A Denver judge on March 20 sentenced 19-year-old Giovanni Gonzalez to 35 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the Jan. 12, 2025, shooting that killed 52-year-old Aaron Roybal at South Sheridan Boulevard and West Wyoming Place. The plea agreement cut a first-degree murder count from the case and wrapped up a killing that had drawn intense attention in west Denver.
As part of the deal, prosecutors dropped the first-degree murder charge and Gonzalez admitted to second-degree murder, according to 9News. Court records show the judge ordered a 35-year term in the Colorado Department of Corrections. The outlet reports that the agreement spared Roybal’s family from reliving the shooting in a full trial.
How Investigators Say The Sheridan Shooting Unfolded
Surveillance video and police statements reviewed by investigators show Gonzalez and Roybal leaving a cannabis dispensary just minutes before they met again at the intersection where the shooting happened, as reported by Denver7. Police say the two had an interaction outside a nearby business that quickly escalated to gunfire and that officers found Roybal with an apparent gunshot wound when they arrived.
What The Arrest Affidavit Says About The Evidence
An arrest affidavit cited by prosecutors says video footage captured a green laser dot on Roybal’s chest moments before he collapsed and that investigators recovered a single 9mm casing at the scene, according to 9News. The affidavit also states that a woman later sold what investigators say was the handgun on Facebook for about $800, and messages recovered by detectives reportedly included a note that the weapon needed to be “gone.”
How The 35-Year Term Fits Colorado Law
Under Colorado law, murder in the second degree typically carries a prison range of roughly 16 to 48 years, which places Gonzalez’s 35-year sentence squarely within that band, according to Colorado law. Prosecutors framed the plea as a way to lock in a lengthy sentence while avoiding the uncertainty of presenting the case to a jury, per court records cited in reporting…