In the early morning hours of May 28, 2021, the life of 35-year-old Gary McLaughlin was tragically cut short in Denver's Capitol Hill neighborhood. Residents in the vicinity of the 1100 block of Sherman Street were startled by the sound of three gunshots. Responding Denver police officers discovered McLaughlin lying in the street, suffering from gunshot wounds.
He was rushed to a local hospital but ultimately succumbed to his injuries.
The investigation into McLaughlin's death revealed a connection to a man he had met on the social networking app Grindr. Detectives learned that McLaughlin had been at a party in an apartment on Sherman Street before he stepped outside to meet someone he had connected with on the app. Sometime after this meeting, the fatal shooting occurred. In the immediate aftermath, as neighbors tried to render aid to McLaughlin, his ringing cell phone was picked up by one of them. The caller was informed of the shooting, and shortly after, two men, one of whom was on the other end of the call, arrived at the scene, took the phone, and fled.
The investigation led police to 23-year-old Donald Gonzales. Evidence collected included Gonzales's DNA and fingerprints found inside a white Mercedes that had crashed near the scene. The driver of the car had fled on foot through a construction site, triggering motion-sensitive cameras. Shell casings from a custom-assembled 'ghost gun' found at the scene were also linked to Gonzales. Cell phone records further placed him in the area at the time of the murder. Following his arrest, Gonzales told investigators he was 'exploring his sexuality' and claimed that McLaughlin had attacked him.
After a six-hour deliberation, a Denver jury convicted Donald Gonzales of second-degree murder in March 2023. While the precise events that transpired between the two men on the night of the murder remained somewhat unclear, the jury agreed with prosecutors that Gonzales had planned to meet McLaughlin and was armed with the weapon that killed him. At the time of his death, Gary McLaughlin was on parole for a burglary conviction. Donald Gonzales was subsequently sentenced for the murder.
