In the early morning hours of August 25, 2024, a burst of gunfire shattered the quiet of a southeast Denver neighborhood, leaving a trail of tragedy. When the echoes faded, 16-year-old Brayan Espino Ibarra, a Hispanic male, was found lifeless in the 4400 block of South Syracuse Street. He had sustained multiple gunshot wounds and was pronounced dead at the scene, his life cut short in an act of violence that would be ruled a homicide.
Another man, 33-year-old Gregory Herrera Santoro, was
also shot during the incident. Despite his injuries, Santoro managed to drive away from the scene. He was discovered approximately three miles away, in the 7000 block of East Hampden Avenue, but he too succumbed to his wounds and died after being transported to a hospital. The Denver Police Department launched an investigation into the double homicide that had claimed the lives of a teenager and a man.
As investigators pieced together the events of that fatal morning, a suspect emerged. Authorities identified 22-year-old Kervin Jose Mota, who also goes by the alias 'Cuerito,' as the alleged gunman responsible for the deaths of both Brayan Espino Ibarra and Gregory Herrera Santoro. The Denver Police Department has since been searching for Mota in connection with the double homicide. As of the latest reports, no arrests had been made in the case, and the community was left to mourn the violent loss of two of its own while a wanted suspect remained at large.
