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murder

Man convicted of killing Aurora couple who responded to online car advertisement

On August 31, a jury found Kyree Brown, 20, guilty of killing Joe and Jossline Roland after the couple responded to an online ad to purchase a car.

The investigation revealed Brown used a fake name to advertise a stolen vehicle for sale on an app called Letgo. On August 14, 2020, Joe Roland replied to the listing and agreed to meet to purchase the car.

Brown drove the stolen vehicle to Southlands Mall to meet with the Rolands. When Joe Roland noticed issues with the vehicle title, Brown pulled out a gun and demanded the couple hand over the cash they brought to purchase the car. Brown then proceeded to shoot five times, killing both Joe and Jossline Roland.

“This defendant assumed a fake identity to lure this innocent couple into his snare, pretending to be someone he wasn’t and to sell a car he didn’t own,” Chief Deputy District Attorney Garrik Storgaard said. “He callously ended two innocent lives for a few thousand dollars and his selfish actions created an unjustifiable risk to the community and displayed no regard for the value of human life.”

Brown made off with approximately $3,000, fled the scene and dumped the stolen car near the area of Havana Street and East Colfax Avenue where he set it on fire.

Investigators were able to solve this case by pulling computer records showing Brown’s email address was used to list the stolen vehicle online.

The Rolands leave behind five children, all under the age of 19.

A jury convicted Brown on the following counts:

Second-Degree Murder (2 counts)
First-Degree Murder-Felony Murder (2 counts)
Aggravated Robbery (2 counts)
Second-Degree Arson
Aggravated Motor Vehicle Theft (3 counts)
Felony Theft
Bait Advertising

Brown will be sentenced on Nov. 21

“This cowardly act of violence leaves five children without their parents,” District Attorney John Kellner said. “I think about the back-to-school nights without their parents. The bedtime stories never read. Words just can’t describe what this killer took away. He deserves to spend the rest of his life behind bars.”

Judge sentences man in decades-old murder to life in prison

Arapahoe County Judge Darren Vahle sentenced David Dwayne Anderson, 63, to life in prison for killing Sylvia Quayle, 34, in her home back in 1981. The sentence comes exactly 41 years after her murder.

On August 4, 1981, Quayle was found dead inside her Cherry Hills home in the 3800 block of S. Ogden Street. The Coroner’s report revealed Quayle had been shot in the head, repeatedly stabbed and sexually assaulted.

“The brutality and randomness of this crime is every parent’s worst nightmare,” Deputy District Attorney Grant Grosgebauer said. “After he murdered Sylvia, he went on to live his life as if everything was normal. He got to experience marriage and kids. Sadly, Sylvia never got to experience those things.”

In 2000, the Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI) submitted a DNA sample to the FBI’s Combined DNA Index System, also known as CODIS. The DNA sample remained unidentified for two decades until advances in DNA linked Anderson to the crime.

In 2020, the Cherry Hills Village Police Department began working with a genetic genealogy company named United Data Connect. The company provided the police department with a possible lead after samples from the decades-old cold case were entered into two public DNA databases.

In 2021, an investigator with United Data Connect went to Anderson’s residence to discretely obtain a new DNA sample. That investigator collected trash bags from an apartment complex dumpster where Anderson resided. Lab results found DNA on a soda can from Anderson’s trash bag matched DNA collected from the crime scene.

Anderson was charged with two counts of first-degree murder (After Deliberation and Felony Murder) and initially went to trial in March 2022. After five days, jurors were unable to reach a verdict and a judge declared a mistrial.

The 18^th Judicial District Attorney’s office took the case to trial again and on June 30, 2022, a jury returned guilty verdicts on both counts of murder. However, legal precedent only allows a defendant convicted of a single homicide to be sentenced on one homicide charge.

