DENVER – A man who shot and killed a student at Cherokee Trail High School in May 2019 during a vape juice robbery was sentenced this week to life in prison with the possibility of parole.
Demarea Mitchell, now 19, was a teenager when he shot and killed Lloyd Chavez IV. A jury convicted Mitchell in July of felony murder, attempted aggravated robbery and conspiracy.
Because he was a teenager at the time of the crime, he will be eligible for parole after 40 years. Adults who are convicted of first-degree or felony murder face automatic sentences of life without the possibility of parole.
Chavez’s father spoke at Mitchell’s sentencing and called his son’s murder “completely senseless.”
“The defendant gets to see his family, but we will never see Lloyd again,” he said.
Mitchell and three other teenagers were arrested in May 2019 for Lloyd’s murder. Mitchell had pleaded not guilty in the case.
Another one of the teens involved in the case was convicted and sentenced earlier this year to life in prison with the possibility of parole.
“This defendant willingly participated and he knew there was going to be a robbery. He could have chosen not to participate,” Deputy District Attorney Gwenn Sandrock said during sentencing. “He took the gun and he used it. It was this defendant who pulled the trigger and fired the bullet. His actions led to Mr. Chavez dying in front of his family in his living room.”
