A man sentenced to life in prison for a 30-year-old Pueblo gang killing will be released next month after receiving clemency from Gov. Jared Polis, who on Thursday granted 21 pardons and commuted seven sentences for people in Colorado’s criminal justice system.
Polis issued pardons and commutations to people convicted of drug charges, theft, burglary, trespassing, forgery, menacing and robbery, among other criminal charges.
One man was pardoned for driving aggressively with a revoked license so that he will be eligible to become an Alamosa County Sheriff’s Office deputy, according to a letter released by the governor’s office. Polis also commuted the 144-year prison sentence that another man received for breaking into 23 houses in Littleton in 2007.
Polis commuted only one sentence involving a murder charge.
David Carrillo, 49, was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life without the possibility of parole in 1994 after he participated in the 1993 gang shooting of Chris Romo in Pueblo County. Carrillo, then 20, did not pull the trigger, but stood nearby during the slaying and was convicted as a conspirator. His brother, Anthony Carrillo, fired the fatal shot, killing Romo by shooting through the man’s bedroom window, court records show.
Anthony Carrillo took a plea agreement in the case, was sentenced to 35 years in prison and released on parole in 2019 after spending 25 years behind bars. David Carrillo — the only of eight original defendants in the case who is still in prison — will be released on parole on Jan. 31, Polis wrote in the commutation.
In a letter to David Carrillo, Polis praised the man for obtaining a GED, bachelor’s degree and master of business administration while in prison, and for teaching a class at Adams State University in Alamosa while incarcerated.
“You have taken accountability for your actions and recognize the mistakes you made in the past,” Polis wrote. “You are remorseful and ready to advance to a new phase of life.”
For David Heckman, the man sentenced to 144 years for breaking into houses, Polis ordered that he be deemed parole-eligible in 2028. In the other commutations, Polis ordered parole eligibility in three cases and that prisoners be released in four cases, with the earliest release next month and the latest in 2032.
Bradley Erickson, Paul Freeman, Gordon Johnston, Samuel Martinez and Edgar Reed also received sentence commutations from the governor.
The commutations collectively shave at least 70 years off various prisoners’ sentences, plus several decades more for Carrillo, who would have stayed in prison until he died.
Full pardons were issued to James Bell, Adam Bennett, Amber Breay, Donna Chavez, Eric Christensen, Todd Cummings, Gregory Fanger, Kimberly Finley, Robbie Finley, Robert Glenister, Valencia Green, Michael Hartnett, Gunnison Hunt, Jonathan Hunt, Edward Nestor, Michael Robinson, Andrea Smith, Traci Smith, Rebbecca Soper, Alma Vidauri and Craig Worth.
Polis issues the pardons and commutations annually around Christmas. Those who are pardoned are granted all full rights of citizenship, including voting, jury duty, holding public office and firearm possession.
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