Aurora I-225 Shooting Suspect Charged With First-Degree Murder After Victim Dies

Overview

• The 30-year-old driver died at a local hospital on Sunday, and a judge approved the upgraded murder charge on Monday following consultation with the 18th Judicial District Attorney.
• Celin Villeda Orellana, 38, was arrested Oct. 24 during a traffic stop near 114th Avenue and Havana Street, where officers found a handgun and a spent shell casing in his vehicle.
• He faces counts of first-degree murder after deliberation, first-degree assault causing serious bodily injury with a deadly weapon, menacing, and illegal discharge of a firearm.
• Investigators used Flock Safety license-plate reader data to backtrack the victim’s route and identify a vehicle that followed him, and a witness reported a car pulling alongside before the crash.
• Authorities transferred Orellana to ICE on possible federal weapons or immigration grounds, citing prior deportations in 2007, 2018 and 2020, while the suspected relationship-related motive remains under investigation.