LAKEWOOD, Colo. — A man was sentenced to 63 years in prison for fatally shooting a man after barging into the sleeping man's bedroom and demanding cash the First Judicial District Attorney's Office announced.
John Tyler Blue, 34, was sentenced Friday for the April 2019 killing of 58-year-old Willie Carr in his Lakewood home.
“We hope that this outcome provides some sense of justice for Willie’s family and friends while ensuring that his murderer is no longer a threat to our community,” said Brian Hassing, a Senior Deputy District Attorney in Colorado’s First Judicial District.
On the morning of April 26, 2019, Lakewood Police Department (LPD) officers responded to a report of a shooting around 2 a.m. at 5410 W. 3rd Pl., where Carr was found in a bedroom. An autopsy later found gunshot wounds to his right forearm and chest along with injuries to the top and back of his head.
Through investigation, LPD detectives determined that Blue kicked open the door to the residence, woke up a still sleeping Carr, and held him at gunpoint.
Carr's girlfriend said she woke up and saw the suspect standing over their bed.
When Carr refused to reveal where he had hidden cash received in a recent auto accident settlement, Blue shot him once, prosecutors said. After Carr repeated that he didn’t have anything, Blue shot him a second time.
Blue was arrested in July 2020 and pleaded guilty to charges of second-degree murder and first-degree burglary on May 25, 2021.
On Friday, the court handed down consecutive sentences of 48 years for second-degree murder and 15 years for first-degree burglary.
Under sentencing statutes created by the Colorado General Assembly, Blue could be released from the Department of Corrections in as little as 35 years.
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