“Sylvia’s murder turned my family’s world upside down,” Jo Hamit, Sylvia’s sister said. “For the past 41 years, Sylvia missed out on family celebrations and numerous social occasions. Mr. Anderson has lived for the last four decades without giving his crime or my sister a second thought, while my family has suffered irreparable mental and emotional anguish during this time of uncertainty. I have found it necessary to forgive Mr. Anderson, but he needs to bear the consequences of his actions.”

Based on the sentencing laws in effect at the time of the crime, Anderson received the maximum sentence—life behind bars with the possibility of parole after 20 calendar years.

“As decades passed, many people thought this case would remain unsolved forever,” District Attorney John Kellner said. “Advancements in science combined with the tenacity of investigators and prosecutors led to justice today.”

Aurora man convicted of killing ex-girlfriend and dumping body at abandoned truck stop along I-25

On August 3, a jury found Andrew Joseph Condon, 29, guilty of second-degree murder for killing his ex-girlfriend, LeBrea Jackson back in 2018.

Two days before Christmas, someone used Jackson’s phone to text her mother to say she was on her way to pick up Condon, her then-boyfriend. The couple was supposed to arrive at her parents’ home in Westcliffe, CO later that evening, but they never showed up.

Jackson’s body was later found inside a storage container at an abandoned truck stop near Exit 34 on I-25 in Las Animas County—about 3 hours south of Denver.

The investigation revealed Condon strangled Jackson sometime between Dec. 21, 2018 and Dec. 23, 2018—approximately two weeks before her body was discovered. Cellular telephone data retrieved by investigators showed on Dec. 23, 2018, Jackson’s phone pinged off a tower in close proximity to where her body was found. Her phone then pinged off towers in Texas where police pulled Condon over twice for traffic infractions, but there was no sign of Jackson in the car.

Timeline of events:

December 23, 2018: Jackson’s phone is used to send her mother a text message (this is the last correspondence her mother reports receiving from her daughter’s phone).

December 24, 2018: After Jackson failed to show up to her parents’ home, her mother called her apartment complex to check on her daughter. A property manager opened the apartment and found there weren’t a lot of personal items inside. On this day, Condon was stopped by Texas State Troopers while driving Jackson’s car and he was issued a citation for drug paraphernalia. Later in the day, Condon was stopped by the Alvarado Police Department in Texas. Condon provided officers with a stolen Colorado ID and he was taken into custody on multiple felony warrants out of Colorado—unrelated to Jackson’s murder. At the time Condon was arrested, officers found Jackson’s cell phone on him. Her debit card was also being used in Texas, despite her mother not hearing from her.

December 26, 2018: Jackson’s mother calls the Aurora Police Department to officially report her daughter missing.

January 6, 2018: Around 3:30 p.m., a man pulled into the abandoned truck stop on I-25 and noticed a red plastic storage container with a human body inside. The man immediately called police and the Las Animas County Coroner positively identified the body as Jackson’s.

“This was a horrific act of domestic violence that robbed two children of their mother, parents of their daughter and a community of a beloved member,” Chief Deputy DA Andrew Steers said. “This verdict is the first step towards justice.”

Charges:

Second-degree murder (guilty)

Tampering with a deceased body (guilty)

Motor vehicle theft (guilty)

Violent crime resulting in death (Sentence Enhancer)

Burglary 1 (guilty)

Assault/strangulation (guilty)

Felony menacing (guilty)

The trial lasted 5 days, followed by two and half days of deliberation.

Sentencing is scheduled for November 10 at 1:30 p.m.

Court records indicate Condon had a history of domestic violence incidents involving Jackson.

“This was a brutal and callous act of domestic violence that deserves a lengthy prison sentence,” District Attorney John Kellner said. “For anyone struggling with domestic violence, please reach out for help. We’re here for you.”

Available resources:

National Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-799-7233

Gateway Domestic Violence Services: 303-343-1851

Aurora man sentenced to 48 years in prison in alleyway murder

Arapahoe County Judge Elizabeth Ann Weishaupl sentenced Alexander Albayero, 46, of Aurora to 48 years in prison for the 2020 murder of David Guerrero-Rodriguez.

