On New Year's Day in 2022, a night that should have been filled with celebration in Denver, Colorado, turned tragic for 24-year-old Devonte Phillips. An accidental bump on the dance floor of The Cabin Tap House, a downtown bar, escalated into a fatal confrontation. The initial incident, a simple trip and fall involving Phillips and another man, sparked an argument.
This led to Phillips being lured downstairs where he was assaulted by the man and another unidentified individual.
After the initial physical altercation in the basement, the conflict appeared to momentarily de-escalate as both parties returned upstairs. However, the situation quickly intensified again. As a friend of Phillips attempted to alert security to his injuries, another man, later identified as Levi Diecidue, began kicking at Phillips and his friends. It was in the midst of this renewed chaos that Diecidue produced a handgun and fired at least five shots into the crowded club.
The gunfire claimed the lives of Devonte Phillips and another patron, 29-year-old Hiyaw 'Joya' Tesfa Zewdie-Walker, who was standing near Phillips but was not involved in the dispute. Two other people were also wounded in the shooting. In the aftermath, police found Phillips and Zewdie-Walker unresponsive on the floor of the club, and they were pronounced dead at the scene. The Cabin Tap House had its liquor license suspended following the deadly incident.
Investigators were able to identify Levi Diecidue, who was 22 at the time, as the suspected shooter by using the bar's ID scanner to obtain his driver's license information. Nearly two weeks after the shooting, on January 13, 2022, police located and arrested Diecidue in Aurora. He was subsequently charged with two counts of murder, attempted murder, and assault. In June 2023, Diecidue pleaded guilty to two counts of second-degree murder and one count of second-degree assault. He was sentenced to 62 years in prison. During his sentencing, Diecidue apologized for his actions, stating that his heart was 'filled with rage and anger at the time.' Both Devonte Phillips and Hiyaw Zewdie-Walker were parents to young children.
