COLORADO SPRINGS – A jury has convicted a Colorado Springs man in the death of a drug dealer who prosecutors say was pistol-whipped, driven to an abandoned building and shot 14 times for slipping up on the job.
The Gazette reports 26-year-old Anthony Cruzita Loya was convicted Tuesday of first-degree murder in the April 6, 2017, death of 23-year-old Lawrence Gloster. Authorities say Gloster was targeted for losing less than $100 worth of meth when he dropped it onto a customer’s lap.
Loya, who says he didn’t take part in the shooting, is the second man convicted in the case. His boss, Jorge Galvan-Flores, was sentenced earlier this year to life in prison without parole on allegations that he ordered the death.
A third defendant’s murder trial is set to begin in May.