Around 1:45 a.m. on January 3, 2020, Aurora police received a 9-1-1 call about a man lying in an alley in the 1400 block of Havana Street. When officers arrived, they found Guerrero-Rodriguez with multiple gunshot wounds.

According to prosecutors, Albayero and the victim may have been involved in a drug transaction earlier in the evening. Albayero avoided trial by pleading guilty to 2^nd degree murder.

“This was an execution-style murder,” Chief Deputy District Attorney Andrew Steers said. “The defendant shot the victim 7 times. This was a senseless act of violence with no apparent motive.”

48 years is the maximum sentence for 2^nd degree murder.

Detectives initially connected Albayero to this shooting based on surveillance video showing his car at the crime scene. Authorities later discovered bullets from the scene matched bullets from a handgun that was seized when Albayero was arrested in another deadly shooting just three weeks prior in Adams County.

In the Adams County case, on December 19, 2019, Albayero and his wife were at a nightclub when Juan Manuel Galindo Argumendo reportedly approached Albayero’s wife and asked her to dance. Albayero allegedly became angry over that interaction and asked club employees to kick Galindo Argumendo out.

As Galindo Argumendo left the venue, Albayero followed him into the parking lot and shot him once in the torso. Galindo Argumendo later died at a local hospital.

Abayero was found guilty at trial of 1^st degree murder in that case back in March. He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

“This defendant senselessly murdered two victims in Aurora in a matter of weeks and he deserves to spend the rest of his life behind bars,” 18^th Judicial District Attorney John Kellner said.

Criminal cases:

2020CR87 (Adams County)

2020CR1315 (Arapahoe County)

Man who killed teen at Aurora mall sentenced to 35 years in prison

The gunman who shot and killed a teenager at the Aurora mall in 2019 was sentenced to 35 years in prison.

Kamyl Xavier Garrette

Arapahoe District Court Judge Shay Whitaker sentenced Kamyl Garrette, 20, of Denver, to the maximum sentence allowed under the plea agreement for killing Nathan Poindexter, Jr.,who was 17 years old.

On Dec. 27, 2019, Poindexter was at the mall with his family and encountered Garrette and a co-defendant, Senoj Jones. Family later told Aurora police that Poindexter, Garrette and Jones had an ongoing dispute. At the mall, the three got in a fight. Garrette pulled out a gun and shot Poindexter in front of his stepfather and younger brother. Poindexter was not armed.

Garrette and Jones fled the scene. Poindexter was taken to a hospital but did not survive.

Witnesses and evidence quickly identified Garrette and Jones, and they turned themselves in.

“Mr. Garrette made the final choice to pull the weapon and to fire the weapon with deadly accuracy,” Judge Whitaker said during the sentencing hearing on Dec. 17. “At some point, pulling a gun and pulling the trigger has got to stop being the answer.”

Poindexter’s family was in court for the hearing, and several gave impact statements.

“Nate was the victim – the one lying dead today. He can’t talk for himself,” his mother told the court. “I am speaking for Nathan – we can never bring him back. My baby is gone and I am hurting.”
His grandmother also addressed the court.

“I just don’t get it … why do some people just feel like they have to pick up a gun and BAM?” she said. “I do know our baby is not coming back. I wake up every day and I still can’t believe it.”

Senior Deputy District Attorney Casey Brown prosecuted the case with Chief Deputy District Attorney Jason Siers. Brown asked the court to impose 35 years, the maximum allowed under the plea agreement.

“Fights happen, but what occurred outside of JC Penney was not the natural progression of a fist fight,” he said. “This escalation of violence was entirely unnecessary, and it only perpetuates more violence. … There should be stiff consequences for pulling a trigger during what could have been a fist fight.”

Garrette pleaded guilty Oct. 7, 2021, to one count of second-degree murder with a violent crime sentence enhancer. Other counts against him were dismissed as part of the plea agreement.

Senoj Damon Jones

Co-defendant Senoj Jones, 20, of Denver, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder on May 8, 2021. He was given a suspended 25-year Department of Corrections sentence pending successful completion of seven years in the Youthful Offender System.

