- Four Colorado teenagers are accused of killing 18-year-old Lloyd Chavez over $25 worth of vape juice.
- Following the shooting, the teens allegedly fled the scene.
- A family member described Chavez in a Facebook post as "an amazing young man who had his whole life ahead of him."
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Just days before Lloyd Chavez was set to graduate high school, tragedy struck.
Chavez, a 18-year-old Colorado teen and avid rugby player, set up a meeting in early May through Snapchat to sell vape juice to 17-year-old Juliana Serrano, a cheerleader at his high school. Instead, she allegedly drove to Chavez's house in Centennial, Colorado with three other boys, including her former boyfriend, 17-year-old Kenneth "Kenny" Gallegos, and attempted to steal the vape juice.
According to an Arapahoe County Sheriff's Office affidavit reviewed by INSIDER, Chavez met the group outside his house and, after being paid $25 by Serrano, was confronted by the three teenage boys. Chavez and 16-year-old Demarea Mitchell started to fight and, eventually, someone pulled out a .22 caliber gun. Chavez was shot, later dying in surgery due to his fatal wounds.
In the hospital, before being rushed into the operating room, Chavez told a nurse and a sheriff's deputy that "Kenny" was the shooter, according to an affidavit for the arrest of Gallegos.
The four Colorado teens, Serrano, Gallegos, Mitchell, and 17-year-old Dominic Stager, are now accused of killing Chavez following the botched robbery over the vape juice. They face charges including one count of felony murder, one count of aggravated robbery, and one count of conspiracy to commit aggravated robbery.
Following the shooting, they fled the scene without the vape juice, according to the affidavit.
A spokesperson at the Arapahoe County Sheriff's Office told INSIDER that the suspects have been charged as adults and are currently being held at a juvenile detention center in Colorado.
A friend of Chavez, who described him as "like a brother," told investigators that Chavez often sold vape products and arranged it through Snapchat.
Gallego's parents told investigators her son believed he was addicted to the JUUL pods, according to the affidavit. Serrano told the investigators she doesn't know who fired the gun.
A family member described Chavez in a Facebook post as "an amazing young man who had his whole life ahead of him." His rugby coach, Dave Farmer, told Denver7"he was a great kid from a great family with a ton of potential." An online fundraiser is raising money for his funeral.
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