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An 18-year-old man took a deal and pleaded guilty to murder in a 2024 shooting at a west Denver gas station, according to court records.
Ronnie Hernandez, who was 16 when he shot and killed 29-year-old Manuel Quintana in June 2024, was sentenced Monday to 40 years in prison after pleading guilty to second-degree murder, according to Denver court records.
Hernandez was charged as an adult, but his plea deal dropped five felonies from his case: first-degree murder after deliberation, first-degree murder with extreme indifference, attempted first-degree murder, first-degree assault and illegal discharge of a firearm, court records show. Two violent crime sentence enhancers also were dismissed.
Denver officers responded to the fatal shooting in the 500 block of North Sheridan Boulevard just before 6:30 p.m. June 8, 2024.
When they arrived, they found Quintana with gunshot wounds, police said. Paramedics took Quintana to a hospital, where he died. A woman who was with Quintana also was shot but survived, according to the district attorney’s office.
Denver police identified Hernandez and his codefendant, Simon Eugene Elijah Gurule, as suspects through automated license plate readers and community tips.
Gurule is 29 years old, according to Denver court records. Police previously released his birthdate as three years earlier, which would have put him at 32 years old.
The 29-year-old’s jury trial is scheduled to start in January, according to court records. He faces the same five felonies that Hernandez originally was charged with and, if convicted of first-degree murder, will be sentenced to life in prison.
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