Those words and more choice language were leveled Friday afternoon at Lumumba Sayers Sr., a convicted murderer who was once a mixed martial arts fighter and leader of an anti-violence nonprofit called Heavy Hands Heavy Hearts Center.

Adams County District Judge Jeffrey Ruff sentenced Sayers to 51 years in prison for shooting and killing 28-year-old Malcolm Watson Sr. at a birthday pool party for Watson’s 5-year-old son in Commerce City’s Pioneer Park on Aug. 10, 2024.

Sayers, 47, received 48 years — the state’s maximum penalty — for second-degree murder and 18 months each for tampering with evidence and attempted tampering with evidence.

Prosecutors alleged Sayers Sr. killed Watson to avenge the death of his son, Lumumba Sayers Jr. — who was killed in a shootout in Five Points in 2023 — because Sayers Sr. believed Watson was connected to his son’s killing.

During Friday’s sentencing hearing, Watson’s family implored Ruff to impose the maximum sentence, saying Sayers’ cruelty, lawlessness and hypocrisy were unforgivable.

“He gave his sorry speeches and his crappy boxing lessons,” said Dominique Davis, one of Watson’s eight sisters. “He did the opposite of what he told others to do. What a joke. What a fraud.”

Throughout the tense hearing, Watson’s mother, sisters and the mother of two of his sons explained how Watson’s death left a gaping hole in their family, and how it will forever taint a child’s birthday.

“Words can’t describe the pain of losing Malcolm in the cruelest way imaginable,” his mother Tajauna McKinley said. “Malcolm’s sons had to watch their father die in front of them. Our lives are forever changed not knowing whether to celebrate a birthday or mourn Aug. 10.”

The family described Watson as a loving father, and the prosecutor showed a video of his oldest two sons — Malcolm Jr. and Milo — singing happy birthday and shouting “I love you” as they clapped at the song’s end. Watson had saved the video on his phone and investigators found it after his death.

He also enjoyed Marvel movies, football, singing and traveling with his mother.

“If my son loved you, you knew it and you felt it,” McKinley said. “If my son was your friend, you knew it and you knew he was a standup dude.

“I’ll never hear my son say, ‘Momma, I love you. You’re the best.’ My son was my biggest supporter.”

The sentencing hearing was held with Adams County sheriff’s deputies standing around the courtroom. The two families were separated on opposite sides, and afterward, Watson’s family was instructed to leave the courthouse and drive away before Sayers’ family was released from the courtroom.

People screamed curse words at Sayers as deputies led him out of the courtroom, and his family began shouting that they loved him. Ruff ordered everyone to be quiet and leave when they were told.

Just before the 2024 killing, Sayers Sr. had attended an anti-violence rally sponsored by the Denver nonprofit Struggle of Love in Montbello. He drove with family members from the rally to Pioneer Park, where surveillance video showed him park and walk toward Watson.

Watson was shot and killed seconds later, just out of the video’s frame.

Multiple witnesses said Sayers Sr. walked up to Watson, greeted him and then shot him at close range.

“It was out of nowhere in broad daylight in front of a host of witnesses, some of whom were children, some of whom were Mr. Watson’s children,” Deputy District Attorney Aaron Brunskill said as he asked for the maximum sentence. “I can’t come up with words to describe just how inhumane, how horrific that is. The hypocrisy can’t be left unsaid either.”

Sayers denied killing Watson and took the stand in his own defense to say someone else killed the 28-year-old and that he only pulled an unpermitted gun from his pocket after he heard shots fired in the park.

He shook his head in disagreement throughout Friday’s sentencing hearing, and Ruff noted that lack of remorse and accountability when handing down the penalty.

Four men, including Sayers’ wrestling coach at Denver’s East High School and Cody Sudmeier, a former mixed martial arts fighter who trained with Sayers, spoke on his behalf. All said Sayers’ history of helping others should be considered in his punishment.

Sudmeier said he has visited Sayers in jail and that Sayers had been attacked by multiple men, who injured his face and shoulder. Sayers wore his right arm in a shoulder sling on Friday.

“I respect how horrific of a loss all of this is,” he said.

Sayers declined to speak at the hearing. His attorney, Megan Downing, asked the judge to appoint public defenders to represent Sayers in his appeal.

Joanna Small, the police department’s public information officer, told the Post Thursday morning that there are no new updates as the investigation remains ongoing.

