Denver police shot a man who came at them with a gun, then found a homicide victim close by and arrested another man who they suspect in the death early Sunday morning.
Two men are in custody after the incidents near 3436 W. 18th Ave. about 12:30 a.m., police said.
Filberto Alderete, 62, was arrested on suspicion of homicide, said police spokesman Sonny Jackson.
The man shot by an officer is at Denver Health Medical Center in stable condition. Police have not identified him or the dead man.
Property records indicate that Alderete lives at the address on 18th Avenue where the incident took place along with a Daniel J. Alderete.
A woman who identified herself as Rosemary Alderete and claimed to be the mother of the man who was shot contacted 9News on Sunday. She said her son’s name is Daniel.
“My son is 25 years old. What the nurse did actually tell me is that he was shot in the stomach, and he is not out of the woods,” the woman said.
Cynthia Moses, 34, who lives next door to Alderete, said the man police shot is named Daniel but she didn’t know his last name.
Police were responding to reports of a fight in the area when neighbors told them there had been a shooting.
The officers were walking toward the porch at 3436 W. 18th Ave. when a man came around a corner holding a gun, Jackson said.
Police told him to drop the weapon, but he raised it instead, Jackson said. Investigators recovered a handgun at the scene.
The man found on the porch was pronounced dead at the scene.
Moses said she heard a series of rapid pops that she thought were firecrackers and then a loud boom before police came to her door to question her.
Other neighbors said there was a barbecue going on at the home before the shooting.
There was no formal party, however, Jackson said. “People were just out and about.”
Colorado Bureau of Investigation records show that Filberto Alderete has been arrested in the past on suspicion of intoxication, disturbing the peace and a hit-and-run, a charge that was dismissed. His last arrest in 1991 was for allegedly carrying a concealed weapon and threatening someone with assault.
Tom McGhee: 303-954-1671 or tmcghee@denverpost.com
