The victim was Antonio James Hill, age 41.
Meanwhile, the person Denver police believe is responsible for Hill's death is nineteen-year-old Taylor Bandy, who's been taken into custody on suspicion of homicide.
As we detail below, the man now ID'd as Hill was found dead in his car on Saturday morning. The coroner says the cause of death was a gunshot wound to the head.
Bandy was taken into custody prior to Hill's identification, and while it's not his first run-in with the law, the one that took place this past November was infinitely less serious. A Mugshotsworld.com post (which doesn't actually feature a booking photo) notes that he was busted by the Arvada Police Department during that month on a charge of defacing public property.
Hill's death was the second at a metro-area Denny's in just over a week. Get details in our previous coverage below.
Original post, 11:12 a.m. May 6: Late-night visits to Denny's aren't usually dangerous unless you're allergic to pancakes.
But this weekend, a mere eight days after beloved former Gothic Theatre employee Chris Haney was killed trying to break up a fight outside the branch of the eatery at Santa Fe and Alameda, a man was found shot to death in the parking lot of a sister restaurant at 17th and Federal.
Here's what we know thus far.
This is the first tweet from the Denver Police Department on Sunday.
BREAKING:DPD is invstigating a homicide at 1605 Federal (Denny's parking lot).Male vict.No further details at this time.Updates here
— Denver Police Dept (@DenverPolice) May 5, 2013
The man's body was found in a white SUV in the Denny's parking lot, according to 7News.
The station notes that surveillance footage showed the vehicle arriving at around 9 p.m. the night before. Presumably, he died between that time and 6:30 a.m., when employees noticed a bullet hole in one of its windows and called the authorities.
Thus far, no further details have been released, including the victim's name. But the following screen capture shows a friend of the man racing toward the SUV after hearing the terrible news.
The circumstances were considerably different when it came to the incident that took Haney's life, and arrests have already been made in that case -- specifically Robert Bernal and a juvenile said to be his younger brother.With that in mind, drawing relative conclusions about the safety of the average Denny's after dark is unwise. Chalk up the proximity of these crime settings as an awful, and deadly, coincidence.
Look below to see a 7News report from the scene, followed by an interactive graphic of the area near the scene. If you have problems seeing the image, click "View Larger Map."
View Larger Map
More from our Mile High Murder archive: "Chris Haney, Gothic Theatre staffer, dies in Denny's shooting, Robert Bernal busted (75)."