Small said a flea market employee discovered the remains on Tuesday, prompting officers to immediately search all of the dumpsters at the site.

The remains were “pretty significantly decomposed” when they were found.

The police department said in a Tuesday afternoon that an update will be posted as more information about the investigation becomes available.

This is a developing story and may be updated. 

Investigators believe the motorcyclist was driving the wrong way on a Colorado Boulevard ramp near East 52nd Avenue when they were hit by a car, according to a . The driver stayed on scene and was cooperating with investigators.

The crash killed the motorcyclist, who will be identified by the Adams County Coroner’s Office.

Police said the ramp in the 5300 block of Colorado Boulevard was closed Wednesday morning for the crash cleanup and investigation. Drivers were asked to avoid the area.

This is a developing story and may be updated.

The crash happened near 16th and Champa streets when a driver in a pickup truck hit the bus, according to Denver and Commerce City police and RTD officials.

had tried to pull over the vehicle in Commerce City after seeing a person suspected in a shooting in the passenger seat.

Officers chased the truck into Denver but stopped the pursuit after losing sight of the vehicle, Commerce City officials said in a post on social media.

The truck driver “later” crashed into the bus, but Commerce City police did not say how soon before the crash police called off the chase.

The driver and passenger were taken to the hospital, officials said. No one on the bus was injured.

FreeRide service was rerouted onto 15th and 17th streets after the crash, RTD spokesperson Marta Sipeki said.

“As temperatures are continuing to heat up, these Colorado natives are emerging from hibernation and scaring the bejesus out of us!” . “This slithery guy or gal was outside when it was discovered by a passer-by who called us to humanely relocate it to somewhere less terrifying.”

A posted by the department shows the snake curled up on the floor of the backseat of a police cruiser. Two officers are seen using a looped tool to pull the snake from the car, relocating it to a field away from the school.

Colorado’s rattlesnakes started waking up for the season in March, . They retreat to their dens in winter.

Anyone who encounters a rattlesnake should remain calm and give it plenty of space, wildlife officials said. Hikers should also let others nearby know they’ve spotted a snake.

“While you’re hiking, keep an eye out along the trail, including around large rocks and spots where a snake might be sunning itself,” wildlife officials wrote on social media. “Keep any children close by and don’t let them climb over rocks or through areas with brush. Keep dogs on a short leash and keep their noses out of holes, rock piles and thick brush.”

Rattlesnakes are more likely to be heard than seen, wildlife officials said. If someone hears one, they should freeze until they spot it so they don’t accidentally wander closer. That will also help make the person appear less threatening to the snake, .

People should stay at least five feet from rattlesnakes, which can strike at a distance up to half their body length, according to the agency. Anyone bitten should call 911 immediately.

Rattlesnake bites are usually not fatal, but can be very painful and should always be considered a medical emergency, wildlife officials said.

The driver, who has not been publicly identified, was arrested on investigation of DUI and vehicular homicide, according to the .

between Longs Peak Drive in Commerce City and East 124th Avenue in Brighton for the crash cleanup and investigation, according to the Colorado Department of Transportation. All lanes had reopened by 8:40 a.m. Wednesday.

Paramedics took two people to the hospital with unspecified injuries, including the at-fault driver, and one person died in the crash, . The person killed will be identified by the Adams County Coroner’s Office.

Alcohol is believed to have been a factor in the crash, but the investigation is ongoing, .

This is a developing story and may be updated.

The crash happened at 6:09 a.m. at milepost 6, just east of the interchange with Interstate 25, according to the agency.

The truck driver, in a Peterbilt trash truck, was headed west on Interstate 76 when the driver hit the pedestrian, who died at the scene, according to state patrol. No information about the pedestrian was immediately available Friday, and it was not clear where on the road the pedestrian was walking, Trooper Gabriel Moltrer said.

The truck driver remained at the scene of the crash, Moltrer said.

The westbound lanes of Interstate 76 were closed for the crash investigation. There was no estimated reopening time at about 7:20 a.m.

Lumumba Sayers Sr., 47, testified that he did not kill 28-year-old Malcolm Watson at a pool party for Watson’s son in Commerce City’s Pioneer Park on Aug. 10, 2024. Sayers Sr. is charged with first-degree murder, menacing and two counts of tampering with evidence in the slaying.

