A man was sentenced to 38 years in prison Friday after he pleaded guilty to a fatal shooting.

Rafael Acosta-Hernandez was arrested in March 2025 after he fatally shot Leonel Silva-Perez, 25. The Denver District Attorney’s Office said Acosta-Hernandez was selling food out of his truck in the 2600 block of North Zuni Street at the time of the shooting and reportedly became angry when Silva-Perez asked for free food.

Silva-Perez was not armed at the time of the shooting. In a statement, Denver District Attorney John Walsh called the murder “impossible to explain.”

“One year later, Leonel Silva-Perez’s murder remains impossible to explain,” Walsh said. “After simply asking for food, he was chased down an alley and shot numerous times by Rafael Acosta-Hernandez. This sentence ensures that Acosta-Hernandez will pay a heavy price, as he should, for his senseless and destructive actions.”

Acosta-Hernandez pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in April. He initially faced charges of first-degree murder.