The Center has issued the following response to yesterday's verdict in the Angie Zapata case:
After deliberating for just two hours, a Weld County jury today found Allen Ray Andrade guilty of first-degree murder and guilty of a bias-motivated crime in the murder of Angie Zapata of Greeley.
A full courthouse of family, friends and supporters heard the guilty verdicts in all four charges against Andrade, which also included felony motor vehicle theft and felony identity theft.
"This is a landmark decision. And this is the best result we could have ever expected," said Mindy Barton, legal director for the GLBT Community Center of Colorado.
"Being in the courtroom for a week of evidence and being called back for a verdict after only two hours of deliberation . . . and then hearing the verdict of guilty of first-degree murder and guilty of a bias-motivated crime was a hugely emotional experience for the family, friends and all supporters of Angie. She will not be forgotten," Barton said.
During sentencing, Angie's mother Maria Zapata gave a victim impact statement to Judge Marcelo Kopcow.
She identified herself as her "baby's Mom" and thanked the judge.
"This has been so hard, so hard on my family. I lost somebody so precious," Maria said. "He (Andrade) took my baby away from me. It was such a selfish act. But he can never take away the love and the memories me and my children will have."
Kopcow sentenced Andrade to life in prison with no possibility of parole on the first-degree murder conviction. Sentencing on the remaining charges, which could add an additional 60 years to the sentence, will take place in May.
In a press conference with reporters after the sentencing, Weld County District Attorney Ken Buck said he didn't know if this decision would encourage other states to adopt hate crime laws for sexual orientation and gender identity, but that he "hopes that others will see the law in a similar way."
"If someone acts to put fear into a particular group . . . I believe it's a crime that deserves more punishment and a higher degree of prosecution," Buck said.
Carlos Martinez, executive director of The Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Community Center of Colorado, in responding to the verdict, said, "The fact that this was charged as a hate crime was a victory in and of itself. The jury finding the defendant guilty of first degree murder and a hate crime says intolerance toward the GLBT community will not stand in Colorado."
