FBI offers $10K reward for information on murder in downtown Pueblo
The FBI is offering a $10,000 reward for information about who killed a college student driving through downtown Pueblo in the middle of the afternoon.
Isaiah Vialpando, 20, was shot and killed on Sept. 2 at about 3:45 p.m. in the 200 block of Court St. Police believe the shooter mistook Vialpando for someone else.
By all accounts, Isaiah Vialpando was the kind of guy every parent hoped to raise.
“He wasn’t in gangs. He wasn’t a drug dealer. He didn’t do drugs,” said Isaiah Vialpando’s stepdad, Robert Cordova.
Isaiah Vialpando was a family guy, a sophomore at CSU-Pueblo pursuing a degree in mass media communications. His family said he had a passion for Mariachi music, but his life was carelessly taken two months ago.
“I’m angry because what happened to him didn’t have to happen,” Isaiah Vialpando’s grandfather, Danny Vialpando said. “Someone out there had to have seen what happened.”
Vialpando was shot and killed while driving a silver BMW. Police believe the shooter mistook his vehicle for a similar BMW involved in another shooting just two days before.
Capt. Jeff Bodmer of the Pueblo Police Department said Isaiah Vialpando was not the shooter’s intended target.
“We didn’t find anything to indicate that he was involved in any kind of criminal activity, [or] that he was having issues with anybody,” Bodmer said.
His family told KRDO NewsChannel 13 that what happened to Isaiah Vialpando could have happened to anyone.
“Right downtown at 4 p.m. Anybody could have been there,” Cordova said.
“When I found out it was devastating,” said Danny Vialpando.
Police said the shooter was driving a newer model, red, two-door car with a sun roof and dark, tinted windows. Police also said the vehicle has low profile tires on aftermarket rims.
Isaiah Vialpando’s family is hopeful that the shooter will be caught.
“If we can get a conviction, maybe that’ll give us some closure,” Cordova said.
“We go to bed crying and I know I wake up crying,” Danny Vialpando said.
Anyone with information can submit an online tip at CrimeSuspect.net. They can also call 719-584-7299 or send a message to the Pueblo Police Department’s Facebook page.