Prosecutors alleged that Sayers Sr. shot and killed Watson to avenge the death of his son, Lumumba Sayers Jr. — who was killed in a shootout in Five Points in 2023 — because Sayers Sr. believed Watson was connected to his son’s death.

Sayers Sr. testified Wednesday that he had no problem with Watson and that he did not shoot him.

“Me and Malcolm was cool,” he said. “He had nothing to do with my son.”

Sayers Sr. arrived at the park where Watson was killed at 4:55 p.m., then parked and walked toward Watson seconds before the man was shot five times. Surveillance video showed Sayers Sr. approach Watson, but did not capture the attack, which was just out of frame.

Multiple witnesses testified earlier in the trial that Sayers Sr. walked up to Watson and said, “What’s up, homie?”  Watson responded, “What’s up?” and then Sayers Sr. shot Watson multiple times from a close distance, witnesses said.

Sayers Sr. testified Wednesday that he addressed Watson with a nickname, saying, “What’s up, little PM?” and that Watson responded, “What’s up?” and then Sayers Sr. heard a third voice say, “What’s up (racial slur)?” immediately before the shots were fired.

“I heard the shots and I stumbled back, and he fell, and then I pulled my protection out of my pocket,” Sayers Sr. said, referring to his gun.

Sayers Sr. was unable to identify the third voice and said he did not see where the shots came from.

On cross-examination, Sayers Sr. admitted that he had not told any detectives about the third voice during the initial investigation, even though he had described greeting Watson, Watson’s response, and the sound of gunshots.

“You never mentioned there was a third person,” prosecutor Laura Anderson said.

“I just told them what was on my mind right then,” Sayers Sr. testified.

“And this third party was not on your mind right then?” Anderson asked.

“It was so — I just watched Malcolm get shot. I literally just watched this kid get shot. I literally had to live through that. I’m still processing the fact that this happened,” Sayers Sr. said.

Sayers Sr. testified he began carrying a gun after his son’s death because he was concerned for his own safety as he carried out anti-violence work through his Aurora organization, the . He was illegally carrying the gun in his pocket on the day of the killing without a concealed carry license, he acknowledged on the stand.

Sayers Sr.’s gun was never fired that day. Investigators believe Watson’s killer used an untraceable 3-D-printed or kit-built “ghost gun” to carry out the attack. That weapon has never been found.

Prosecutors allege Sayers Sr. shot Watson, then passed the gun to another man who left the crime scene with the weapon. Surveillance video shows the man running up to Sayers Sr. after the shooting, having a brief conversation with Sayers Sr. at his vehicle and then running away carrying what appears to be a covered-up object, testimony revealed.

Sayers Sr.’s defense attorney, Megan Downing, alleged that the other man shot Watson and ran away with the weapon. Earlier in the trial, she pointed to a bystander who, according to a police report, heard that other man shout, “I got you, (expletive)!” after the shooting.

On the stand, the bystander, who did not know anyone involved in the shooting, said she actually heard the man shout, “We got you, (expletive)!”

The other man was never charged with a crime in connection with the homicide. Detectives investigated him for potential charges related to tampering with evidence, but could not develop enough evidence to support charges, testimony at trial revealed.

On the stand Wednesday, Sayers Sr. also explained to jurors his actions after the killing.

Two witnesses testified that they saw Sayers Sr. attempt to rub an ammunition magazine on Watson’s hand after the shooting. Audell Thomas, who had two children with Watson and was standing beside him when he was killed, recorded Sayers Sr. kneeling over Watson’s body and rifling through his clothing moments after the attack.

Thomas got into a scuffle with Sayers Sr. when he tried to take the phone from her, she testified.

Sayers Sr. testified Wednesday that he rifled over Watson’s body because he was looking for a $15,000 gold necklace that Thomas grabbed from his neck during that scuffle. He testified he found the necklace under Watson’s hand and believed Thomas had planted it there.

Sayers Sr. also testified that he had no idea Thomas was recording him, even though she stood feet away and told him he was on video and that he was going to go to jail. He said he tried to take the phone from her because he mistakenly believed it was his own phone.

Earlier in the trial, Thomas offered surprise testimony that Sayers Sr. invoked his son’s name after the killing.

“I said, ‘You killed my baby dad,’ and he responded and said, ‘What about Lumumba?'” she testified during her cross-examination.

Thomas testified that she’d told investigators about that detail before the trial. But the lead detective on the case later testified that her statements in court were the first time she’d made that claim.