Aurora man who killed neighbor over fireworks found guilty

An Arapahoe County District Court jury has returned guilty verdicts against the Aurora man who shot and killed his neighbor after an argument over Independence Day fireworks in 2019.

Scott Alan Mathews Jr., 29, was found guilty of second-degree murder in the death of Jaharie Wheeler, who was 38 years old when he was killed.

“Bringing a gun to an argument can lead to tragic consequences, and that is the case here,” said District Attorney John Kellner. “The defendant made a horrible decision, and he will pay the consequences. The family of Mr. Wheeler will live with the result of that horrible decision for the rest of their lives.”

On July 4, 2019, Mathews and his girlfriend came home from work and walked outside with their dogs, in the courtyard of their apartment complex. Mathews was an off-duty Department of Corrections Officer. They confronted neighbors about setting off fireworks, including two children. The argument continued between Mathews and his girlfriend and Wheeler’s family. Mathews unholstered his personal handgun, pointed it at Wheeler’s fiancé and headbutted her during the argument. Wheeler came into the courtyard to defend his fiancé. As Mathews and Wheeler started to fight, Mathews pulled out his handgun and shot Wheeler in the chest. Wheeler was unarmed. He was pronounced deceased at Aurora Medical Center that night.

“This tragic murder was completely devastating to Jaharie Wheeler’s family, who never should have lost him that night. After what started as an argument over fireworks, he was killed in front of his fiancé and children for standing up to defend them,”, said Assistant District Attorney Tom Byrnes, who prosecuted the trial with Deputy District Attorney Justin Friedberg.

The jury convicted Mathews of all counts:
• One count of Murder 2, a Class 2 felony
• One count of felony menacing with a deadly weapon, a Class 5 felony
• One count of Assault 3, a Class 1 misdemeanor

Sentencing is set for April 27, 2022. The presumptive sentencing range for a Class 2 felony is 16-48 years in prison.

Man who strangled Aurora woman sentenced to 60 years in prison

Ally Raber’s family waited nearly four years. On Thursday, they sat in an Arapahoe County courtroom and listened as a judge imposed sentence on the man who killed her.

Arturo Garcia

And they went home without her, as they always do and always will.

“Nothing will change the reality that I am the parent of a murdered child, and I am the one with a life sentence,” Raber’s mother told the judge.

Arapahoe District Court Judge Shay Whitaker sentenced Arturo Garcia, 24, to 60 years in the Colroado Department of Corrections. He pleaded guilty April 7 to second-degree murder in Raber’s death. Other counts were dismissed as part of the plea agreement.

“This was a domestic violence power-and-control relationship, and (Garcia) exercised the ultimate power over her when he killed her,” Chief Deputy District Attorney Gary Dawson told the court during the June 17 hearing during which he asked for the maximum sentence allowed under the plea agreement. “There is an extraordinary history of domestic violence.”

Aurora police officers found the body of Alexandrea Victoria Raber in a motel room when they responded to a maid’s 911 call on July 2, 2017. Raber had been strangled; she was 18 years old. Garcia left her body where he killed her and fled to Mexico.

The investigation revealed that Raber and Garcia had been a couple in which Garcia had a history of domestic abuse. Garcia was on probation for hurting Raber when he killed her. In the hotel room, police found Garcia’s driver’s license and numerous court documents from his prior case, including the probation paperwork and the protection order forbidding him to have contact with Raber.

“She truly believed she could help him,” her stepfather told the judge. “He took advantage of that innocence, and when he could no longer control her, he ended her life.”

Garcia was expelled from Mexico and appeared in court to face charges in Raber’s death in June 2019. The pandemic delayed the court proceedings.

“This defendant previously pleaded guilty to hurting Ally. He admitted that abuse and could have used that opportunity to learn from his mistakes,” said District Attorney John Kellner. “He chose not to take the path of rehabilitation, and instead he killed Ally – by all accounts an extraordinary young woman with great things in front of her.

