Police identify second suspect in months-old Colorado Springs murder investigation
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) — After eight months of investigating, Colorado Springs Police charged a suspect in the shooting death of 19-year-old, Colorado Springs resident Alijah Vialpando.
Police said Vialpando was in a car on Briargate Boulevard near Union Boulevard when he was shot on November 5, 2019.
He drove through Briargate Boulevard, running over the curb and stopping in front of the Sunrise Methodist Church. He was taken to the hospital where he later died.
On July 8th, detectives obtained an arrest warrant for suspect, 21-year-old Gage Kohler of Colorado Springs for murder in the first degree, according to police. Kohler was served the arrest warrant while he was already in custody at the El Paso County Jail for unrelated charges.
Kohler is the second suspect to be identified in the investigation. In June, multiple interviews led detectives to identify 19-year-old Kellen Fortune as a suspect.
The investigation revealed he was staying in Billings, Montana and an arrest warrant for murder in the first degree was issued.
Homicide detectives referred the apprehension efforts of Fortune to CSPD’s Violent Offender Fugitive Task Force comprised of members from CSPD, the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office and the United Stated Marshals Service.
The United States Marshals Montana Violent Offender Task Force said they located Fortune on June 18th. When USMS deputies confronted him, they said there was an exchange of gunfire that killed Fortune. No law enforcement officers were injured during the shootout.
