Anthony Archuleta was sentenced Tuesday to five years to life in prison for shooting a man in a dispute over a phone earlier this year.
Third District Judge Homer Wilkinson said that while Archuleta was only 16 when he committed the crime, he should have run away from the confrontation instead of shooting Roland "Bo" Zahorka.After the sentencing Tuesday, Zahorka's family said justice couldn't be served because Zahorka couldn't be brought back to life.
"Two people's lives are lost. There is no such thing as satisfaction, even if the kid would have gone to prison for life," said Lonnie Pursifull, Zahorka's nephew.
Archuleta's attorney, Brooke Wells, asked the judge to sentence the youth to a therapeutic program for young offenders in Colorado. Wilkinson refused, saying the killing was "unncessary and a knowingly ridiculous taking of human life."
Throughout the sentencing, Archuleta sat shackled and looked down at the table, rarely looking at the judge.