Denver gang leader, originally facing 255 charges, pleads guilty under agreement
DENVER (KDVR) — The 13th and final member of the 2D$ street gang indicted by the Denver District Attorney's Office pleaded guilty Monday to two counts of second-degree murder, one count of attempted murder and one count of violating the Colorado Organized Crime Control Act.
According to prosecutors, Angel 'Taz' Espinoza was the leader of 2D$ and was indicted alongside 12 other gang members in March 2023 on 254 felony counts that included murder, attempted murder, aggravated motor vehicle theft, assault, menacing and robbery. Espinoza's plea marked the last of the 13 to plead guilty.
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'Angel Espinoza was the leader of a brutal criminal organization that terrorized neighborhoods on the Westside of Denver and showed no regard for human life. The city is safer now that he will be off the streets, effectively for the rest of his life,' said Denver District Attorney John Walsh in a release.
According to the district attorney's office, the 13 gang members were responsible for dozens of shootings targeting rival gangs between 2019 and 2022. One shooting left Paul Baca Sr. dead in Denver on Jan. 22, 2021, and another left Christian Chirinos-Salazar dead in Denver on May 28, 2022.
The DA's office said the indictment identified almost 200 additional victims who were not involved in the gangs but got caught in the crossfire of gang violence or were misidentified as rivals.
Espinoza is scheduled to be sentenced on May 22 to 95 years in the Department of Corrections, as part of the plea agreement.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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