Suspect arrested after man found dead near Empower Field

Lorenzo Navidad Hernandez booking photo

Denver police arrested a suspect after a victim was found dead in front of a Denver business Monday. 

On Wednesday, police arrested Lorenzo Navidad Hernandez, 51, in connection with the murder. He is being held on suspicion of first-degree murder. 

The Denver Office of the Medical Examiner confirmed Thursday the victim is Victor Puentes Padilla, 47, with the cause of death being a stab wound, and the manner homicide.

At 10 p.m. Monday, officers responded to the 2900 block of West 19th Avenue for a report of a man lying on the sidewalk covered in blood. The block is just west of Empower Field at Mile High. 

Responding officers found the man dead just north of the sidewalk on the front porch of the business, visible from the street with blood pooling from his back area, according to an arrest affidavit.

Officers found a second man lying on a grassy hill about 100 yards south of where the victim was found and transported him to the DPD headquarters, according to the affidavit. Investigators later discovered that he stayed on the porch with the victim at night and was not responsible for the murder. 

Video surveillance footage from the area shows a male suspect walking a bike, later identified as Hernandez, approach the business and lean his bike on a telephone pole. He appeared to have a large knife in his hand, according to the affidavit. 

In the video, the suspect walks slowly toward the front of the building and off to the side toward the porch area, out of sight of the cameras. 

After several seconds, a man starts yelling from the area and the suspect is seen running from the porch back to his bicycle with the knife in-hand. 

The victim chases the suspect, holding his side like he is in a “great amount of pain” and the suspect is seen grabbing his bicycle and running toward Federal Boulevard, out of view of the cameras. 

The victim is then seen running back toward the porch and sitting down, trying to use his cellphone, then lying down. 

The person found on the grassy hill said he stays on the porch every evening with the victim and two others, but did not recognize the suspect or know of anyone who the victim had a problem with. 

Through talking to people who knew the victim and looking at camera footage, investigators identified Hernandez and took him into custody, finding that his clothing matched the surveillance footage and he had a large steak knife in the front pocket of his hoodie, according to the affidavit. 

Circumstances regarding what led to the murder are under investigation, according to police.

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