TRIAL

Asked in court whether he recalls saying that, Martin merely said: “ at’s what’s in the transcripts.”

Martin remarked that statements of his were “in the transcript” rather than directly answering questions many times, a practice that the jury asked Martin to clarify.

“It was in the transcript, so it has my name on there … I had to have said it if it was in the transcripts,” Martin said.

At one point, Martin had spoken to one of the deputies who accused him of being at the scene, and Martin responded: “I was on the f---ing scene? Are you f---ing serious?” according to the defense.

Despite all the back and forth, Martin told the jury: “I was there. I pled guilty to what I did.” e agreement also outlined that Martin would cooperate in the cases of Allen Ford, Lockhart and Jones, and give “truthful and complete” testimony, the defense said. (Like Martin’s case, Lockhart and Allen’s cases regarding Graham’s death didn’t go to trial.)

Martin had pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit aggravated robbery, taking what’s called a “plea deal” to cut the amount of time in prison he faced, according to the defense. Colorado’s 18th Judicial District Attorney’s O ce dismissed a murder-related charge because Martin made the plea deal, the defense noted.

Regarding Martin previously not pointing at Jones as being the shooter, the prosecution asked Martin whether he “suddenly remembered” that Jones was the shooter in 2015 or he just decided to cooperate.

“As things moved on in time, I (decided) to be fully cooperative and 100%,” Martin responded.

Chris Wilcox, a prosecutor with the DA’s o ce, noted Martin was asked whether he felt he needed to “keep the DA’s o ce happy.” He pushed back on that idea.

“How many times did you and I meet to discuss your testimony?” Wilcox asked.

“None,” Martin responded.

Martin was not provided with a “script or list of what you need to testify about,” Wilcox argued.

Martin didn’t see Graham get shot — he just says he heard it, the defense noted.

Jones “was the only one with a gun,” Martin said.

Gun questions

One topic did elicit a particularly unique response from Martin: whether guns were returned to Martin from Jones and Ford that involved another person.

Martin initially said he “never did” give guns to Ford and Jones.

But when asked whether he acted as a “broker or middleman of guns” that he got to Jones and Ford or got back from them, he said: “I choose not to answer that question.”

But he later said, “Yeah, I wasn’t the middleman,” and said he didn’t give guns to Jones and Ford on Nov. 5 and he didn’t get guns back from them that he gave to another person.

( e date was apparently in reference to 2009.)

Details ‘were made up’ e rst week of the trial and earlier details, including outcomes for defendants other than Jones, are covered in Colorado Community Media’s previous story at tinyurl. com/TrialWeek1.

Martin testi ed that Lockhart was involved in the incident, but Lockhart continued to argue she was not responsible.

Lockhart replied “no sir” when asked whether she participated in the robbery and whether she participated in the homicide.

She said she made di erent statements over the years, saying she acknowledged she was present and witnessed Graham’s death in the past.

“ e things that I did say to them were made up, and I feel like I addressed that right after that after the interrogation,” Lockhart said on the witness stand.

“I volunteered to take a polygraph,” Lockhart said. (Whether a polygraph test was taken was not detailed in court while Lockhart was on the stand.)

Jones’ trial marked the rst time that Lockhart has testi ed under oath about what happened in the case and the statements she has made, the defense noted.

Lockhart didn’t see Jones allegedly shoot Graham, she said, adding that she put herself as being involved in a murder because she didn’t want to risk life in prison.

As with Martin, she testi ed in Jones’ trial because it was part of her deal with the DA’s o ce to get the murder-related charge against her dismissed, the defense noted.

She pleaded guilty to a pattern of racketeering, and in return, the DA’s o ce dismissed a count related to murder, the defense noted.

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Kawaguchi, a Japanese American artist based in Denver, is a self-taught artist whose work often draws from his heritage.

People who see his murals may notice a similar looking character — a woman — in each of them.

“I do paint a repetitive character that sort of developed over my, really, my whole life,” he said. “It is, I feel, like a representation of myself.”

Kawaguchi always had Japanese inspiration, he said. He grew up in Utah, where he was around a tightknit Japanese community.

“It’s always been a strong part of my identity,” he said. “As I’ve gotten older … I’ve realized these inspirations from when I was a kid have come out in my work.”

As part of the reception, Kawaguchi showed videos of a documentary that captured some of the most meaningful work he has created.

When he paints the walls to create a mural, he sees it as being similar to martial arts, he said. He described it as a physical meditation and a practice of something that is internal.

“ e practice of it is allowing something that’s internal to grow alongside of the physical practice,” he said. “ e practice of doing it is, like, something you never get to, and it is a practice — like a target you’re aiming at but you never hit.”

Part of his path as an artist was realizing that he can take something negative and out of his control, and use his artwork as a way to transform that struggle and give it new meaning, creating something that can inspire others.

“And so, making art, I feel like, is a necessity to me,” he said. “I think being able to convey that and share it is part of my purpose.” started at a young age because his older brother had a talent for drawing, becoming Kawaguchi’s earliest inspiration. and comic books and almost, just, obsessively trying to perfect what I was drawing,” he said. “But then, when I started to go away from reference and just drawing from my imagination, there was a turning point.

“And that was, I feel like, the start of what became my character.” seen by so many people when I was painting a mural and a family came by with a young boy around the age of 7. e family told Kawaguchi that they had to bring the young boy because he had seen Kawaguchi’s work and was inspired, starting to draw samurai himself. ese opportunities to share his artwork with young people excites him, he said.

Over time, Kawaguchi began painting and found an interest in spray painting.

“ ey wanted to bring him by and show him in person the painting,” Kawaguchi said.