Sayers Sr.’s testimony will continue at 9:30 a.m. Thursday in Adams County District Court.

During opening statements in Lumumba Sayers Sr.’s murder trial Tuesday, prosecutors and defense attorneys presented two very different versions of the Aug. 10, 2024, killing of 28-year-old Malcolm Watson at his son’s pool party in Commerce City’s Pioneer Park.

Sayers Sr., 47, is charged in with first-degree murder, menacing and two counts of tampering with evidence in Watson’s killing.

Prosecutors alleged that Sayers Sr. shot and killed Watson to avenge the death of his son, Lumumba Sayers Jr., who was killed in a shootout in Five Points in 2023, because Sayers Sr. believed Watson was connected to his son’s death.

People close to Sayers Sr. said he’d become obsessed with his son’s killing and frequently spoke about getting revenge on the “East Side,” before the homicide at the birthday party, prosecutor Laura Anderson told jurors.

“He was obsessed over his son’s murder, he wanted revenge, and he thought Malcolm was involved,” she told jurors.

But carrying out a killing would be completely out of character for Sayers Sr., who ran the — an anti-violence organization in Aurora, defense attorney Megan Downing argued.

Sayers Sr. attended an anti-violence rally sponsored by Denver nonprofit immediately before he decided to stop by the Commerce City birthday party, where he’d hoped to see his daughter and grandchildren, she said.

“He walked into something that he did not expect, that he did not plan, and that he did not want,” Downing told jurors. “Mr. Sayers, like everyone, witnessed a horrific tragedy that is the opposite of everything he is.”

The killing unfolded in seconds.

Sayers Sr. pulled into the parking lot of the park at 4:55 p.m., got out of his SUV and walked toward Watson. Within 10 seconds, the young father was shot five times, including once in the head, just above his ear, court testimony revealed.

Sayers Sr. is seen on video backing away from the shooting with a gun in his right hand — but that gun was not the weapon used in the homicide, Downing said. Investigators believe an untraceable 3D-printed or kit-built “ghost gun” was used to fire the fatal shots. That ghost gun was never recovered.

Instead, investigators found only Sayers Sr.’s gun at the crime scene, which he dropped near Watson’s body. The gun was not fired during the incident, Anderson said.

Prosecutors said Sayers Sr. tried to plant the weapon on Watson immediately after the shooting in an attempt to build a self-defense claim. They showed jurors cellphone video taken by a witness in which Sayers is seen kneeling over the victim’s body and rifling through his clothing.

Downing said Sayers drew his weapon after hearing shots. He threw the gun on the ground near Watson’s body after removing the magazine because he didn’t want to be armed when police arrived, she said. He knelt over the body to check the man’s pulse, she said.

He began carrying the gun after his son’s death for self-defense during his anti-gang violence work, Downing told jurors.

She noted that Sayers never claimed that the gun he left at the scene — his gun — belonged to Watson.

Three witnesses who knew Sayers Sr. personally and were close to the shooting identified Sayers Sr. as the shooter. Other witnesses, who were farther away and did not know Sayers Sr., pointed to a different man as the shooter. Prosecutors believe the other man ran from the scene with the murder weapon, but that Sayers Sr. actually fired the fatal shots.

Downing said the other man carried out the killing. She suggested that the three witnesses were mistaken, and that prosecutors and investigators twisted facts to fit their belief that Sayers Sr. fired the fatal shots.

Anderson pointed out that Watson’s 5-year-old son screamed “You killed my daddy!” at Sayers Sr. immediately after the attack. The little boy ran with the man that other witnesses described as the shooter and tried to get into that man’s vehicle after the attack, she said, suggesting that the boy would not have done so if the man had been the killer.

The prosecutor also noted that the other man had been at the party for 10 minutes before the shooting.

“If he was going to kill Malcolm, why would he wait until Mr. Sayers arrives?” she asked.

Anderson alleged Sayers tried to take a cellphone from witnesses immediately after the attack, leading to a scuffle. Downing said Sayers was in shock and tried to get the phone because he believed the witnesses had his own cellphone. She said some of his actions after the shooting can’t be explained.

Prosecutors allege the killing was retaliation for Sayers’ son’s death. Two people who knew Sayers Sr. well said the man grew obsessed about his son’s killing and talked frequently about seeking revenge, even seeming to believe at one point that his slain son might return alive. On the day of the killing, Sayers Sr. wore a shirt with an image of his son on it.

