A woman who shot and killed an unarmed man in front of his girlfriend has been sentenced to 50 years in prison.
Jacqueline Lucero
Arapahoe County District Court Judge Darren Vahle sentenced Jacqueline Yvonne Lucero, 35, for the murder of Adolph Arellano, who was 30 years old when he died.
“Yet another convicted felon — for attempted aggravated robbery — finds a way to obtain a handgun and use it violently. Here she ended an argument by ending a life. And then decided to lead law enforcement on a high-speed chase through our community. Such behavior demands incarceration to protect the innocent and punish the killer,” said District Attorney George Brauchler. “Coloradans should know that our convoluted, mysterious sentencing system will likely result in this 35-year-old murderer serving only about half of her well-earned prison sentence before becoming eligible to be paroled back into our community. We deserve better.”
On Oct. 30, 2017, Arapahoe County Sheriff’s deputies were called to the parking lot at 309 E Highline Circle. They found a man, later identified as Arellano, who had been shot in the stomach.
Arellano’s girlfriend told deputies they had come to speak with a woman in the one of the units who owed Arellano money. The woman, identified as Lucero, and Arellano argued in the apartment. Arellano and his girlfriend went out to their car. Lucero followed, the argument continued, and Lucero shot Arellano, who was not armed.
Arellano did not survive his injuries.
Lucero left the scene of the shooting. Investigators identified her and obtained a warrant for her arrest. She was spotted a week later near Quebec and 56th Avenue in Denver. Officer tried to pull her over, but she led them on a high-speed chase through Denver, unincorporated Arapahoe County and Aurora before she crashed near Alameda Avenue and Potomac Street.
“This woman stalked Mr. Arellano to his car, trying to continue an argument that was already over,” said Chief Deputy District Attorney Christopher Gallo, who prosecuted the case. “She used a handgun to end that argument, and she violently ended the life of an unarmed man.”
On Feb. 5, 2019, an Arapahoe County jury found Lucero guilty of second-degree murder, vehicular eluding and possession of a weapon by a previous offender.
Judge Vahle sentenced her April 25 to 44 years in the Department of Corrections on the murder count; six years on the eluding count, to be served consecutively; and 18 months concurrent on the weapons charge.