Vitalie Oprea, 47, pleaded guilty on January 26, 2026, to attempted first-degree murder after deliberation in Arapahoe County, Colorado, earning a 20-year prison sentence for a hate-motivated attack on two women he believed were lesbians.
Attack Sequence
On February 19, 2023, near East Arapahoe Road and South Liverpool Street (20 miles southeast of Denver), Oprea—driving his parents’ stolen car—yelled obscenities and gestured at the women on a corner, then U-turned into oncoming traffic to target them. They fled to grass by Grandview High School; he drove over curbs and grass pursuing them, rammed their Ram pickup, exited to kick it, opened the passenger door, and tried pulling one out before fleeing on foot.
Confession and Motive
Arrested later that day, Oprea admitted: “I drove at the women because I saw them kissing and they were lesbians and I wanted to kill them.” The victims, strangers to him, feared for their lives during the unprovoked assault.
Plea Deal Outcome
Prosecutors dropped extra charges (another attempted murder, six attempted assaults, vehicle theft, mischief) for the plea with a violent crime enhancer. Deputy DA Lauren Agee stated: “These women did nothing to provoke this violence… Our office takes hate-motivated violence extremely seriously.”
