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Colorado parolee returned to prison for revenge killing

An Arapahoe County jury recently convicted 29-year-old Mohamed Tagir of ambushing and killing Marcus Pyne shortly after Tagir was released from prison.  

Pyne had helped put Tagir there six years earlier. It was then that both men were indicted for their membership in a Sudanese gang which burglarizing more than 50 homes in the Denver metro area. 

Tagir, one of the main characters in the operation, received a 17-year prison sentence. 

Pyne cooperated with authorities and received probation. 

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Mohamed Tagir (left) following his arrest in 2023 for the murder of Marcus Pyne (right) who is shown in an undated booking photo published in 2021.   Arapahoe County Sheriff's Office/Denver Police Department/Facebook

Tagir was released on parole after serving six years. Four months after he got out, Tagir and another man - who is still at large - hid in the bushes outside Pyne's apartment for three hours. When Pyne emerged, they ambushed him, shooting him in the back, according to the 18th Judicial District Attorney's Office. 

"Our Office takes all cases of witness intimidation and retaliation very seriously," said District Attorney Amy Padden. "Intimidation and retaliation are attacks on the criminal justice system itself, as well as on victims, because they are part of an effort to avoid consequences for criminal activity. These crimes have serious impacts on the criminal justice system, victims, and society by discouraging people from coming forward as witnesses in future cases and making it more difficult for justice to be served."

Pyne shared the apartment with his girlfriend and infant child. He was shot eight times in the back, arms, and legs.

Aurora Police Department investigators tracked down the stolen car which Tagir and the other man drove from the murder scene. "Critical evidence" was found inside it, per prosecutors. 

"[T]he jury was presented with evidence of Tagir accusing the victim of being a 'rat,'" as stated in a press release from the DA's office. 

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Mohamed Tagir's current Colorado prison profile.  Colorado Department of Corrections

Twenty-eight members of the Sundanese gang were indicted in 2016. Known as "The African Mafia," "Kings Of Denver," and "KOD," the group was accused of stealing more than $400,000 of property from homes while causing $23,000 of damage while breaking into them. 

The group thieved throughout the metro area for at least two years beginning in December 2013, according to Denver prosecutors. 

Tagir pleaded guilty to a felony burglary charge and to a violation of the state's organized crime statute, and was sent to the Colorado Department of Corrections.    

Pyne pleaded guilty to misdemeanor criminal mischief and walked out of court with a two-year probation sentence.

Tagir was released Nov. 23, 2022, on a planned five-year probation term. 

In the killing of Pyne, the Arapahoe County jury found Tagir guilty of 1st Degree Murder, Conspiracy to Commit 1st Degree Murder, Retaliation Against a Witness, and Aggravated Motor Vehicle Theft.

Arapahoe County District Court Judge Darren Vahle, on the murder conviction alone, sentenced Tagir Jan. 17 to life in prison without the possibility for parole. 

"This made me sad," Vahle said while addressing Tagir, "I think you're a smart guy, I think you're a charming guy. If you'd applied your talents, you might have been successful. But you applied your talents to breaking into homes and killing people."  

Out of the Kings Of Denver gang members named in the 2016 indictment, three (aside fro Tagir) are currently on parole and two are still incarcerated.

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