Colorado teen, 17, sentenced to 35 years in prison for shooting, killing 19-year-old in Aurora

A 17-year-old in Colorado was sentenced to 35 years in prison last week for shooting and killing a man just a couple of years older than him in Aurora last year.

Xavier Garcia pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in July to the March 23, 2024, shooting of 19-year-old Joseph Martinez, which prosecutors called "outrageous, unjustified and devastating."

"This young defendant shot and killed a fellow teenager for nothing," 17th Judicial District Attorney Brian Mason said in a statement. "This case is yet another tragic example of the devastation caused by youth gun violence. A 19-year-old lost his life, and a 17-year-old threw his future away with (a) senseless act of violence." 

The shooting happened around 11:30 p.m. that Saturday night, at an event hall near North Tower Road and East Montview Boulevard. The building was rented out to host a large party, police said at the time, and an argument and then a fight broke out, and Garcia, who was 16 at the time, walked up to Martinez, who he knew, and shot him.

Investigators say Garcia shot Martinez in the chest with a single .45 caliber round from a handgun.

After that first shot, chaos erupted as people tried to flee the building, and more shots were fired outside. It's unclear who fired those shots, but another person was struck and received non-life-threatening injuries.

Martinez was taken to UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital in Aurora, where he later died from the gunshot wound, according to the Adams-Broomfield Counties Coroner's Office.

Garcia was arrested several days later, after police identified him through video and witness testimony. He was formally charged with first-degree murder and possession of a handgun by a juvenile on April 2, 2024.