A 28-year-old Lakewood man faces possible murder charges after he allegedly drove a car into a person he had been quarreling with early Saturday morning at a bar.
Joel Vargas-Ramirez is being held for investigation of first-degree murder following the fatal crash in the 5400 block of West Alameda Avenue, said Sheridan Foster, spokeswoman for the Lakewood Police Department.
He was at a bar inside El Jalisciense II Mexican Restaurant when a dispute broke out about 1 a.m., Foster said.
“There were several individuals who were arguing in the bar and it spilled out into the parking lot,” she said.
Vargas-Ramirez jumped into his F-350 Ford pickup and was driving out of the parking lot when he slammed into the victim, who was rushed to a hospital and later pronounced dead, she said.
“He did take off,” Foster said.
Lakewood police tracked Vargas-Ramirez down and arrested him. He is being held in the Jefferson County Jail, Foster said.
He is also being held as a habitual traffic offender, she said. The Jefferson County district attorney’s office will make the final charging decisions, she said.
Authorities have not released the name of the victim.
Vargas-Ramirez has been arrested on suspicion of several drinking and traffic offenses, dating back to 2000, according to Colorado Bureau of Investigation records.
In 2000, a Colorado State Patrol trooper arrested him on suspicion of drunken driving and driving without a license, according to CBI records. Troopers arrested him again in Adams County in 2003 on suspicion of drunken driving. In 2006, he was cited for careless driving.
Kirk Mitchell: 303-954-1206 or kmitchell@denverpost.com
