Click below for our story as well as the release from the DA's office and links to previous stories.
-Brandon
Our story set to run in tomorrow's paper:
Guilty verdict in MLK Day slaying
AURORA | An Arapahoe County jury Thursday found a 23-year-old man guilty of first-degree murder for shooting a 20-year-old man early this year near an Aurora grocery store.
Ishmael Edward Figueroa was convicted Sept. 30 following a trial in Arapahoe County District Court that lasted about a week and a half.
The jury deliberated for a day before returning the verdict.
Figueroa is set for sentencing in November. The sentencing hearing is largely a formality because the first-degree murder conviction carries a mandatory life sentence.
Prosecutors say that on Jan. 18, Figueroa was in a dispute with a group of people because he had been calling and sending sexual text messages to a teenage girl.
Figueroa and the group agreed to meet at a Safeway grocery store at East Quincy Avenue and South Buckley road to settle the dispute.
Prosecutors said witnesses told investigators that as the group passed an alley and reached the front of the Safeway store, they heard Figueroa yell at them from the alley: “Come over here. I got something for you.”
Figueroa and the group then argued and he pulled out a handgun, firing several rounds into the group, hitting Loren Anthony Collins in the neck.
Collins walked into the grocery store and asked for help and Safeway employees called authorities.
He died the following day.
The Arapahoe County Coroner’s Office said Collins died of a single gunshot wound to the neck the day after the shooting. While doctors ruled Collins brain dead that day, he was kept alive for a few days so his organs could be donated, according to the coroner’s office.
Figueroa fled the scene and was later arrested at his mother’s house.
“You can tell what his intent was, he brought a gun to a fist fight,” Deputy District Attorney Doug Bechtel said during closing arguments, according to a statement from prosecutors.
DA's release:
Man Found Guilty of 1st Degree Murder in Deadly
Shooting at an Aurora Safeway
Centennial, CO. – A jury found Ishmael Edward Figueroa, 23, guilty of 1st Degree Murder today, in the shooting death of Loren Anthony Collins, 20. The trial, which took place in Arapahoe County District Court, lasted a week and-a-half. The jury returned a guilty verdict after a day of deliberation.
On January 18, 2010, a group of friends and Figueroa met up to settle differences after complaints that Figueroa had been calling and texting sexual messages to a teenage female in the group. According to witness statements, as the group passed an alley and reached the front of the Safeway grocery store, they heard Figueroa yell at them from the alley; “Come over here. I got something for you.”
An argument ensued between the group and Figueroa and shortly thereafter Figueroa pulled out a handgun and shot several rounds into the group hitting Collins in the neck. Collins walked into the grocery store and asked for help; Safeway employees called authorities. Collins died the following day, as a result of the gunshot wound,
Figueroa fled the scene immediately after the shooting. A warrant was issued for his arrest and Figueroa was apprehended by police at his mother’s home.
“You can tell what his intent was", Deputy District Attorney Doug Bechtel told the jury during closing arguments. “He brought a gun to a fist fight”.
Sentencing is set for November 17, 2010.
Chief Deputy District Attorney Frank Moschetti and Deputy District Attorney Doug Bechtel tried the case on behalf of the District Attorney’s office, 18th District. Detective Thomas Wilson was the lead investigator on the case on behalf of the Aurora Police Department.
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The 18th Judicial District Attorney’s Office is bound by the law to ensure that the rights of victims and defendants are not violated. All persons are presumed innocent in any criminal matter unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
And to previous stories:
Suspect in fatal MLK Day shooting due in court Alcohol suspected in crash at scene of shooting
Note: I'm not yet sure what the outcome of Cooper's case was, but I will check into it tomorrow
-Brandon
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