Suspect in Central High shooting to stand trial

The scene near Central after Vargas' shooting.
Photo by Heather L. Smith

AURORA | A few minutes after school let out on a brisk day last December, 16-year-old Karina Vargas stood in front of Aurora Central High School, showing her new puppy to a group of friends. 

That’s when two car loads of gang members — one full of 18th Streeters, the other H2K — pulled up nearby and started jawing back and forth. 

A single bullet ripped through the crowd, striking Karina in the back, leaving the teen paralyzed for life from the belly button down. 

Police say 19-year-old Luis Guzman-Rincon, an 18th Streeter known in the north Aurora neighborhood as “Luigi,” fired a pistol into the crowd that day because he was still mad about a July 2010 fight with rivals from H2K. Members of the gang, which stands for Hard 2 kill, had smacked Guzman-Rincon in the head with a brick during that fight, leaving a sizeable lump and bruise on his forehead. 

On Tuesday, after a brief hearing in Arapahoe County Court, a judge ruled there was ample evidence for Guzman-Rincon to stand trial on several charges related to the Dec. 6, shooting, including attempted first-degree murder. 

In all, Guzman-Rincon faces 16 charges that could send him to prison for the rest of his life. Federal immigration officials say he is in the country illegally and faces deportation if he is freed. 

During the 90-minute hearing Guzman-Rincon sat quietly next to one of his lawyers, listening as the case’s lead detective discussed testimony from several eye witnesses who say “Luigi” fired a shot into the crowd from the backseat of a friend’s Acura sedan. 

But Marnie Adams, Guzman-Rincon’s public defender, pointed to several inconsistencies in the witlessness’ statements, including varying descriptions of the shooter, where he was seated, how many people were in the car and whether he used his right or left hand. 

She also said some witnesses, including Karina Vargas and another who had known Guzman-Rincon for years, didn’t pick him out of a photo lineup. 

But prosecutors argued the evidence against Guzman-Rincon was ample, and he showed extreme indifference for everyone on the street that day when he pointed a pistol at the group and pulled the trigger. 

His next appearance is an arraignment set for June 27. 

Police on Tuesday declined to release Guzman-Rincon's mug shot.