CO Illegal kills 2 over ipod

High school students killed as gangs brawled over stolen iPod
LANCE BENZEL
January 9, 2009 - 10:43AM
A double slaying east of Colorado Springs on Thursday was the result of a gang-related clash over a stolen iPod, the El Paso County Sheriff's Office said.
The suspect, 19-year-old Juan Vasquez, was arrested early Friday in the shooting deaths of two male high school students at a park in the Cimarron Hills area, sheriff's spokeswoman Lt. Lari Sevene said.
The victims were identified as 18-year-old Uriel Rascon and 17-year-old Luis Burciaga. Rascon attended Sierra High School, and Burciaga went to The New Horizons School, an alternative high school. Both schools are in Harrison School District 2.
Vasquez is being held in the El Paso County jail on an immigration hold placed by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, jail records show.
He is due to appear in court Monday. An arrest affidavit was not available.
Autopsies determined that Rascon and Burciaga each died of a gunshot wound in the chest. They were shot with an SKS semiautomatic rifle, the El Paso County Sheriff's Office said.
Sevene said Vasquez and the two victims were members of rival gangs. They met in the Cimarron Eastridge Park off Constitution Avenue, Sevene said, in what apparently was a brawl set off by a fight involving Sand Creek High School students the day earlier over an iPod music player.
Vasquez and the two victims were "associates" of those involved in the earlier fracas, Sevene said.
Several fist fights broke out among the 20 teenagers who gathered in the vacant field between the park and a large apartment complex before the fight ended with shots being fired.
One of the teenagers died at the scene, and the other was pronounced dead about 5 p.m. at Memorial Hospital, authorities said.
Within hours, investigators traced the feud to Sand Creek, and school officials ordered a lockdown Friday morning, with three police officers and district security officers patrolling the campus.
"I'm not sure what the connections are, and I think that was an appropriate response when we received that information last night," Sand Creek Principal Mike Collins said.
Vasquez was arrested about 1:30 a.m. Friday in the vicinity of Peterson Road. He had been a student at Sand Creek "a couple of years ago" before transferring to West Valley Alternative High School, said Amanda Mountain, a spokeswoman for Falcon School District 49.
Sevene said the fight over the music player happened Wednesday near Sand Creek after school. Mountain said the fight was off-campus and that it wasn't clear whether it was related to the shooting.
Collins said that there have been no significant incidents tied to gang activity at Sand Creek in the past two years, and that school officials are instructed to crack down on gang paraphernalia and clothing.
Sheriff's investigators remained at the park Friday, using a metal detector to hunt for shell casings. Small flags marked the location of potential evidence, and extra deputies were on patrol because of the potential for retaliation.
Investigators are confident they have the only shooter involved in the attack but are still seeking witnesses to corroborate key details, such as how far Vasquez was from the victims before they were shot, Sevene said.
"We have everything from 10 feet to 12 yards," she said.
-
Contact the writer: 636-0366 or lance.benzel@gazette.com.
-
Gazette writers Tom Roeder and Carlyn Ray Mitchell contributed to this report.
THE VICTIMS
Louis Burciaga, 17-year-old who attended The New Horizons School, an alternative high school.
Uriel Rascon, 18-year-old who attended Sierra High School.
THE SUSPECT
Juan Vasquez, 19, was arrested early Friday in the shooting deaths of two teens.