DENVER — An Aurora man was sentenced to four decades behind bars after he was convicted of second-degree murder related to the killing of a concessions worker outside Coors Field in August 2021.
The victim, 41-year-old Gregory Hopkins, was found with multiple gunshot wounds in the area of 22nd and Wazee streets on Aug. 6, 2021.
According to the Denver District Attorney's Office, Treneil McNeal provided a handgun to Javon Price, who is accused of fatally shooting Hopkins after the two had a verbal altercation. McNeal was convicted on the second-degree murder charge on Sept. 1 after a five-day trial in Denver and sentenced to 40 years.
“This is another tragic example of the consequences of settling arguments with guns. I am grateful to the jury for the verdict that they reached and very pleased with Judge Brody’s sentence. I also want to thank the detectives with the Denver Police Department’s homicide unit and the prosecutors and investigators in my office for their great work on this case,” said Denver District Attorney Beth McCann.
According to an arrest affidavit from Denver Police, Hopkins had been in a verbal altercation with two men while at work. The altercation stemmed from Hopkins and Price "talking to the same girl," the affidavit states.
After the Rockies game, Hopkins was seen on surveillance video arguing with a man in black clothing, the affidavit says. A short while later, Price appeared and fired a gun at Hopkins, hitting him, the affidavit says.
Hopkins then took off running down the stairs while Price continued after him, firing at him, the affidavit says. According to the affidavit, another man was seen on video handing a gun to Price before the shooting.
Price is charged with first-degree murder in the case and is currently scheduled to go to trial in February.
McNeal currently faces a murder charge in Aurora for an unrelated case.
He and another man were both indicted by an Arapahoe County grand jury on charges of first-degree murder and attempted murder in a shooting in Aurora that killed one woman and injured a second. The two victims were sitting in a vehicle outside an apartment complex on East Archer Place on March 29, 2022, when they were shot.
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