ARAPAHOE COUNTY, Colo. (PDPR) — A man convicted of the first-degree felony in the five murders known as the “1998 Labor Day Massacre” in Aurora has been convicted again 22 years later.
Alexander Pogosyan was 17 years and 11 months old on the day five people were shot and killed in execution style on September 7, 1998 in two different houses. He was found guilty and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole in 1999.
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However, the US Supreme Court ruled in 2012 that it was unconstitutional to sentence juveniles to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.
Then, after the 2012 verdict, Colorado passed legislation requiring all juvenile offenders sentenced to life in prison to be retried in as little as 30 years, up to 40 years, and be eligible for parole.
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The murders claimed the lives of Zach Obert, Edgardo Morales Jr., Marissa Avalos, Greg Medla, and Penny Medla Bowman.
After 22 years in prison, a now 41-year-old Pogosyan faced a judge and the victims’ families on Tuesday for a re-sentencing.
In light of the Supreme Court’s decision and the subsequent Colorado statute, Judge Eric Barclay White was faced with the choice of returning a new sentence of 30 to 50 years with 10 years of probation or a new life sentence with 40 years of probation.
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The relatives of several victims addressed the court, sharing the trauma Pogosyan inflicts on them every day and the extra pain this conviction has caused them, while pleading for the harshest punishment.
At just 7 years old, Kayla Reichert watched as her mother was killed before her eyes. Her brother was also killed in the massacre that day. She presented her diary from the days after losing loved ones.
“It says, ‘I love my mother, but she died, I love you, mom,’ with the image of me standing over her dead body, bleeding while crying over it,” Reichert said.
Defense claims to be ‘scapegoat’ for murders
The defense asked that Pogosyan be sentenced to a lesser sentence, and as soon as he was released or paroled, they asked him to be handed directly to the immigration authorities to be sent to Russia for the rest of his life.
Defense attorneys argued the original jury found Pogosyan guilty of the first-degree felony. The judge said it was a verdict based on the idea that Pogosyan’s presence in those murders made him guilty of the murders even without pulling the trigger.
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A second suspect and co-conspirator, 18-year-old Michael Martinez, was found shot dead on the day of these killings. Defense said he pulled the trigger on all five execution-style murders. Pogosyan was suspected of Martinez’s death but never charged, and the defense claimed he was the “scapegoat” for the killings because Martinez could not be brought to justice.
The judge eventually ruled that Pogosyan faces five consecutive life sentences, eligible for parole after 40 years. However, the 40-year eligibility dates back to his original conviction 22 years ago with an additional credit of 285 days in prison before the conviction.
“I was worried, I was worried for a second,” Reichert said. “The best result is still not a good result for our families. No matter what happens, we will still suffer.”
“I’ll be at every parole hearing,” she said. “I’ll be there for every court decision for the rest of his life.”
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