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June 21, 2018
ARAPAHOE COUNTY, COLORADO
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Teen in chef death gets life, possible parole Raheem Vaughn Benson was convicted of felony murder in death of Nicholas Lewis BY ELLIS ARNOLD EARNOLD@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
A teenager convicted of felony murder in the 2016 fatal shooting of an Englewood man near a convenience store received a sentence of life in prison with the possibility of parole after 40 years. Raheem Vaughn Benson’s sentencing came June 15 in Arapahoe County District Court in Centennial, where family members and loved ones of victim Nicholas Lewis — along with Benson’s mother — spoke to the court in emotional tones. Benson Judge Andrew Baum addressed Benson, who was 16 years old at the time of the incident and is currently 18, before handing down the sentence. “I fully see and recall the difficult upbringing you had,” said Baum, who said Benson didn’t come to high school in ideal circumstances. “In some respects, you were set up to fail, and you were set up to be influenced by whoever would accept you. I do not, however, accept that your circumstances set you up to fail or make a decision as you did.” Benson, of Littleton, was found guilty on March 22 of second-degree murder, criminal attempt to commit aggravated robbery and firstdegree felony murder. Benson and the other teenager in the incident, Louis Fernando Lara-Macias — who was also 16 around the time of the shooting the
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THE BOTTOM LINE PERIODICAL
‘Cool gets rearranged about every 10 years. I was there in the 1960s and the 1970s, and they were not cool. You can have them.’ Craig Marshall Smith, columnist | PAGE 12 INSIDE
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EnglewoodHerald.net
VOLUME 98 | ISSUE 18