DENVER — A man arrested on suspicion of first-degree murder in the shooting of a motorcycle driver on Interstate 70 told Denver Police that he was the driver of the suspect vehicle, while another man in the passenger seat fired a handgun at the victim multiple times, according to a Denver Police arrest affidavit in the case.
The motorcycle driver, Kyle Van Loozenoord, 32, died in the shooting soon after midnight July 4 in the eastbound lanes of I-70 near Colorado Boulevard. Denver Police recovered 20 shell casings from the scene, according to the affidavit.
Denver Police said in a news release on Saturday that they had arrested Cesar Ramirez-Rivera, 21, and Nelson Miranda-Rivas, 25, on suspicion of first-degree murder.
A witness gave dash-cam video to Denver Police that showed a dark-colored Ford pickup truck behind the motorcycle on I-70, with drivers of both going at a high rate of speed.
The video showed a person firing multiple shots out the front passenger window of the pickup at the victim as the truck went around the motorcycle, according to the affidavit for Ramirez-Rivera.
Based on the video, police put out a bulletin to local law enforcement agencies with a description of the pickup: a Ford F-350 with a sunroof and a rear chrome bumper. An officer with Thornton Police found that a pickup matching that description was stolen out of Denver last month.
Soon after, a Denver Police fugitive detective who was conducting surveillance on Ramirez-Rivera for an unrelated shooting identified the stolen pickup outside a Denver home where Ramirez-Rivera was staying, according to the affidavit.
After Ramirez-Rivera was arrested, he told police that Miranda-Rivas had fired a handgun at the victim multiple times on two occasions during the incident. He then drove them away from the scene, the affidavit says.
The affidavit doesn't say what Denver Police think led to the shooting. Police said Tuesday that the motive is still under investigation, but it is not believed to be road rage.
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