BRIGHTON, Colo — The two teens charged in connection with a shooting that injured another teen outside a Brighton school in March 2023 have each been sentenced after pleading guilty to assault, according to court documents.
Jayden Garcia, now 17, and Dakarei Jackson Edwards, now 18, were each charged as adults in connection with the shooting March 15, 2023 in the area of South Ninth Avenue and Bush Street. Each suspect pleaded guilty to one count of first-degree assault and one violent crime sentence enhancer, according to court documents.
Each suspect was sentenced to four years in the Youthful Offender System.
Garcia pleaded guilty in January and was sentenced March 19. Jackson Edwards pleaded guilty in November and was sentenced in January.
A teacher who was returning to school from his lunch break reported the shooting, according to an arrest affidavit from the Brighton Police Department. He first reported to a school resource officer that he saw a group of three teenage boys "exchanging words" with another group of four teenage boys.
He said that two of the boys from the group of three pulled out guns and shot while running and were not aiming. He reported hearing five to eight gunshots, the affidavit says.
One person, a 15-year-old boy, was driven to urgent care after the shooting. According to the affidavit, he had "graze wounds." A friend of the victim later told police the victim was supposed to get into a fight with someone, the affidavit says.
Another witness told police that when the victim mentioned fighting during a confrontation, one of the suspects said, "I don't fight" and started shooting.
Another person reported that the victim and two suspects had all fought each other before and "have had issues."
The two suspects were arrested a day after the shooting. Six others taken into custody on the day of the shooting were released after questioning, according to police.
SUGGESTED VIDEOS: Latest from 9NEWS
