Denver District Court Judge Nikea Bland sentenced a man to life in prison without parole Friday for a 2022 gang murder in an East Colfax neighborhood that killed a community activist and innocent bystander.

Pa Reh of Denver and three other defendants were charged with shooting and killing Ma Kaing, 42, the night of July 15, 2022, in the 1300 block of Xenia Street, according to news release and social media post from the Denver District Attorney’s Office Friday.

Denver man convicted of killing beloved community member in 2022

One of the other defendants was also found guilty of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison without parole, according to the post. The other two pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and will be sentenced in September.

“(Ma Kaing’s) murder was an unspeakable tragedy for her family, for her immigrant community and, frankly, for all of us in Denver,” said District Attorney John Walsh in the release. “I hope the sentence will also provide some measure of justice and comfort to the many people who knew and loved Ma Kaing.”

That night, Reh and three other men fired shots from a car driving around New Freedom Park. All four were later arrested, with police connecting them to a gang affiliated with the neighborhood.

Kaing, an immigrant from Burma, was unloading a vehicle with family members nearby when the shooting started. She was fatally hit by one of the bullets. Other buildings and vehicles were also hit, but no other person was injured.

After Kaing’s death, two community meetings were held at her apartment complex, Hidden Brook Communities, with people who live there calling for change to make them safer. Kaing’s son, Kyaw Win Oo, claimed that gangs had taken over the area.

“Ma Kaing was an important and beloved member of her community, and her murder was an unspeakable tragedy. With this verdict, Lu Reh will now pay a heavy price for his senseless actions, which have caused so much harm,” Walsh said in a February news release.

The investigation took the Aurora Police Department two years. The district’s prosecution team was led by Chief Deputy District Attorney Anthony Santos and Associate Deputy District Attorney Kelsey Tipps.

Denver Gazette Reporter Sage Kelley and The Denver Gazette’s news partner 9News contributed to this report.