“The way Ally’s family has responded and the strength they have shown is testament to the difference she made in the world.”

Dawson prosecuted the case with Deputy District Attorney Lisa Gramer.

Whitaker sentenced Garcia to the maximum 48 years in prison on the murder count and 12 years on the “tampering with a witness” case where his felony probation was revoked, to be served consecutively.

40-year sentence for gang member who killed Aurora man over $20

An admitted gang member who shot a man over a $20 debt in 2017 was sentenced Tuesday to 40 years in prison.

Jacob A. Shockey

Arapahoe County District Court Judge Michael Spear sentenced Jacob A. Shockey, 28, for the murder of Terrence G. Davis, who was 44 when he was killed.

An Arapahoe County jury found Shockey guilty of second-degree murder on Oct. 30, 2019. Sentencing was delayed seven times, in part because of COVID-19 restrictions limiting court operations.

“Justice delayed is not always justice denied,” said District Attorney John Kellner. “In this case, a vicious murderer who callously took the life of another man is going to spend a long time in prison. This does not bring back the victim, but hopefully it brings some measure of relief to his family.”

On Aug. 24, 2017, Aurora Police officers found Davis’ body in an alley in the 1400 block between Boston and Chester streets near Colfax Avenue. He had been shot three times.

The police investigation identified Shockey, and a warrant was issued for his arrest in October 2017. Evidence showed Shockey was angry at Davis, who owed him $20. Shockey had threatened Davis in the past. Shockey and another man led Davis into a dark alley where he was shot twice in the chest and once in the face.

During the Webex sentencing hearing on Jan. 12, Davis’ family members spoke to the judge, urging a maximum sentence.

“Without any thought or remorse, he viciously murdered my brother,” Davis’ sister said. “I will never be able to forget what that animal has done and what he has taken from my family.”

“I have been left to stand in the gap and do all that I can for our kids,” the mother of his children told the judge. “It is not fair for someone to take another person’s future. … My kids and I are still hurting.”

Assistant District Attorney Tom Byrnes asked the judge to impose the maximum sentence; the range was 16-48 years in prison.

“This defendant showed total disregard for the value of Mr. Davis’ life,” Byrnes said in his sentencing argument. “And after he killed Mr. Davis, he tried to intimidate witnesses. … Even after his murder trial there have been other charges while he has been in custody.”

“His decisions are not demonstrating optimism as to his rehabilitative potential. He has not taken accountability,” said Byrnes, who tried the case with Senior Chief Deputy District Attorney Vicki Klingensmith.

Judge Spear noted that the loss of an individual from our community is “one of the most grave offenses that can be committed.” He sentenced Shockey to 40 years in the Department of Corrections.

Shockey has a criminal history in Colorado, Nevada and Pennsylvania. At the time of Davis’ shooting, he was on probation out of Adams County for motor vehicle theft. When Aurora police went to arrest him, he was in the Denver jail on charges of attempted murder. He pleaded guilty to first-degree assault in that case and was sentenced to 20 years in prison in June 2018.

The Arapahoe County DOC sentence will run consecutive to his Denver case.

Defendant in 40-year-old murder pleads guilty

“Guilty.”

With that one word, the family and friends of a 21-year-old woman killed by a stranger ended 40 years of waiting.

On Friday, James Curtis Clanton, 62, pleaded guilty to murdering Helene Pruszynski on Jan. 16, 1980. Her body was found in a vacant Douglas County field in what is now Highlands Ranch.

It took 40 years of persistence by the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office and advances in technology to identity a suspect in the murder.

“Because of the unrelenting and outstanding efforts of the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office and United Data Connect, the resolution of a horrible sexual assault and murder in a desolate part of our county four decades ago ended within 15 minutes inside a courtroom this morning,” said District Attorney George Brauchler. “Coloradans should know that having the ability to consider the death penalty on this case helped lead to its resolution. The legislature should think again about taking this tool away from elected prosecutors.”

