Kenia Venzor always wanted to be a lawyer.
But Tuesday the 13-year-old told people in a packed Denver courtroom she never thought she’d get her introduction to the law like she did.
“I always dreamt of becoming a lawyer and entering a real courtroom,” she said. “But never did I think I would enter a courtroom to see a man going to prison because he almost took my life.”
On Aug. 21, 2005, a bullet fired by Andreas “Andy” Rubio tore through the bedroom where Kenia and her younger sister Celine were sleeping. It sliced through Kenia’s left arm and her right breast and out the back of her right hand. Then it hit 7-year-old Celine in the side and exited through her back.
The two children were the innocent victims of a dispute between two groups of girls, one of which recruited Rubio to target the rival group. Rubio not only missed the intended target but sprayed bullets into the homes of innocent people living in the 100 block of Osceola Street.
In May, Rubio was convicted of numerous counts of attempted first-degree murder. And Tuesday, he was sentenced to 180 years in prison by Denver District Judge Christina Habas who called his actions “despicable.”
Habas said she saw no signs of remorse from Rubio, 21, who during a court hearing made an obscene gesture and frequently smirked during his trial.
The judge said she had watched Rubio.
“I came away with the distinct impression that you wanted to make yourself a ‘Big Man’,” the judge said. “I get the impression you are continuing to blame everyone else. You didn’t care when you did these acts.”
