KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A convicted felon who served prison time for a sex crime against a minor is accused of shooting and killing 19-year-old Daisy Martinez the night of September 16 during a Mexican Independence Day celebration on Southwest Boulevard.

Diego Calderon-Guzman, 30, faces second-degree murder, unlawful use of a weapon, two counts of armed criminal action and unlawful possession of a weapon. Calderon-Guzman is not allowed to have a weapon due to his status as a felon. In 2014, he pleaded guilty in Wyandotte County to aggravated indecent liberties with a 15-year-old girl.

He served two years for that crime according to court documents, and was under lifetime post-release supervision.

According to court records, officers went to the area of 27th and Southwest Boulevard last Wednesday night on a reported shooting. Witnesses and video surveillance revealed a black Silverado truck with a large Mexican flag on the center rear bumper was involved in the shooting.

Officers chased the suspected truck, and took the defendant and the truck’s owner into custody. They saw a rifle in the truck that the Kansas City crime lab later connected to shell casings found at the crime scene.

The owner of the truck said Calderon-Guzman shot the victim. Calderon-Guzman told police that he fired the weapon after gunfire broke out. He said he thought he was shooting at people shooting at him, and didn’t see the victim running in front of him when he shot. 

There have been vigils for Martinez and benefits for her family, who is still mourning her loss.

“She’s 142 on homicides for Kansas City, MO which is super high,” Franchesca Salas, her aunt, said. “She was full of life, energetic, she was young, and she was fierce.”

Prosecutors requested a $500,000 bond for Calderon-Guzman, who doesn’t yet have his first court date listed.