A 17-year-old in Colorado was sentenced to 35 years in prison last week for shooting and killing a man just a couple of years older than him in Aurora last year.

Xavier Garcia pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in July to the March 23, 2024, shooting of 19-year-old Joseph Martinez, which prosecutors called "outrageous, unjustified and devastating."

"This young defendant shot and killed a fellow teenager for nothing," 17th Judicial District Attorney Brian Mason said in a statement. "This case is yet another tragic example of the devastation caused by youth gun violence. A 19-year-old lost his life, and a 17-year-old threw his future away with (a) senseless act of violence."

The shooting happened around 11:30 p.m. that Saturday night, at an event hall near North Tower Road and East Mo

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