ARAPAHOE COUNTY, Colo. — An 18-year-old and 17-year-old were sentenced after they pleaded guilty to second-degree attempted murder in connection with a 2021 shooting outside an Aurora high school.
The teens, identified as Dalen Brewer, 18, and Larry Jefferson, 17, both pleaded guilty to second-degree attempted murder. They were sentenced to seven years in the Youthful Offender System — which is on the grounds of the Mental Health Institute in Pueblo — with a 25-year Department of Corrections sentence suspended if they complete the program, according to the 18th Judicial District Attorney's Office.
A third suspect in this case was sent to juvenile court for sentencing.
A fourth suspect, identified as Alejandro Carillo Hernandez, 19, pleaded guilty to second-degree attempted murder and will be sentenced on April 17.
"No sentence can make the victims whole or take away the trauma of having your sense of safety at school shattered,” said Chief Deputy District Attorney Andrew Steers.
The four suspects were charged after a shooting in the parking lot of Hinkley High School on Nov. 19, 2021. Around noon that day, surveillance cameras captured a white truck stopping near another car and multiple people involved in an argument.
Crime
Three 16-year-olds charged in shooting outside Hinkley High School in Aurora
The surveillance cameras captured a shooting, and then students running away from the scene.
Brewer, the driver, and Jefferson, a passenger, were shooting handguns out the car's windows, according to the district attorney's office.
Three students were shot: a 16-year-old male who attends APS Avenues, a 17-year-old female Hinkley High School student, and a 17-year-old male Hinkley High School student. All three survived.
The subsequent investigation revealed that the confrontation stemmed from a conflict between rival gang members.
