Green Valley Ranch is on edge after a 16-year-old boy was ambushed and fatally shot, leaving his mother demanding answers. Police say Caleb Toko was discovered in the early hours of Sept. 20, 2025, near Argonne Street and East 50th Place and later died at a hospital. Relatives and neighbors say the killing, now described by investigators as a setup, has rattled the community and left people asking how it happened.
Prosecutors have charged Ka’vyell Anderson with first-degree murder, and investigators say they linked him to the shooting using surveillance video, witness accounts, cellphone records, and what police describe as fake social-media profiles and incriminating messages, as reported by The Denver Post. Authorities allege Anderson and at least one other person lured Caleb to a home before the ambush, according to a police affidavit described by the paper. Court records show Anderson is being held in jail without bond and is scheduled for a preliminary hearing in March 2026, per the same reporting.
Caleb’s mother, Jade Toko, has spoken out repeatedly since the shooting. “This was murder,” she told reporters, and family members say she keeps a small and very personal memorial, including a necklace she says holds the ashes of his middle finger, details she shared with The Denver Post. The family has been sharing funeral information and memories online while they wait for the case to move forward.
Scene and witnesses
Two people driving through the area spotted Caleb lying on the ground and called 911, and a nearby resident reported hearing seven gunshots shortly before that first call, according to Crime Solvers Central. The teen was found near the 18000 block of East 50th Place in Green Valley Ranch, and an obituary from Greenwood & Myers Mortuary confirmed his identity and family details. Public remembrance pages, including Gun Memorial, have logged the September date and circumstances of his death.
Legal context
Because Colorado abolished the death penalty, people charged with first-degree murder can still be considered for bond, a legal reality that has shaped pretrial decisions around the state and drawn scrutiny from courts and prosecutors. Legal analysts told Denver7 that judges in these cases must walk a tightrope between public safety concerns and constitutional protections when deciding whether to grant bail.
Citywide trends
While the Toko family presses for answers in Green Valley Ranch, city officials say overall shootings and firearm-related injuries in Denver have eased from a mid-decade spike. The City of Denver’s firearm-harm prevention dashboard reports declines in firearm deaths and outlines prevention efforts aimed at driving those numbers even lower, according to the city’s public health dashboard from the City of Denver…