Wanting to enhance the young boy’s experience, Kawaguchi let the boy use spray paint for the rst time and tag his name on Kawaguchi’s wall.

“I imagined if I had seen people painting, like painting a large mural or using spray painting and stu , when I was a little kid, it would’ve changed — it would’ve changed my life,” he said.

Among the crowd of people who gathered to see Kawaguchi and his work was Jenni DeWitt Walker and her husband and two daughters.

DeWitt Walker often checks what is happening at Arapahoe Libraries, and given her 14-year-old daughter, Rayanne Walker, has a passion for art, the family decided to attend the reception.

“It was amazing. His artwork is incredible,” Dewitt Walker said about the event. “It’s very, like, awe-inspiring for me.”

Rayanne’s favorite part of the night was seeing Kawaguchi’s artwork, she said, adding that she was interested to hear how he got to where he is today, especially given that he is self-taught.

For Kawaguchi, his favorite part was the opportunity to convey in words what he feels about his art.

He said he hopes attendees connected with their own source of inspiration and gathered the message that when they nd something that inspires them, that is a compass for them to follow.

“ ose things that you do feel, the inspiration you do feel — there’s a reason why you feel that,” he said. “You not only can but are meant to do that.”

“Follow your heart.” ose interested in learning more about Kawaguchi can visit his website, caseykawaguchi.com. To see a map of where his murals are, visit bit.ly/muralmaps.

“I’ll conduct eld outreach in areas with higher concentrations of calls regarding people experiencing homelessness. It’ll be from (the) Arapahoe County Sheri ’s department, local businesses and the city itself,” Gates said.

So far, Gates said she has visited three encampments in the city. One was at the Dry Creek RTD station across from the Jones District, another was at Cottonwood Creek, and the third at deKoevend Park, she said.

“To date, we have discovered some hot spots. So, one being I-25 and Dry Creek, High Line Canal, and Goodson Rec Center (and) the deKoevend Park area,” Gates said.

District 1 Councilmember Candace Moon said, “I’m very happy that you’re on board. We’ve needed this homeless coordinator position for a long time. e areas you mentioned, two of them are in District 1. And we do see a lot of displaced people.” e value of collaborating with other cities, including Englewood, Littleton and Sheridan, that are also working to lessen the impact of homelessness was highlighted during the meeting.

“ is is a community problem. It’s not just the City of Centennial,”

Gates said. “We really have to come together and work at this.” e Metro Denver Homeless Initiative’s 2022-2023 State of Homelessness report said the Homeless Management Information System showed 27,860 people accessed services related to homelessness between July 1, 2021, and June 30, 2022.

According to the report, the top causes of people experiencing homelessness are related to economic barriers, evictions, or familial challenges such as relationship issues.

Arapahoe County Commissioner Jessica Campbell-Swanson said during a May 17 town hall that in December 2022, Arapahoe County was No. 1 in evictions in the state.

“ at is not an award you want to win,” Campbell-Swanson said. “ e number of our unhoused neighbors has doubled in the last two years.”

According to the agreement between Centennial and Arapahoe County, in 2022, the city expressed an interest in collaborating on the new homeless outreach position to provide assistance to unhoused people in Centennial and in areas of the county adjacent to the city. e agreement explains Centennial agreed to provide annual funding for the position through 2025. e city will pay roughly $100,000 to the county per year. somebody that just came and gave me a pamphlet,” Sweetland said. “Can you kind of talk about, like, how many touches … outreach that you’ll have to do before you think that maybe help will be accepted and received?”

Centennial also agreed to provide one-time funding of up to $40,000 for the purchase of a vehicle for Gates to use.

“We’re so thrilled to have this position lled and for the work that you’ll be doing,” said Councilmember Christine Sweetland.

Gates’ current projects include developing collateral and community contacts, conducting eld outreach and completing training.

She said she is working with Arapahoe County on creating a guide for her outreach, as well as working with law enforcement and community organizations that provide outreach to people experiencing homelessness.

“ at is so true. And these folks also have been promised, time and time again, that ‘I’m here. I’m your case manager. I’m here to help,’ and it’s just a let down,” Gates responded. “So I’m another person coming to them, saying, ‘I have a pamphlet, and I’m here to help.’ So really listening to the person and creating that space that they feel comfortable with me. And that might not happen, but I don’t give up very easily.” Gates added that she would come back around and check in with the person, as well as make notes about their interests to help build a relationship.

“We’re people, and we’re mucky and messy,” she said. “So, it’s just gonna depend.”

Mayor Pro Tem Richard Holt asked if Gates has been introduced to the sheri ’s o ce co-responder program, to which she said she has.

“We’re still trying to gure out what communication looks like and when it’s appropriate,” she said. Moon said she would appreciate updates from Gates on her progress, including information about what Gates may need.

“I’m happy you’re here, but I have real concerns about making sure that you have everything you need to do this job, because it’s huge,” she said.

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“I’ve been collaborating with the city and, of course, our Arapahoe County Sheri ’s O ce to help resolve any complaints that they have received,” Gates said. “I will continue and have been doing outreach to local businesses, nonpro ts, community partners and our encampments.”

Sweetland said she’s heard people say that some people experiencing homelessness are resistant to accepting help.

“But I would assume that it’s a relationship building, because I don’t think I would take help from

Prior to starting this new role, Gates said she previously worked for the City of Lone Tree as its teen court coordinator.

She also worked for the Volunteers of America in a few di erent capacities, including as a case manager for adults experiencing chronic homelessness, as a service coordinator for a ordable housing and as a volunteer coordinator, she said.

“Another lifetime ago, I was an EMT (emergency medical technician) for 17 years,” she said. “I love people. I love talking to people and getting to know them. And this is a population that is really near and dear to my heart.”

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