James Sanchez ID'd as victim in drive-by house party shooting on 300 block of South Yates (4)

Update: The Denver coroner's office has just identified the man shot to death early Sunday morning, allegedly by someone in a car that drove past the scene of a house-party-related fight on the 300 block of South Yates Street. The victim: James Sanchez, 24. The cause of death was a...

By Michael Roberts

June 6, 2011

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Update: The Denver coroner's office has just identified the man shot to death early Sunday morning, allegedly by someone in a car that drove past the scene of a house-party-related fight on the 300 block of South Yates Street. The victim: James Sanchez, 24. The cause of death was a gunshot wound to the chest. Look below for our earlier coverage.

Original item, 8:47 a.m. June 6: Early Sunday morning, Denver Police say a house party at the 300 block of South Yates Street led to a fight.

Which wouldn't have been so bad in and of itself, if someone hadn't opened fire, killing a man with a single shot.

According to the DPD, several people were leaving the area on foot when a car drove past. Someone inside the vehicle yelled profanities at the group, then fired. Cops were called at around 3:20 a.m., and when they arrived, they found a man with a gunshot wound to the chest. He was pronounced dead after being transported to Denver Health.

If the cops have a description of the car or the suspect, they're not sharing the info at this point. Likewise, the victim has not been identified at this writing.

Look below to see an interactive graphic of the area near the scene. If you have problems seeing the image, click "View Larger Map."

View Larger Map

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Michael Roberts began his career with Westword in 1990 as music editor. In 1999, he took on a new role, full-time media reporter, as author of a column called The Message. In 2008, he became the lead writer for Westword's news blog, The Latest Word, a position he held until January 2023. Michael continues to freelance for Westword, covering everything from business to sports and the media; he also contributes to Jazziz, a national music magazine. He holds a bachelor's degree from what is now Colorado Mesa University and master's degrees from the University of California, Los Angeles, and Northwestern University.

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