AURORA, Colo. — An Aurora man will spend at least 64 years in prison even though an Arapahoe County jury failed to convict him on the most serious charge of murder related to the 2020 overdose death of a 16-year-old girl.
On Aug. 7, 2020, Aurora Police Department (APD) officers responded to an apartment on South Quentin Way for a possible overdose involving a teen. The victim was pronounced dead on scene when paramedics arrived.
Jorge Alexander Che-Quiab, 27, was arrested and initially charged with murder and 12 other counts related to the death.
Following his six-day trial in May the jury returned guilty verdicts on lesser charges that included:
- Manslaughter
- Two counts of distribution of a controlled substance to a minor
- Two counts of possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute
- Sexual assault of a child
- Contributing to the delinquency of a minor
- Sexual assault (victim under 15)
On July 21, Arapahoe County Judge Darren Vahle sentenced Che-Quiab to 64 years to life in prison for his role in distributing fentanyl to the 16-year-old victim who ultimately died from an overdose at a party.
“He played Russian roulette with people’s lives,” Chief Deputy District Attorney Darcy Kofol said. “He was only thinking about himself that night. He knew exactly what was in those pills and he crushed them up and gave them to those girls.”
The investigation revealed Che-Quiab and another adult man supplied alcohol, marijuana and fentanyl to a group of underage girls during a social gathering at Che-Quiab’s home. Che-Quiab told police that one of the girls appeared to be suffering from an overdose, but he decided to go to bed and not seek emergency medical care on her behalf.
The next morning, others in the house awoke and found the girl was unresponsive and not breathing and 911 was called. Che-Quiab admitted that he used the time before emergency personnel arrived to flush some of the remaining drugs down the toilet.
Further investigation revealed that during the same gathering, Che-Quiab sexually assaulted a 14-year-old girl to whom he had also supplied a large quantity of alcohol. A search of his house led to the seizure of 300 pills laced with fentanyl in addition to several bricks of Heroin.
“I am committed to aggressively prosecuting those who distribute this toxic and deadly poison in our community,” District Attorney John Kellner said.
“As we’ve tragically witnessed, these fentanyl pills can be just as deadly as a bullet. It’s important to note that Mr. Che-Quiab had multiple chances to call for medical attention. Instead, he made the cowardly decision to go to sleep and do nothing. He was able to wake up in the morning, but this victim was not. His actions were reckless and egregious.”
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