In the early morning hours of September 16, 2015, a violent encounter in a Denver shopping center parking lot cut short the life of 26-year-old Donald Johnson. The young man, known to his loved ones as Don, was shot multiple times and found critically injured in the parking lot of a King Soopers near Sheridan Boulevard and Dartmouth Avenue. Despite being rushed to Denver Health Medical Center, he succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead at 6:10 a.m.
The cause of his death was determined to be multiple gunshot wounds.
The investigation into the shooting revealed that Johnson had arranged to meet with 19-year-old Nicholas Vandervoort at the location because Vandervoort owed him money. Instead of settling the debt, Vandervoort, accompanied by 19-year-old Dante Rodriguez and 20-year-old Alexis Ellis, allegedly shot and killed Johnson. The three suspects were subsequently identified and arrested in connection with the homicide. Vandervoort was apprehended in Louisiana and awaited extradition back to Denver to face charges. Rodriguez and Ellis were also taken into custody and, along with Vandervoort, were charged with first-degree murder.
In the years that followed, the legal process unfolded for those accused of Donald Johnson's murder. In June 2016, Alexis Ellis pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of accessory to a crime and was later sentenced to six years of supervised probation. Dante Rodriguez initially went to trial, but a mistrial was declared after the jury could not reach a unanimous verdict. As his second trial was about to commence in April 2018, Rodriguez pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and received a 48-year prison sentence. Nicholas Vandervoort was also charged with first-degree murder.
