The driver who that killed two people and seriously injured a third in Boulder in July 2021 was sentenced Tuesday to probation and work release.
Marcus Than, 22, pleaded guilty in October to one count of vehicular homicide that was amended to name both of the men who died in the crash, .
Jacques Middlecoff, who was driving the car that Borman and Vollmar were riding in, was seriously injured.
The plea did not include any sentence stipulations, but prosecutors agreed to recommend probation rather than a prison sentence.
Boulder District Judge Patrick Butler imposed a four-year probation sentence Tuesday. But rather than the 90-day straight jail sentence recommended by prosecutors, Butler sentenced Than to 18 months of work release.
Butler also ordered that Than wait in custody for a work release bed, and Than was remanded into the custody of the Boulder County Jail.
“Driving more than twice the speed limit in what is a residential area is clearly very reckless,” Butler said. “This whole situation is tragic and heartbreaking, and those words are probably not even adequate to describe the horrific nature of what occurred on that particular night.”
Prosecutors recommended the 90-day straight jail time because Than had surrendered his driver’s license, but Butler said he felt that did not preclude a work release sentence.
“He can take public transportation, he can take a bike, he can call an Uber,” Butler said. “But he should be punished for taking the lives of two individuals and injuring a third.”
Than will also have to serve 160 hours of community service, pay $2,346 in restitution and participate in restorative justice if the families of the victims decide it is appropriate.
The hearing Tuesday was standing room only with many more people watching remotely, as friends and family of the victims and Than packed the courtroom for the emotional hearing.
During his comments to the court, Than said he read every single one of the letters submitted by the victims’ families to learn more about them.
“I’d like to say I’m sorry,” Than said. “A lot of pain and anguish has been caused due to my actions.”
But Than asked for a chance to redeem himself.
“I truly do not believe I am a danger to society,” Than said. “I made a big mistake that can never be undone, but that doesn’t make me dangerous.”
‘He shredded families’
The plea offer was also the subject of scrutiny during the emotional 90-minute hearing.
Boulder Deputy District Attorney Joshuah Lisk said Than’s lack of criminal history and traffic citations were mitigating factors, along with the fact that Than was not intoxicated at the time of the crash.
Lisk also said Than expressed “genuine remorse for his actions.” But Lisk also acknowledged that feedback from the family and friends of the various victims varied.
“What that accountability means often varies from person to person,” Lisk said.
Tammy Richards, Vollmar’s girlfriend, recalled searching for Vollmar the morning after the crash and using a find-a-phone app.
“As I zoomed in, the coroner’s office appeared,” Richards said. “I kept hoping that the map was wrong, because none of it made sense.”
Richards said hearing about the plea deal gave her the same helpless feeling she felt while waiting for news on Vollmar from police.
“The DA is supposed to be a voice for the victims who no longer have one,” Richards said. “(Than) chose to do 90, and he shredded families. I’m also tired of hearing, ‘But he has to live with it.’ He gets to live, he gets to see his family, he gets to grow older.”
Borman’s brother Braun also said he would have rather seen the case go to trial, and said the recommendation for probation added “insult to injury.”
“We want him behind bars so he has to think about what he did 24/7,” he said. “He deserves to spend, not years, but many months behind bars. Do not send a message of tolerance.”
But Vollmar’s ex-wife Angelique Espinoza questioned whether a lengthy incarceration would do the community any good.
“I don’t think that prison offers anything back,” Espinoza said. “I don’t think that utilizing a system that is so broken right now will bring anybody back. I don’t think it changes anything, it just has the potential to take someone’s life and make them even less able to give back.”
‘He truly is remorseful’
The crash occurred about 11:20 p.m. July 26, 2021, at the intersection of Diagonal Highway and 34th Street.
According to police, Middlecoff was driving a BMW sedan west on Diagonal Highway and made a left turn at 34th Street when his vehicle was hit by Than’s Nissan Altima driving east.
The two passengers in the BMW, Borman and Vollmar, died at the scene. Middlecoff was taken to the hospital with critical injuries.
Analysis of his vehicle’s data recorder showed that Than was driving at about 88 mph seconds before the crash in a 40-mph zone.
“Truthfully, I was not fully aware of my speed,” Than said Tuesday.
Than’s attorney Luke McConnell said the guilty plea, with no stipulation in place, showed Than was willing to take responsibility for his actions.
“He truly is remorseful for what happened, and that sets him apart from a lot of people,” McConnell said. “He’s a good person whose made a terrible mistake.”
Added McConnell, “he does think about this 24/7, he doesn’t need to be in jail for that to happen.”
Butler said he consulted with his fellow judges and consulted 10 years of prior vehicular homicide cases, and, ultimately, came to the conclusion that the resolution was a fair one.
“The court does believe this is an appropriate sentence under the circumstances here,” Butler said.
But Butler also said he knows not everyone in the courtroom agreed with the outcome.
“I understand why people feel hurt and angry and sad and frustrated, and you have every right to have those feelings,” Bulter said. “No words that I say will make any of this right, no sentence I impose will bring back the victims of this crime.”
