Javier Gomez, a 20-year-old Hispanic male, died on March 25, 2023, after being shot in his Fairfax, Virginia, apartment. The incident occurred in the early morning hours at the Fairfax Village Apartments on Viera Lane. Gomez and an acquaintance, 18-year-old Darren Cruz Colindres, had been together in the apartment since the previous night. The two had been playing video games and drinking heavily throughout the night.
A family member of Gomez, who was asleep in another room, was awakened
by the sound of a gunshot. Upon entering the living room, the family member discovered Gomez on the floor with a gunshot wound to his upper body and witnessed Cruz Colindres fleeing the scene. Emergency services were called, and Gomez was transported to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
The investigation quickly led police to identify Darren Cruz Colindres as the suspect. Within hours of the shooting, he was located at a home in McLean and taken into custody without incident. Initially, Cruz Colindres was charged with second-degree murder and the use of a firearm in the commission of a felony. The firearm used in the shooting was not immediately recovered at the scene.
As the legal proceedings unfolded, the charges against Cruz Colindres were amended. The firearm charge was dropped, and the second-degree murder charge was reduced to involuntary manslaughter. On August 14, 2023, Cruz Colindres pleaded guilty to the lesser charge. On December 1, 2023, he was sentenced to four years in prison with three years suspended, meaning he will serve an additional four months in jail on top of the time he had already been held. He was also placed on three years of active probation. During the sentencing, it was revealed that the two friends had consumed a significant amount of alcohol, and a brief argument preceded the shooting. The defense characterized the incident as a result of intoxication and recklessness, stating that Cruz Colindres had brought the gun to the apartment without malicious intent.
