The last two of nine men charged with burning down the Holly Shopping Center in 2008 were sentenced today.
DeAngelo Calaway, who turned 21 today, received a 10-year prison sentence. Mitchell Walker, 20, received a 10-year sentence that was suspended in lieu of completing 10 years of supervised probation.
The nine defendants, who are either in prison or on probation, have also been ordered to pay restitution of $1.98 million.
The nine men, all members of the Crips gang according to Denver District Attorney Mitch Morrissey, either pleaded guilty or were convicted of torching the shopping center at 3365 Holly St. in May 2008. Morrissey said the men burned it in retaliation for the murder of local Crips founder Michael Asberry.
Prosecutors said Asberry died outside an Aurora apartment building on May 17, 2008. The next night, a fight broke out between the Crips and members of the rival gang Bloods outside the Bash nightclub at 1902 Blake St. in LoDo.
Following the fight, the Crips decided to burn the shopping center because it was a Bloods’ hangout. The men bought a number of soft drinks, filled the bottles with gasoline, stuffed rags in the openings, lighted them and threw them on the roof of the shopping center.
Six businesses were destroyed and the center was flattened, with losses estimated at more than $2 million.
Mike McPhee: 303-954-1409 or mmcphee@denverpost.com
