DENVER — Friends and family members are trying to make sense of the sudden and tragic killing of David Rosenthal, who was shot to death in a carjacking late last week on a Denver street.
"We are devastated with the unexpected loss of Dave. He was an amazing father, son, brother, husband, and friend," his family said in a statement. "Dave loved everyone - even strangers - and would go out of his way to help anyone during their time of need."
Rosenthal, 58, died from multiple gunshot wounds, according to the coroner. He was shot during a carjacking on North Perry Street between West Colfax Avenue and West Conejos Place in the early morning hours of Feb. 22, the Denver Police Department said.
Rosenthal was driving for Uber at the time he was shot, the company confirmed.
Matthew Fanelli was arrested in Oregon over the weekend and is being held on a charge of first-degree murder in connection with Rosenthal's death. Fanelli and Jose Lopez-Jovel are accused of going on a multi-state crime spree that began early Friday in Colorado and took them to Wyoming and Utah before they were finally arrested in Oregon.
Back here in Colorado, those closest to Rosenthal are struggling to understand how someone could take away their loved one in such a violent way.
"I could just barely, barely even get through the day," said Micah Emerson who has been Rosenthal's neighbor for 15 years. "Work was difficult. I just couldn’t get out of my own head as to why anyone would do that to such a nice guy. He would’ve just given them the car if they would’ve just said get out of the car."
"You never expect anyone to be gunned down or killed in such a heinous fashion. I was just kind of shocked the first night," Emerson said.
As he tried to make sense of it, Emerson said he felt compelled to visit the street where Rosenthal took his last breath.
"I just wanted to go kind of see where, where he was attacked and shot. So, I drove out there, stopped and walked around. Tried to get some feeling and some peace to where it all may have occurred, but couldn’t really figure that out, but just kind of trying to grasp peace of mind and kind of just see it."
Emerson said Rosenthal was more than just a neighbor to him. He described him as a brilliant web developer and coder.
"God, he was a lot of things to me. He was a mentor, a friend, you know, a father when I needed one, somebody that you can always count on. He’d take the shirt off his back for you," Emerson said. "Definitely, one of the nicest people I’ve ever known and he was taken, taken too early."
Rosenthal's family echoed those statements.
"A senseless act of violence has created a huge loss for our family and the community. We want to Dave to be remembered as the amazing person he was and the many lives he has touched."
Emerson said Rosenthal worked as a driver for both Uber and Lyft.
A spokesperson for Lyft confirmed to 9NEWS that Rosenthal worked as a driver for the company, but said he was not working for them at the time of the shooting.
Uber provided a statement about the shooting to 9NEWS:
“We are shocked and heartbroken by this horrific crime, and our thoughts are with David’s family. We cooperated with police on the investigation and hope the individuals responsible are brought to justice.”
Below is the full statement Lyft provided to 9NEWS:
"This is tragic news and our hearts go out to Mr. Rosenthal's loved ones during this difficult time. While this incident did not involve the Lyft platform, the safety of the Lyft community is our top priority. We have been working with law enforcement to support their investigation and will continue to do so."
9NEWS reporter Jordan Chavez contributed to this report.
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