AURORA, Colo. (KDVR) — A police affidavit acquired by FOX31 reveals new details about how Aurora Police were able to track down a suspect in a deadly road rage incident.
The road rage incident took place In Aurora’s Hoffman Heights Neighborhood. Neighbors told FOX31 off-camera they heard shots here back on May 1.
The police affidavit describes an “altercation” taking place between drivers that were traveling “recklessly” along East 13th Place.
Police say a 28-year-old man was shot and was able to drive himself to the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus just a few streets away. Investigators say the alleged shooter did not know the victim.
There were no breaks in the case until Friday night.
Special police unit tracks down shooting suspect
That’s when unmarked cars belonging to the Direct Action Response Team, also known as DART, working with the department’s gang unit, spotted a truck believed to have been involved in the road rage incident.
Other Major Crimes Units had been working on the case as well.
“They remembered the vehicle from a (bulletin) that was sent out from detectives and pieced it together like this car might be involved,” Aurora Police spokesperson Officer Matt Longshore said. “So they stopped the vehicle, and they interviewed the driver. They brought the person to be interviewed (at the police department), and that’s when the detectives were able to kind of link this person to that (the road rage) incident.”
Police arrested 28-year-old Arturo Moreno Torres, of Denver, in the killing.
What is the Aurora Police DART unit?
The DART team became one of the department’s focuses after interim Police Chief Art Acevedo arrived. Acevedo said he wanted to make sure cases were vigorously pursued by DART, chasing suspects no matter how long it took.
Since January, the team has made 90 felony arrests and 81 misdemeanor arrests, seized 23 guns and recovered 52 motor vehicles, according to department numbers.
Back in the neighborhood where the deadly incident took place, some people said they did not know that someone had been killed because of the shooting.
The victim has been identified as 28-year-old Francisco Zavaleta Morales.
FOX31 attempted to reach the family of the victim through police but so far has not heard back.
FOX31 also requested an interview with the suspected shooter, but the Arapahoe County jail said that could not happen Tuesday.