What started as a late-night house party in Lakewood has ended with decades in prison for two young men and a permanent loss for one family.
Jefferson County District Court Judge Russell Klein on Wednesday sentenced Philix Baca and Anthony Allen to 25 years in state prison each for their roles in the 2024 shooting that killed 14-year-old Francisco “Cisco” Laqui. The case began after a house-party shooting left Laqui critically wounded, and he later died from his injuries.
According to a press release from the First Judicial District Attorney's Office, the gunfire broke out just before 4 a.m. on April 13, 2024, near 1165 Garrison Street. Two vehicles pulled up to a vacation-rental party, an argument escalated and shots were fired. Prosecutors say Allen fired a .22-caliber round that struck Laqui in the head while Baca and another man also opened fire as the vehicles sped away.
All five people involved were initially charged with first-degree murder under a complicity theory. Three of them, identified as Joaquin Bustillos, Cecellia Nace and Martin Ramirez, later pleaded guilty to accessory or related charges and were sentenced to probation, according to the Denver Gazette.
At hearings this week, Judge Klein handed down 25-year Department of Corrections terms to both Allen and Baca. Allen received credit for 679 days of presentence confinement, and Baca received credit for 295 days. Allen’s sentence will be followed by five years of mandatory parole. The three earlier co-defendants each received five years of probation and credit for time already served, the district attorney’s office said.
Senior Deputy District Attorney Jacob Mathews told the court, “This case simply should not have happened,” and warned that “young individuals soaked in a reckless gun culture on social media came face to face with the very real consequences of gun violence,” as reported by the Denver Gazette. Prosecutors pushed for the maximum terms allowed under the plea deals, arguing that peer pressure and bad influences helped turn a late-night argument into a fatal shooting.
Legal notes
Allen pleaded guilty to second-degree murder under C.R.S. 18-3-103. Baca pleaded guilty to criminal attempt to commit first-degree murder, under an extreme indifference theory, along with a crime-of-violence sentencing enhancer that can increase mandatory minimum prison time. See C.R.S. 18-3-103 as published on Justia and C.R.S. 18-1.3-406 on Justia for statutory definitions and sentencing guidance.
The sentences cap a two-year pursuit of justice that began when Laqui was shot in April 2024, marking a painful milestone for his family and the Lakewood community. Relatives of the teen have called for more programs to steer youth away from guns and for community-based efforts aimed at preventing another tragedy like this one.
