In a tragic case of mistaken identity, 20-year-old Isaiah Vialpando was shot and killed in Pueblo, Colorado, on September 2, 2015. On that Wednesday afternoon, at approximately 3:45 p.m., Vialpando was driving his silver BMW near the Pueblo Transit Center after finishing his classes at Colorado State University-Pueblo. It was then that another vehicle pulled alongside his, and multiple shots were fired into his car.
The gunfire struck Vialpando, causing his vehicle to cross City Center Drive and crash into a brick fence post. He was rushed to the hospital, where he later succumbed to his injuries.
The investigation into the death of the young man, a talented member of the Mariachi Tierra de Colorada, revealed a senseless motive. Investigators determined that Vialpando was not the intended target but was mistakenly identified by his killer. The shooter, Leo Montoya, then 24, had been shot and paralyzed months earlier on January 18, 2015. Montoya believed the person responsible for his shooting drove a silver BMW and, in an act of retribution, targeted Vialpando simply because he was driving a similar car. Vialpando had no criminal record and was not a gang member.
In the wake of the shooting, the FBI offered a $10,000 reward for information leading to an arrest. The investigation eventually led to Leo Montoya, who was arrested and charged with the murder of Isaiah Vialpando. In September 2017, Montoya pleaded guilty to attempted first-degree murder in a plea agreement that saw a first-degree murder charge dropped. He was sentenced to 23 years in prison. Vialpando's family expressed their profound grief and frustration with the sentence, feeling it was not severe enough for the loss of their beloved son. His mother, Melissa Vialpando, described Isaiah as her 'everything,' while his father, Robert Cordova, voiced his anger at a justice system he felt failed his innocent son.
