On the evening of May 21, 2025, gunfire erupted on the 3100 block of Ursula Street in northwest Aurora. Police found two young men shot; 18-year-old Ernesto Jae Sandoval of Wheat Ridge was transported to a hospital with life-threatening wounds and later died. A 17-year-old boy from Denver was also shot and sustained non-life-threatening injuries and was expected to recover.

The Aurora Police Department Major Crime Homicide Unit initially reported no suspect or motive and asked the public for help. Detectives later identified two suspects: in mid-June a 17-year-old male from Aurora was arrested on suspicion of second-degree murder and aggravated robbery, and on June 27 patrol officers arrested 19-year-old Yoel Uriel Romero of Aurora on the same charges. The Adams County Coroner identified Ernesto Jae Sandoval as the deceased and the case was forwarded to the 17th Judicial District Attorney’s Office for charging decisions.

What information might explain why this encounter became deadly, and did anyone witness the shooting or the events leading up to it?