20-year-old arrested following February shooting in Colorado Springs

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) - The Colorado Springs Police Department (CSPD) arrested 20-year-old Rafeal Torres-Arroyo of Colorado Springs in connection to a shooting that occurred in February of this year, according to court documents. Rafael Torres-Arroyo is facing three felony charges including attempted murder in the first degree, illegal discharge of a firearm, and criminal mischief.

According to the affidavit, CSPD responded to reports of a shooting at a home in the city on February 11, 2024. There, officers contacted the victim, 20-year-old Tyler Casados. Casados told officers he was going to meet his friend, Francisco Legarda, in the parking lot of the Babies-R-Us, 3555 Citadel Drive South, around 2:30 a.m. The affidavit states the two "were going to meet because Francisco owed Tyler $100."

Documents say that Casados told police that a gray BMW sedan pulled in front of him when he arrived in the parking lot. Legarda exited that car and proceeded to get into the front seat of Casados' car. Eventually, a man opened the driver's door from the outside, reached into the car, and attempted to turn the car off. At the time, Casados believed the man to be Alexander Legarda, Francisco's brother, or Rafael Torres-Arroyo, the suspect in the case.

According to court documents, the man and Francisco Legarda began punching Casados in the head. Casados attempted to drive off in his car while being attacked by the duo. Francisco began grabbing the steering wheel from the passenger's seat and the car began to drive in circles around the parking lot around the gray BMW. Francisco began telling Casados "Just fight him." Casados told police that as he was attempting to gain control of the car, he spotted the man standing next to the gray BMW with a "black pistol" in his hands.

Documents show that the man began shooting at Casados' car. The car was struck several times. During the shooting, Legarda jumped from the passenger's seat of the car and Casados sped away. Casados believes approximately five shots were fired.

Police say that Casados described four people who were inside of the gray BMW at the time:

• The driver, who was shooting the gun
• An unknown male front passenger
• Francisco Legarda
• Another unknown male described as white with blonde hair

Documents say that following the altercation, Casados attempted to drive home, but his car was experiencing mechanical problems due to being shot in the engine compartment. Casados told police that his girlfriend, Amil Cuch, used to attend school with Rafael Torres-Arroyo as well as Francisco Legarda's brother, Alexander. Casados added that he contacted Alexander Legarda and Torres-Arroyo about a week and a half prior to the shooting to tell them to "chill out" on his girlfriend.

Upon their arrival at the scene, officers found fresh tire tracks in the snow consistent with Casados' statement, as well as six spent nine-millimeter cartridge casings and one live nine-millimeter round. Officers also investigated Casados' car and found it had been hit five times. One round landed on the hood of the car and the remaining four all penetrated the passenger's side of the car. Police estimate the damage to be nearly $2,000.

Colorado Springs Police conducted a follow-up interview with Casados 11 days later on February 22, 2024. While Casados was initially unsure of who fired the shots, Police say he believes the person was most likely Torres-Arroyo, because Alexander Legarda has a larger build than the man who fired at him. Casados also told police that he had never met Torres-Arroyo before the incident and that the same person who opened the driver's door to his car was the same person who shot at him.

Documents say that in September of 2023, Francisco Legarda was arrested for driving under the influence while sitting in a parking lot in a car. The car was a 2016 silver BMW sedan with Colorado license plates. A check of the license plate revealed the vehicle to be registered to Greixica Arroyo in Fort Carson, Colorado. Police later discovered the vehicle belonged to Torres-Arroyo's father. During the arrest, Legarda told police that he was in the driver's seat because his friend, Rafael Torres-Arroyo, had been drinking and could not drive.

Amil Cuch, the victim's girlfriend, told police that she used to be friends with Alexander, Francisco, and Rafael. The group all attended the International Salon and Spa Academy together. She told officers she and Alexander dated for about five months from June to November of 2023, and that the breakup was "ugly." Following the breakup, Cuch began dating Casados. Cuch told police that Alexander would often harass her at school and even told her that he wanted to fight Casados.

According to court documents, when Casados returned home from the shooting, he explained to Cuch what happened. Cuch stated that it was probably Rafael's nine-millimeter handgun. Cuch told police that Rafael had shown her the handgun in the past and she described it as gray in color and it had the serial numbers scratched off. Rafael allegedly told her it had been purchased illegally. Cuch also told police that Alexander and Francisco Legarda did not have cars and that she had never seen them with a firearm in the past.

Investigating officers spoke with Alex and Francisco Legarda's sister, Beverline Trujillo. Officers requested that Trujillo call Francisco and ask him about the incident while they listened in, to which she agreed. Francisco confirmed that he did grab the wheel when Casados attempted to escape, saying he, "grabbed the wheel, so they didn't get in a wreck." He also confirmed that there was a "guy" there who shot a gun, but he claimed he did not know who it was.

On February 21, 2024, officers executed a search warrant at Torres-Arroyo's home. Inside the home, officers found three nine-millimeter handguns which belonged to Torres-Arroyo's father.

Officers interviewed Torres-Arroyo the same day. He told officers that he did drive the BMW and picked up Francisco, Alex, and an unknown man to meet Casados at the Babies-R-Us and that he was there to fight Tyler. Torres-Arroyo confirmed to police that Francisco got into Casados' car and punched him. He also confirmed that he did open Casados' driver's side door and assaulted him. Torres-Arroyo maintained that he did not know who fired the shots at Casados.