.
Kaing, a board member of the East Colfax Neighborhood Association, was shot and killed on July 15, 2022, in the 1300 block of North Xenia Street in Denver.
The following month, Denver Police arrested four people:
- Pa Reh
- Nu Ra Ah La
- Swa Bay
- Lu Reh
On Friday, Aurora Police said Lu Reh, now 22, was arrested in connection with a fatal shooting that occurred in May 2022 in northwest Aurora. Court records show he faces charges of first-degree murder and assault.
According to Aurora Police, the charges stem from a fatal shooting on May 30, 2022, near the intersection of East 16th Avenue and Alton Street. Around 4:15 p.m., Denver Police responded to the area and found the victim, 44-year-old Ricardo Ryans, in an alley between the 1600 blocks of Willow and Xanthia streets.
He had been shot multiple times and was pronounced dead at the scene.
About 6:30 p.m., Denver officers received a 911 call about a black 2015 Volkswagen Tiguan parked near the intersection of East 14th Avenue and Niagara Street. When officers responded, they noticed multiple bullet holes in the vehicle and blood in the front passenger seat. Witnesses told officers they saw a woman exit the vehicle and enter a nearby motel.
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Officers went to the motel and contacted the woman, who said she had been driving the vehicle at the time of the shooting. She told investigators she picked up Ryans in Aurora to run an errand. As they were headed home, she said, they encountered a white sedan driving slowly with its hazard lights on near East 16th Avenue and Alton Street.
The woman told police she tried to drive around the sedan, and as she did, an unknown man appeared and fired multiple rounds into the passenger side of her vehicle.
The woman told investigators she sped away and stopped in the alley between Willow and Xanthia streets to check on Ryans. At that time, she said Ryans got out and collapsed on the ground.
She said she drove to the motel where she was staying and parked the car two blocks away at East 14th Avenue and Niagara Street.
Denver homicide detectives contacted Aurora Police about the scene at East 16th Avenue and Alton Street. Investigators responded there and located the scene of the shooting. Several 9mm shell casings were recovered.
Lu Reh was identified as the suspect through witness statements and forensic and ballistic evidence that a judge signed off on a warrant for his arrest this week.
He's been in custody since August 2022 in connection with the killing of Kaing, which is unrelated to the fatal shooting of Ryans, according to Aurora Police.
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