Denver boy who 'shot and killed young mother when he was 14' will be tried as an adult: Suspect, now 17, shot victim 20 times with AR-15

A 17-year-old Colorado boy who allegedly fatally shot a young mother when he was just 14 appeared in court Friday for the first time since a judge ruled he would be tried as an adult.

Remi Cordova could face a maximum of seven years in prison if convicted as a juvenile, but he could not be sent away for 40 years.

On Friday, a judge set his bail at $5 million cash, meaning he will likely remain in jail until his trial.

The teen is accused of fatally shooting Pamela Cabriales in February 2021.

Cabriales, 32, was driving home from dinner with a friend when her car stopped at a red light in downtown Denver and possibly struck the rear of the vehicle Cordova was driving.

Pamela Cabriales was driving home from dinner with a friend in Denver when she was shot while stopped at a red light.

Neshan Johnson, 18, was driving the car on the night of February 2021 when Cabriales was shot and killed

His friend Neshan Johnson, 18, was driving: Both teens were known gang members, prosecutors said, and Cordova already had a criminal record.

Cordova got out of the car and grabbed an AR-15 rifle, then walked back to Cabriales' car at the red light and shot her 20 times in the head.

Cabriales, the mother of a six-year-old son, died five days later.

Johnson was sentenced to 35 years in prison in June.

The case against Cordova will be prosecuted by Chief Deputy District Attorney Courtney Johnston – the wife of Denver Mayor Mike Johnston.

Cabriales' brother Alex said he is glad Cordova is being tried as an adult.

“I think the judges are making the right decision in this case,” he said outside the courtroom on Friday. Fox 31 reported this.

'They do their job. Our communities can be safer with him in prison.”

Alex's other sibling, Noel, was shot dead in 1994 when he was 15, amid an argument over petting a dog.

When Pamela was also murdered, he said: 'We have just been stripped of everything we love so much. It's just a feeling of emptiness.'

Cabriales' brother Noel was shot dead in 1994 at the age of 15 after an argument over a dog

Cabriales is pictured with her six-year-old son

Alex Cabriales said his sister Pamela was a beautiful person

Alex told me 9News that he felt like his parents, Mexican immigrants who didn't speak much English, were abandoned when Noel was murdered.

“We weren't treated fairly then,” Alex Cabriales said.

'There was no one to guide them or explain what was going on. We felt like it was swept under the rug at the time.”

Noel's killer was found guilty of manslaughter and served only seven years. Alex said he is now determined to get justice for his sister.

“My sister's life means nothing to that boy,” Alex Cabriales said.

“To them it was just a gang initiation.

Cabriales said CBS News He was told the 14-year-old turned to the older teen and asked, 'Can I arrest them?'

Cabriales said Johnson told Cordova, “Do what you gotta do.”

He added: 'This was a person, a human being, a very good person and a 14-year-old boy decided her life was worth nothing.'

Alex said he thought Cordova was “a psychopath” and shouldn't be allowed to walk the streets freely.

“There are people you can rehabilitate,” he said. “He's not one of them.”