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marijuana murder

Man gets 36 years in prison for Castle Pines murder

A Castle Rock man who shot and killed his partner in a black market marijuana scheme was sentenced to 36 years in prison.

Dominique Wogan

Douglas County District Court Judge Patricia Herron sentenced Dominique Wogan, 35, to 36 years in the Colorado Department of Corrections for the murder of Fletcher Bodnar, who was 36 when he died and was living in Highlands Ranch.

A jury found Wogan guilty of second-degree murder in Bodner’s death on March 11, 2021. He was also convicted of illegal cultivation of marijuana, and possession with intent to distribute marijuana. He was also a previous felon in possession of a firearm.

“Colorado has a regulatory framework for people who want to legally grow and sell marijuana,” said District Attorney John Kellner. “But this defendant did not follow that path and instead set up an illegal operation. And despite being a prior felon, he had a gun the day that Mr. Bodnar came to speak with him.

“This defendant ran a black-market marijuana operation, illegally possessed a gun as a prior felon, and took another man’s life in cold blood. He deserves to spend significant time in prison for his actions.”

On May 15, 2020, Douglas County Sheriff’s deputies were called in to assist Castle Pines Emergency Services with a homicide at a home in the gated community.

The investigation revealed that Wogan had been growing marijuana in the home, where he was staying with permission of the owner. Bodnar was helping him and had come to the home that day to discuss the operation.

At some point, Wogan shot Bodnar.

Wogan claimed after the shooting and at trial that he was entitled to a “Make My Day” defense, which gives a homeowner immunity for shooting an intruder. During trial, numerous text messages from the defendant to Bodnar were introduced, which showed that Wogan had invited Bodnar over to fight. By finding Wogan guilty, the jury agreed with the prosecution that Bodnar had been invited and that Make My Day did not apply.

During the July 1 sentencing hearing, several friends and family of the victim asked the judge to impose a long sentence on Wogan, including Bodnar’s fiancé. She told the judge she felt “broken” since Bodnar’s death.

“I had a life I had planned with Fletcher. He was my life, my soulmate, my everything. Now everything has changed. I still don’t sleep well, and work is difficult. … I don’t know how to move on,” she said. “It’s not fair for someone to take a life and have the possibility to be free again. Fletcher doesn’t get that opportunity.”

Chief Deputy District Attorney Gary Dawson tried the case with Deputy District Attorney Dan Warhola. Dawson asked the judge for the maximum sentence of 48 years in prison during his sentencing argument.

“This was a two-time felon – he did 12 years after 2 burglaries,” Dawson said. “This 2-time felon should not have had a gun, but he did that day, and he used it to shoot Fletcher. No matter how much time the court imposes, one of these families will get to see their son and their brother again someday. One of these families won’t.”

Judge Herron spoke about the role drugs played in the murder and acknowledged that only two people were in the room when the fatal shot was fired.

“These two were friends,” she said. “It’s hard for this court to fully appreciate how this victim was a threat. He came in unarmed.”
Herron imposed a sentence of 36 years in prison. Sentences on the lesser charges run concurrent to the homicide charge.

2nd shooter sentenced in 2016 Aurora murder

A man who shot and killed an Aurora man over illegal marijuana was sentenced to 30 years in prison.

Jahlil Meshesha

Arapahoe District Court Judge Ryan Stuart on Tuesday sentenced Jahlil Meshesha, 21, to 30 years in the Colorado Department of Corrections for the murder of Jahmar Leckman, who was 24 when he was killed. Meshesha pleaded guilty Jan. 23, 2021, to one count of second-degree murder in Leckman’s death. Other counts were dismissed as part of the plea agreement.

“This murder was senseless: This victim was killed over a couple ounces of weed,” Chief Deputy District Attorney Brian Sugioka told the judge during the May 11 hearing. “The defendant is quite young, but he needs to learn from these lessons and take a different path. This sentence needs to be a deterrent.”

On Jan. 17, 2016, Leckman and two acquaintances drove to a parking lot near East Mississippi Avenue and South Peoria Street in Aurora. Leckman planned to sell some marijuana to a buyer with whom he was previously acquainted.

Leckman got out his vehicle to meet the buyer, who had arrived in a dark SUV. But instead of getting out, both the passenger and driver fired weapons at Leckman. He was hit and died of his injuries.
The two people in the SUV drove away. An APD investigation led to the arrest of Meshesha and Prince Jalil White as the shooters.

White pleaded guilty to second-degree murder on Jan. 24, 2020, and was sentenced May 22, 2020, to 20 years in the Colorado Department of Corrections for Leckman’s murder.

During the May 11 sentencing hearing, several members of Leckman’s family spoke in person and via Webex to Judge Stuart. The family spoke of forgiveness and of great loss.

“A little over five years ago, my beloved grandson Jahmar was murdered, and the world seemed to stop,” his grandmother said. “A light was diminished.”

Leckman’s mother had also prepared a statement.

“The pain will always be there, dormant like a tumor, waiting to rise up without warning. I am angry that my son is gone, but I want to find it in my heart to forgive,” she told the court.

