The inside of the Victory Grange event center in north Aurora is shown shortly after the March 23, 2024, shooting that claimed the life of a teenager during a shooting inside the crowded center. (Aurora Police Department) 
A .45 caliber bullet casing that was found near the body of a teen who was fatally shot March 23, 2024, is shown in this photo from the arrest affidavit for the 16-year-old charged with the boy’s (Aurora Police Department)
AURORA | A 16-year-old boy has been charged as an adult with murder for allegedly shooting and killing another teenager in north Aurora last month.
While the suspected shooter has been identified by Adams County prosecutors, the Sentinel’s policy is to withhold the identity of juvenile suspects pending adjudication. The DA’s office noted in its release that the booking photos of juvenile arrestees are not made publicly available, even when they are charged as adults.
On the evening of March 23, police were called out to the Victory Grange event center at 2025 Tower Road in response to multiple reports of gunshots at a party, according to an arrest affidavit.
One 911 caller reported hearing “over 200 shots of multiple different calibers” being fired, and the affidavit notes many cartridge casings were recovered from the scene.
When police officers arrived, they saw vehicles appearing to flee from the event center. Inside, they found Joseph Andres Martinez, 19, who had been shot once in the chest. The officers tried to resuscitate Martinez, but less than an hour later, he was pronounced dead at a local hospital.
Witnesses told officers that Martinez had been involved in an altercation with the ex-boyfriend of his current girlfriend before he was shot. They told police the ex-boyfriend directed another person to attack Martinez, and that person shot Martinez.
One witness shared an invitation to the party that was posted on Instagram, and another said they believed the ex-boyfriend and shooter were affiliated with the organizers of the party.
A former Hinkley High School student provided a video of the shooting to an Aurora Police Department school resource officer, who forwarded it to investigators on March 25.
The next day, Aurora police were contacted by an Arvada Police Department detective who identified the juvenile behind the Instagram account that had posted the invitation as the 16-year-old who was later charged with Martinez’s murder.
Police showed the video of the shooting, in which the teen was visible, to witnesses, along with a photo lineup that included his driver’s license picture — those witnesses identified the teen as the shooter with varying degrees of certainty.
He now faces charges of first-degree murder, a Class 1 felony, as well as being a juvenile in possession of a handgun, a Class 2 misdemeanor, according to prosecutors, who on April 2 announced the charges filed in Adams County District Court.
While another boy was shot and injured around the same time, police spokeswoman Sydney Edwards said April 2 that his injuries were “not believed to be related to the homicide” but that the investigation is ongoing.
Editor’s note: This article has been updated to include information contained in the suspect’s arrest affidavit.
This “event center” is Aurora’s newest watering hole. Alcohol is a given at the event center and alcohol is the unyielding courage amplifier. As it warms up so will the socializers bravado at this outdoor nightclub.
Thank you, witnesses, and Aurora and Arvada police.
The 16-year-old, if found guilty of murder, has ended two lives, the victim and his life as he knew it.
Glad that he is off the streets and unable to murder anyonelse.
Things change, what was once the Victory Grange out in the country. We’ve progressed it’s been renamed, it’s now the – Homicide Hacienda. Come on down for a plate of lead.