Douglas County Sheriff Tony Spurlock was also satisfied with the outcome.

“While we were prepared to go forward at trial, we are pleased that Mr. Clanton made the decision to plead guilty. I am very proud of all the hard work and dedication that was put into solving this case,” Spurlock said. “We sincerely hope that this brings closure one step closer for Helene’s only surviving sibling as well as the many friends she had.”

Investigators with the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office utilized forensic genealogy and tracked Clanton, who had legally changed his name in the decades since the murder, to Lake Butler, Fla. They worked closely with the members of the Union County Sheriff’s Office, the FBI and other law enforcement partners, including the 18th Judicial District Attorney’s Cold Case Unit of Chief Deputy District Attorney John Kellner and Senior Deputy District Attorney Chris Wilcox. The partners worked hand-in-hand to bring Clanton to Colorado in December 2019 to face the charges he had evaded for decades.

Clanton pleaded guilty to one count of first-degree murder after deliberation. This is a Class 1 felony that carries a sentence of life imprisonment in the Department of Corrections. However, due to the laws in place in 1980, Clanton may apply for parole after serving a period of 20 calendar years of his sentence.

Sentencing is set for April 10 at 2 p.m.

Douglas County Sheriff Tony Spurlock and District Attorney George Brauchler address the media at the Douglas County Justice Center on Feb. 21, 2020.

160 years in prison for killing one, wounding another in Aurora

A 25-year-old career criminal was sentenced to 160 years in prison for killing one man and trying to kill another.

Joseph Allen Collins Jr.

Joseph Allen Collins Jr. was ruled a habitual offender and the maximum sentences for the two shootings was multiplied. A jury convicted Collins in September of second-degree murder in the death of Zachary Robinson of Aurora, who was 22 when Collins shot and killed him. Collins was also convicted of attempted second-degree murder in the shooting of Robinson’s friend, who was also 22. The friend survived. Both of the victims were unarmed.

On June 25, 2018, Robinson and his friend were cutting through a common area of an apartment complex at 2095 S. Paris Way in Aurora. It was the middle of a hot summer afternoon, with numerous witnesses outside nearby. Collins and two of his friends were with them. A brief disagreement broke out. Collins pulled out a gun and shot Robinson and Robinson’s friend.

Robinson’s friend ran to a nearby business for help. Collins and his two friends fled. Despite efforts of people who rushed to render assistance, Robinson was dead.

“By age 25, this career criminal had racked up multiple felony convictions, repeatedly and illegally possessed firearms, failed at numerous attempts at supervision and rehabilitation, all before murdering another human being and shooting yet another. The system did not fail this miscreant. He chose to fail society. We build prisons to protect our community from this lawless, evil behavior,” said District Attorney George Brauchler. “With our convoluted sentencing system, ever weakened by a legislature that thinks every criminal deserves 10 chances to re-offend, maybe —- just maybe — this killer will not get yet another chance to victimize someone in our neighborhoods.”

Robinson’s family steadfastly attended court hearings, and both his mother and father addressed the court during sentencing on Dec. 17. Robinson’s father called Collins a coward; Robinson’s mother told the judge her heart was “broken into a million pieces.”

“This defendant chose to obtain a weapon illegally. He chose to pull it out, point it and shoot two unarmed men multiple times,” said Chief Deputy District Attorney Victoria Klingensmith, who prosecuted the case. “Defendants who continue to reoffend like this should not be in our community.”

“This was a grave and serious offense that will forever impact the survivor and the family of the victim,” said Deputy District Attorney Meghan Gallo, who was on the case with Klingensmith. “Nothing can repair what he did, but this sentence does show that justice can be done.”

In addition to the two murder counts, Collins was convicted of:
• two counts of felony menacing
• possession of a weapon by a previous offender

The Arapahoe County District Court judge sentenced Collins to 96 years for killing Robinson and 64 years for trying to kill his friend, to be served consecutively. Sentences on the other counts run concurrent.

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