WESTMINSTER, Colo. — A 29-year-old man is being sentenced to life without parole in a deadly shooting on Easter Sunday last year, the 17th Judicial District Attorney's Office announced on Thursday.
Mauricio Eduardo Anchondo-Olivas was convicted of the following on Monday:
- First-degree murder
- Aggravated motor vehicle theft
On April 12, 2020, Anchondo-Olivas was at a party with the victim, 43-year-old Javier Zamudio-Anaya, who was also attending.
Both men grew up in the same town in Mexico and were once roommates, prosecutors said.
The two men left the home where the party was taking place sometime between 5 a.m. and 6 a.m. in Achondo-Olivas' truck which later turned out to be stolen.
At some point during the ride, Anchondo-Olivas shot Zamudio-Anaya twice in the abdomen and once in the head, and then slit his throat, prosecutors said.
Anchondo-Olivas then abandoned the truck with Zamudio-Anaya's body still inside near West 120th Avenue and Tejon Street in Westminster and called a friend to ask for a ride.
Surveillance cameras at a nearby bank captured Anchondo-Olivas leaving, and the friend later said that he admitted murdering Zamudio-Anaya.
During sentencing, Zamudio-Anaya’s 19-year-old son expressed deep sadness as a result of his father’s death.
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