“You are still young enough to do your time and get out and have a life,” she said of the defendant. “That is something my son does not have – he lost that when you pulled that trigger.”

Man gets 144 years for killing marijuana partner, covering it up

District Court Judge Jeffrey K Holmes on Tuesday sentenced an Agate man to 144 years in prison for the death of a former partner in a marijuana business and then setting a wildfire to cover it up.

An Elbert County jury on July 19, 2017, found Shawn Geerdes, 48, guilty of murder in the death of Jason Dosa, 44, of Parker.

Shawn Geerdes

Geerdes was found to be a habitual offender, multiplying the mandatory sentence.

“You had a horrible criminal history,” Judge Holmes told the defendant in imposing the court’s sentence.

The case began Sept. 20, 2015, when Jefferson County Sheriff’s deputies were notified of a fire. They found a car on fire that had started a wildfire.

Ultimately, investigating officers found a body in the trunk, later identified as Dosa. He had been shot five times.

Investigators traced Dosa’s movements and found his last location at a marijuana greenhouse in Agate on land owned by Geerdes. Dosa and Geerdes were former partners in the grow operation.

Investigators found evidence at the growhouse including bloodstains and spent shell casings that indicated Dosa had been killed there and his body later transported to Jefferson County. The case was tried in Elbert County and prosecuted by Senior Deputy District Attorney Douglas Bechtel and Chief Deputy District Attorney Christopher Gallo.

Geerdes was found guilty in July 2017 of second-degree murder, a Class 2 felony; setting a wildfire, a Class 3 felony; and second-degree arson, a Class 4 felony.

“This defendant took a father away from children, a husband away from a wife,” Gallo told the court in seeking the 144-year sentence. “Then this defendant had to obscure the evidence of what he did – he endangered an entire community in doing so. That deserves a separate consideration.”

Judge Holmes sentenced Geerdes to the mandatory 96 years in the Department of Corrections on the murder count, 48 years on the wildfire count and 24 years on the arson count. The arson and wildfire counts will be served concurrently; the murder and wildfire counts will be served consecutively.

“It is outrageous behavior best reserved for a Hollywood movie. For all that he has taken from others, Geerdes has now lost almost everything,” said District Attorney George Brauchler. “That is justice in this case.”

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Agate man guilty of killing partner in marijuana grow

An Elbert County jury has found an Agate man guilty of second-degree murder in the death of a former partner in a marijuana growhouse.

Shawn Geerdes, 48, was found guilty Wednesday of second-degree murder, a Class 2 felony; setting a wildfire, a Class 3 felony; and second-degree arson, a Class 4 felony.

He faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 96 years in prison if he is found to be a habitual offender during his Sept. 5 sentencing hearing.

The case began Sept. 20, 2015, when Jefferson County Sheriff’s deputies were notified of a fire. They found a car on fire that had started a wildfire.

Ultimately, investigating officers found a body in the trunk, later identified as Jason Dosa, 44, of Parker. He had been shot five times.

Investigators traced Dosa’s movements and found his last location at a marijuana greenhouse in Agate on land owned by Geerdes. Dosa and Geerdes were former partners in the grow operation.

“When reviewing a case, our office always evaluates the applicability of affirmative defenses, such as self-defense or defense of premises — commonly known as Make My Day,” Bechtel said. “However, the defendant’s actions in this case of shooting the victim, putting the victim in the trunk of his own car, driving the car 80 miles, dousing the car in gasoline and staring a car fire and wildfire shows that the defendant knew this was not a justified shooting. Simply put: ‘Actions speak louder than words.’ ”

District Attorney George Brauchler praised the outcome.

“Here is yet another violent crime related to marijuana. Whatever benefits there may be from the legalization of marijuana, eradicating violent crime associated with it is not one of them,” Brauchler said. “I’m pleased my team and our law enforcement partners were able to bring this murderer to justice.

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Life plus 84 years for marijuana murderer

Arapahoe District Judge Natalie Chase sent a man who killed another man for his marijuana plants to prison for life plus 84 years. The court’s sentence represents the maximum time allowed by law.

Zakaria Hussein Ali, 27, was found guilty Nov. 18, 2016, of robbing an Aurora man of his marijuana plants and leaving him to bleed to death in his home. He was sentenced Jan. 18.

The jury convicted him of first-degree murder after deliberation; first-degree felony murder; second-degree assault causing serious bodily injury; aggravated robbery; conspiracy to commit aggravated robbery and being an accessory to a crime in the Oct. 13, 2012 death of Carlos Muse, 38.

Ali, who was on parole, traveled along with four codefendants to Colorado for the purpose of obtaining marijuana to sell in Minnesota. Ali, armed with a gun, threatened to shoot Muse if he did not provide the quantity of marijuana demanded. When Muse was unable to provide the marijuana, he was shot in the femoral artery, bound at his wrists and ankles and left to bleed to death on the floor of his home while the defendants pulled up the marijuana plants from the basement marijuana grow.

“This strong sentence sends a message not only that our communities must be kept safe, but also that we will fully prosecute crimes involving illegal commerce in marijuana,” said District Attorney George H. Brauchler.

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