Denver gang member sentenced to more than 2 decades in prison for Aurora shooting
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A judge on Friday sentenced a 20-year-old gang member to more than 20 years in prison for shooting a man who was walking his dogs in Aurora in 2019.
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Mikal Newton of Denver was sentenced to 23 years in prison for shooting a 44-year-old man at the Sable Landing Condominiums. Newton pleaded guilty to first-degree assault with seriously bodily injury earlier this year, according to the 18th Judicial District Attorney’s Office.
“Senseless, violent crimes like this terrorize neighborhoods and communities; they are one of the reasons I felt it was important to have an Organized Crime Unit in my office,” District Attorney John Kellner said in a release. “To the victims, these are random acts of violence. My unit sees the bigger picture and the inter-connectedness that exists. We want to identify the bad actors who commit a disproportionate number of violent crimes and get them off the streets.”
Officials said the Oct. 22, 2019, shooting was an act of retaliation after a rival gang member killed a member of Newton’s gang.
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The victim was walking his two dogs when a car pulled up beside him, and he heard someone yelling something that referenced one of the gangs. He ignored them and continued on, according to the release.
As the victim went to unlock the door to the condominium building, he turned and saw someone in the vehicle pointing a gun at him before being shot several times.
Newton’s gun matched the shell casings found at the scene, officials said.
“The victim in this case was simply a man in his own community out walking his dogs. The defendant in this case mistook him for a rival gang member and then coldly, with no provocation or hesitation, shot and nearly killed him,” said Deputy District Attorney Tony Tarantino, the prosecutor who handled the case. “Those who commit violent crimes in this jurisdiction — be it for profit, retaliation, or any other reason — need to know that they will be pursued, they will be caught, and they will be incarcerated.”