AURORA, Colo. — A man convicted in a mass murder over Labor Day weekend in 1998 is trying to get out of prison in just a few years.
Alexander Pogosyan was 17 years old when, prosecutors believe, he and 18-year-old Michael Martinez killed five people in two houses in Aurora.
The victims in the houses were Eddie Morales Jr. and Zach Obert, both 18; Marissa Avalos, 16; Penny Bowman, 37; and her son Greg Medla, 18.
Kayla Reichert was just a kid at that time.
"I was 7 turning 8 in 21 days and I was there when my mother was shot in front of me and my brother and his girlfriend were shot right before that in our basement," she said.
Reichert's mom was Penny Bowman and her brother was Greg Medla.
Prosecutors said the two suspects, Martinez and Pogosyan, were angry with the five victims for various reasons, so they killed them.
A few hours after the murders, Martinez himself was found shot to death nearby. Pogosyan was suspected, but never charged. He was, however, charged with the five other murders that day. He was then tried, convicted and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Pogosyan was resentenced in December 2021 after a 2016 state law required all juvenile lifers be resentenced, making them eligible for parole in as little as 30 years and no more than 40.
A judge resentenced Pogosyan to five consecutive life sentences with the option of parole in 40 years. The sentence was backdated to the original sentencing date, and with other credits given, he's eligible for parole in about 17 years.
"I thought I'd have at least 17 years before I could deal with this again where I could breathe. Unfortunately I didn't even get seven months," Reichert said.
"I keep getting retraumatized by the same person, and it’s not just me. There are other families, victims, and I feel absolutely terrible for them and it just blows my mind that this can be happening again. It blows my mind."
The Colorado Department of Corrections confirmed on Monday that Pogosyan submitted an application to Colorado’s Juveniles Convicted as Adults Program (JCAP).
The program was created in 2016 to give a second chance to people who were convicted of a felony as a juvenile and had since shown growth and rehabilitation.
It was enacted after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2012 that mandatory life sentences without parole for juveniles violated the Eighth Amendment.
The specialized program, within the Colorado Department of Corrections, was expanded last year with HB21-1209 to include people who committed a felony before the age of 21 and have served at least 20 years of their sentence.
Under JCAP, eligible inmates can apply for the three-year program and earn early release after completion.
"It's very difficult to be alone and to know that the person who's responsible for this is still getting more chances. That's what's destroying me, is I can't keep doing this, but I will. I'm going to keep doing this until he admits what he did or until he dies," Reichert said.
Via email, Pogosyan's attorney Michael Juba shared a statement that read:
"Colorado established the JCAP program in response to rulings by the United States Supreme Court that held children are constitutionally different than adults for purposes of sentencing and should be given a meaningful opportunity for release. Alex Pogosyan was a child when this offense occurred, and he deserves the protections afforded to him by the Supreme Court. The jury in this case convicted Mr. Pogosyan of felony murder, which means that the jury found he was present when the offenses occurred. But, the jury also specifically found that Mr. Pogosyan did not cause the deaths of any of the victims in this case. Michael Martinez is the one who killed these victims, but Mr. Martinez was murdered before he was brought to justice. It is time to stop using Mr. Pogosyan as a scapegoat for Mr. Martinez’s actions and to give Mr. Pogosyan the opportunity to demonstrate that he has been rehabilitated."
Reichert plans to submit a written statement to attach to Pogosyan's JCAP application in hopes of getting the application rejected.
She said she was disappointed she is not able to make her plea in person, but hopes her words will be strong enough.
"I knew for a fact that family, for me, really means everything. Just because they’re gone doesn’t mean I stop caring, loving or showing how much I care about them," Reichert said. "No matter what, I need to stand up for my mom, my brother and everyone who is not here."
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