Families of both victims and defendants wept Tuesday morning as 6th Judicial District Judge Jeffrey Wilson sentenced Aaron Williams to 13 years in prison for his part in a fatal shooting in March at the Iron Horse Inn that killed one and injured another.
“I never wanted to hurt, kill or rob anybody,” Williams, 23, told the court. “All I can do is wait patiently for the Lord to save me.”
Court documents say Williams and Tyree Ogsbury-Jones, both former Fort Lewis College football players, went to the Iron Horse Inn at 5800 Main Ave., where Ogsbury-Jones, 23, allegedly shot his former roommate, Brian Keith Moore, then 53, over an argument about marijuana plants, and Moore’s roommate, Daniel Johnson, 50, who was not involved with the dispute. Moore survived; Johnson did not.
Williams stole a tablet computer from the Iron Horse Inn, and pleaded guilty in July to first-degree burglary and a crime of violence, which carried a prison sentence of 10 to 30 years in the Colorado Department of Corrections.
On Tuesday, Wilson handed down 13 years of prison time, plus five years of parole. He credited Williams with 295 days of jail time already served.
Johnson’s daughter, Megan Moore (no relation to Brian Moore), her husband, Jordan Moore, and her twin brother, Shilo Wilson, watched from a front row bench during the sentencing. Megan Moore described the lasting scars of the “heinous crime” that took her father’s life, and how her “heart, body and soul crashed to the floor” when she realized the news report she read about a fatal shooting had to be about her father.
“He was selfishly killed for no reason,” she said, crying. “When I saw him for the last time, breathless, that is a sight and smell I can’t ever forget, and shouldn’t have to remember.
“I refuse to allow my dad to be forgotten.”
Shilo Wilson said he struggled with the fact that Williams has a daughter.
As Johnson’s family sobbed, Williams’ family and friends painted the defendant as an “open-hearted” team player and loving father.
“If he goes to jail 10 years, his daughter will be 13 when he gets out,” said Williams’ mother, Cherie Ford. “Daughters often need their fathers’ advice, sometimes more than their mothers’, especially when it comes to young men.
“I ask you to look at him not just as a subject but as a man of God, a father, a son and a friend.”
Friends and former FLC teammates described Williams as “genuine,” “respectful,” and always trying to help a friend – to a fault.
Local business owner Rick Carney said Williams would play football with Carney’s young son, who idolized the Fort Lewis football players.
“Aaron talked a lot about his daughter, to a point where it got old, but that’s what a father will do,” Carney said. “I think he made a bad decision. I’ve seen nothing but good things from Aaron, and when he gets out, he will have a place, and he will have a job.”
Williams’ defense attorney, Chris Trimble, said Williams is bearing the brunt of consequences while Ogsbury-Jones awaits trial, which is set for Feb. 1. Trimble testified that Williams, who has cognitive disabilities, was manipulated by Ogsbury-Jones and accompanied his friend not knowing he had a gun. But 6th Judicial District Attorney Todd Risberg said Williams has led a drug-addled life, which has exacerbated his mental impairments.
“I don’t list (the drug use) to imply he’s a horrible person,” Risberg said. “My impression is he’s an otherwise decent person and those positive qualities led to this situation. Williams didn’t stop what was happening, didn’t call police or try to get away. He participated.”
Wilson said the case invoked sadness in him “on so many levels,” but told Williams that 13 years will not seem that long looking back on his entire life, and to use the time imprisoned to “help people and sober up.”
Risberg has 90 days to present a restitution amount. Williams will be eligible for parole after serving 75 percent of his sentence, but Trimble said “statistically, it’s very difficult” to shorten jail time with sentences like this.
jpace@durangoherald.com
