GOLDEN, Colo.—A man has been sentenced to life in prison plus 32 years for firing a gun into a crowd of people at a 2006 house party in southern Jefferson County, killing one man and seriously injuring another.
Jefferson County District Judge MJ Menendez sentenced David Miera Jr., 20, on Thursday.
Following a two-week trial earlier this year, Miera was convicted of first-degree murder after deliberation; first-degree murder, extreme indifference; attempted first-degree murder after deliberation; attempted first-degree murder, extreme indifference; first-degree assault; two violent crime counts; and two counts of possession of illegal drugs.
Miera and several friends showed up at a house party in a suburban neighborhood in southern Jefferson County on Dec. 17, 2006.
According to court records, Miera was walking toward the house when he was told he’d have to pay $5 to get in. He got mad, went back to his car and took a shotgun out of the trunk.
Miera then drove by the house, firing into the crowd of young people in the yard as he passed, prosecutors said. He hit and killed Jonathan “Roman” MacLagan, 20, and seriously injured Carlos Sanchez, 22.
MacLagan graduated from Kennedy High School in Denver before going to college in Kansas. Family members and friends who attended the sentencing described him as a good friend and a kind and gentle person who was always willing to help.
The district attorney’s office says Miera has picked up three new charges during his time at the Jefferson County jail: assaulting another inmate, assaulting a sheriff’s deputy and possessing contraband. Trial in two of those cases is scheduled for August.
