A man convicted of kidnapping and sexually assaulting a witness to a gang-related murder was sentenced today in Weld County District Court to 176 years to life.
Christian Hanson, 22, was identified by the Weld County district attorney’s office as a gang member who kidnapped the woman in an effort to prevent her from testifying in the murder trial of Alexis Chaparro-Campos, who was to go on trial in late November.
He was accused of killing Matthew Luna, 22, of Greeley, on June 13, 2009. Luna was beaten and stabbed numerous times with a broken mop handle.
On Wednesday, Chaparro-Campos pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of manslaughter in Luna’s death. He also pleaded guilty to first-degree burglary and was sentenced to 25 years in prison.
During today’s sentencing, Hanson received a minimum sentence seven times more severe than that of Chaparro-Campos: Hanson was sentenced to 48 years for the kidnapping; 48 to life for sexual assault; 40 years for conspiracy to commit murder, and 40 years for solicitation of murder.
The sentences will run consecutively, totaling at least 176 years.
Hanson kidnapped the victim on Dec. 7, 2009, six months after Luna was killed.
Prosecutors said that while awaiting trial on kidnapping and sexual assault charges, Hanson asked a fellow gang member to arrange for the victim to be killed.
That gang member – Jesse “J Baby” Rodriguez, 21, of Greeley – allegedly told an undercover detective posing as a hitman that the victim needed to be killed.
Howard Pankratz: 303-954-1939 or hpankratz@denverpost.com.
