Trial under way in Central High shooting

AURORA | The trial for a man accused of shooting an Aurora Central High School student in front of the school in 2010 is underway in Arapahoe County.

Luis Guzman-Rincon’s trial started early this week in Arapahoe County District Court and is scheduled to continue at least through Aug. 15, according to court records.

Guzman-Rincon, 19, a gang member who is in the country illegally, shot 16-year-old Karina Vargas in December 2010 during a dispute with other gang members. Vargas was an innocent bystander, police said.

According to testimony at Guzman-Rincon’s preliminary hearing last year, at the time of the shooting, Vargas was standing in front of Central a few minutes after class let out showing her new puppy to a group of friends.

That’s when two carloads of gang members — one full of 18th Streeters, the other H2K — pulled up and started jawing back and forth. A single bullet ripped through the crowd, striking Karina in the back, leaving the teen paralyzed for life from the belly button down.

Police say Guzman-Rincon, an 18th Streeter known in the north Aurora neighborhood as “Luigi,” fired a pistol into the crowd that day because he was still mad about a July 2010 fight with rivals from H2K. Members of the gang, which stands for Hard 2 Kill, had hit Guzman-Rincon in the head with a brick, leaving a sizeable lump and bruise on his forehead.

But Guzman-Rincon’s lawyer pointed to inconsistencies in the witnesses’ statements, including varying descriptions of the shooter, where he was seated, and how many people were in the car. They also said some witnesses, including Vargas and another who had known Guzman-Rincon for years, didn’t pick him out of a photo lineup.

Guzman-Rincon faces16 charges, including attempted first-degree murder, that could send him to prison for life. Federal immigration officials say he is in the country illegally and faces deportation if he is freed.