LOVELAND, Colo. — A defendant who was a juvenile at the time of a deadly 2023 shooting at a Loveland apartment complex was sentenced to decades in prison in connection with the crime.
The incident happened on Jan. 20, 2023, at the Brookstone Apartment Homes near 2500 East 1st Street, according to the Loveland Police Department.
Law enforcement said two young men got out of a white Dodge Ram 1500 pickup truck and shot into 18-year-old Nasier Graham's car, killing him. The two suspects then took off in Graham's car, following behind the truck.
While trying to get away in Graham's car, the suspects skidded on ice and crashed into another car on the opposite side of the complex. An altercation ensued and two other teenagers were nearly killed. One of those teens — only identified as a 16-year-old — was shot and seriously injured.
Investigators said the suspects did not know Graham.
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Three teens were arrested in connection with the crime. Since they were juveniles, Loveland police only identified them as 15-year-old boys from Greeley.
In an announcement Thursday, the 8th Judicial District Attorney's Office identified one of the involved parties as Oscar Perez, Jr.
According to the DA's office, Perez was transferred from the juvenile court to the adult criminal justice system following a successful motion by prosecutors. The DA's office called the transfer "extremely rare in the 8th Judicial District and a decision we do not make likely."
"However, for crimes this serious, the juvenile justice system is simply nowhere near sufficient to hold defendants appropriately accountable, recognize the value of life, and protect the community," the district attorney's office said in its Thursday release.
On Oct. 14, 2024, Perez pleaded guilty to second-degree murder (Class 2 felony), two counts of attempted second-degree murder (Class 3 felony) and menacing (Class 5 felony).
Perez was sentenced on Thursday to 40.5 years in the Department of Corrections. The sentencing also encompassed a guilty plea for an attempted robbery that occurred on Jan. 15, 2023, according to the DA's office.
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'He was so kind': Friends, family remember 18-year-old killed in carjacking
Denver7 spoke with Graham's family after his death. They described the 18-year-old as true, funny and always there for everyone who needed help.
One of his fellow students described Graham as a "kind-hearted, people-person" who had big dreams when it came to football.
"He enjoyed spending time with his friends and playing football. He was well-known at school for football. He had big plans for that," she said in January 2023. "He cared a lot about people's emotions and their mental health and just keeping the group of people he was around lively. It's kids you grow up with and something you don't expect in the community you find so safe."
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