Darren Bingham accused of killing Zachary Gonzales in Yarrow Street murder (63)

Big photo below.

Update: On March 6, the family of 21-year-old Zachary Gonzales will be gathering for the sort of event they probably never could have imagined just a week ago -- his memorial service, followed by a funeral the next day.

Gonzales was killed on February 28. But while his loved ones grieve over his loss, they at least know that an arrest has been made in the case. Lakewood police believe Darren Bingham, 32, is responsible for the crime. Details and our original coverage below.

Gonzales was shot and killed outside an apartment building near the intersection of 12th Avenue and Yarrow Street. Afterward, witnesses reported seeing a black Dodge Durango in the area, prompting members of the Lakewood Police Department to put out an alert on the vehicle -- which turned out to have been stolen several days earlier.

The Englewood location where Bingham and two others were taken into custody.

Around five hours later, Denver police officers spotted the Durango in question, but it took off, precipitating a car chase that crossed over into Englewood before reaching a logical conclusion -- its three passengers in handcuffs.

Before long, however, two members of this trio were released, with only Bingham remaining in custody thanks to what are described as "two unrelated warrants." That gave detectives all the time they needed to continue their investigation, and in the end, the cops decided they had their man.

At present, Bingham is being held on suspicion of first-degree murder, aggravated motor vehicle theft and vehicular eluding -- and LPD types think more charges may be added before everything is said and done.

What led to the killing in the first place? Officers characterize it as "some type of dispute."

If this disagreement had been resolved some other way, the Gonzales family might not be laying Zach to rest. A sample comment from his obituary page: "May God bless your family at this time of your loss. And may He comfort those who mourn. We only knew him for a moment in time. But he will forever be on our minds and in our hearts."

Here's a larger look at Bingham's booking photo, followed by our initial post on this incident.

Darren Bingham.

Continue for our previous coverage, including a video.