Michelob and Budweiser cans littered the floor of the main room at Salon Ocampo on Monday.
Tables were covered in white paper with leftover cake, cups and 2-liter soda bottles.
Dozens of gifts in colorful bags and boxes were stacked on a table in a corner.
It was the scene of a great party. And also a tragic death.
Monday morning, three people began cleaning up the room where Denver police Detective Donald “Donnie” Young was shot to death early Sunday morning. His partner, John Bishop, was also shot but survived.
“I will remember him the rest of my life,” Ocampo owner Ruben Huizar said.
“I know I’m not responsible … but in here,” he said, holding both hands to his chest, “it’s real, real hard to understand what happened.”
Huizar said Young worked security at parties at the Ocampo, an event center that includes a restaurant and bar, about once a month, partly because they always ended around midnight.
That meant the detective could head for home by 1 a.m. or earlier, Huizar said; working security at most bars would mean staying past 2 a.m.
Huizar and Young forged a friendship over moments shared during events – baptism celebrations like Saturday’s, birthday parties and wedding receptions. They gabbed over meals before guests arrived and chatted as the Huizars attended to their parties, Young to the door.
James Edinger, a Denver police narcotics detective who worked closely with Young for several years, stopped by Salon Ocampo on Monday to talk with the Huizars about their friend.
Edinger hugged Gloria Huizar and smiled when asked to share a story about his ex-colleague.
“Some great stories come to mind, but they’re all unprintable,” Edinger said.
Mostly, he said, Young’s effectiveness as a cop came from his respect for other people and his friendliness.
“He’d be working and some guy would come up who he’d thrown out earlier, and he’d laugh and say, ‘Hey, how long is it going to be until I have to throw you out this time? I give you 22 minutes,”‘ Edinger said.
Gloria Huizar said she thought Young liked working at Salon Ocampo, 1733 W. Mississippi Ave.
“He always said, ‘You pay me, you feed me, you’re nice to me. What else could I ask for?”‘ she said.
“He was so affectionate,” she continued in Spanish, her eyes reddening. “I’m taking this hard.”
Saturday night, she fed Young his last meal: “chile verde con queso – chile with cheese.”
The party was for a child baptized Saturday at St. Anthony Seminary in Glendale. Father Bart Nadal said the couple were not regular parishioners and that he didn’t know them well. They wanted to use the hall at the seminary, but it was booked. So they chose Salon Ocampo.
The party was essentially over about 1 a.m. Sunday, Ruben Huizar said.
The owner paid the detective, then walked through a nearby doorway to close down the bar. He expected Young and Bishop would wander toward the outside door as the remaining guests – 70 or 80 – filed out.
But the two detectives apparently walked to a metal railing and looked over the main room.
Huizar turned and saw a lone gunman shoot the pair.
“They were standing right here,” he said, touching the railing. “They never do that. I don’t know why they were standing here.”
Staff writer Katy Human can be reached at 303-820-1910 or at khuman@denverpost.com.