Downing said he wore the shirt — and carried the gun — because he was attending the Struggle of Love peace rally and wanted protection, not because he intended to take revenge for his son’s death that day.

No one was convicted of murder in Sayers Jr.’s death, but the suspected shooter was connected to Watson, according to an arrest affidavit. Downing said Tuesday that Watson had nothing to do with Sayers Jr.’s death.

“When I say this case will raise questions, it will raise more questions than it will answer,” she told jurors. “It will not answer the question of who killed Mr. Watson.”

Sayers Jr., 23, was killed in 2023 in a shootout in Denver’s Five Points that involved at least eight shooters. The exchange of gunfire at 28th and Welton streets on Aug. 19, 2023, killed both Sayers Jr. and 25-year-old Gulian Musiwa. Two women were wounded but survived. Both women witnessed Watson’s killing a year later.

Tyrell Braxton, 26, was arrested on charges of first-degree murder in Musiwa’s killing, but Denver prosecutors dropped the criminal case against him in December 2023 after concluding Braxton may have acted in self-defense. Braxton was indicted a month later on federal charges for illegally possessing ammunition as a felon, was convicted and sentenced to 15 years in prison.

Braxton, Musiwa and Sayers Jr. had all been hanging out on the street corner with a group of people before Braxton exchanged words with Musiwa and then shot him six times in the chest and back at about 3:48 a.m., court proceedings revealed.

Those shots set off a torrent of violence: People at the street corner fired at least 71 shots from eight different guns, prosecutors said. Braxton was one of four shooters who fired toward Sayers Jr. during the shootout, federal prosecutors wrote in court filings. Sayers Jr. was also armed and fired six shots during the exchange, federal prosecutors said.

No one was ever charged with Sayers Jr.’s homicide.

Brandon Joseph Sargent-Zuniga, 22, hit both the semitrailer and an RV, parked on the shoulder of I-270 with a dead battery, before fleeing the scene, according to his arrest affidavit. The crash injured his girlfriend, identified in the affidavit as 23-year-old Krista Parr, who died as Sargent-Zuniga tried to rush her to the hospital.

Sargent-Zuniga was arrested on March 28 and charged with vehicular homicide by reckless driving and leaving the scene of an accident involving death, both felonies, according to Adams County court records. He posted a $50,000 surety bail on April 1.

Commerce City police officers responded to the hit-and-run on I-270 near Vasquez Boulevard at about 9:05 p.m. on Jan. 16, according to Sargent-Zuniga’s arrest affidavit. During that investigation, a Colorado State Patrol trooper stopped Sargent-Zuniga near the intersection of East 74th Avenue and Colorado Boulevard for speeding and running a stop sign.

The trooper found a woman unconscious in the car’s back passenger seat, the affidavit stated. Sargent-Zuniga told the trooper his girlfriend, Parr, had been injured in the earlier crash and he was trying to take her to the hospital. She was declared dead at the scene of the traffic stop, the affidavit stated.

Sargent-Zuniga told investigators that another vehicle entered his lane and brake-checked him on I-270, causing him to swerve into the parked RV, according to the affidavit. But cameras from the semitrailer involved in the collision showed Sargent-Zuniga attempting to pass the large truck on the highway’s shoulder, resulting in him striking both the RV and the semitrailer, police said.

Sargent-Zuniga, who was driving a gray sedan, appeared to be racing a blue sedan before the crash, police said in the affidavit.

Drugs and alcohol are not believed to be factors in the crash. Sargent-Zuniga denied engaging in any form of road rage, racing or reckless driving, according to the affidavit.

Sargent-Zuniga decided to drive home because he believed it would be faster to take Parr to the hospital in his truck, which was not involved in the crash, than to wait for an ambulance, according to the affidavit. His neighbor helped him move Parr from the damaged sedan to the truck.

At that time, Parr was breathing but unconscious, the neighbor told police in the affidavit.

“Krista was vibrant, creative, and full of love,” . “She had a fiery spirit and an infectious laugh that could light up any room. Wherever she went, joy followed. She was truly the life of the party, always making others smile and laugh. Being around Krista meant warmth, fun, and unforgettable moments.”

Sargent-Zuniga is next scheduled to appear in court on April 22 for a preliminary hearing, court records show.