Lakewood sentinel 1003

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Sentinel Lakewood

Jefferson County, Colorado • Volume 90, Issue 8

October 3, 2013

A Colorado Community Media Publication

ourlakewoodnews.com

Election: Jeffco School board candidates trade views. See Page 20

Martinez sentenced to life in prison for murder By Clarke Reader

creader@ourcoloradonews.com Justin Michael Martinez, 23, was sentenced to life in prison on Sept. 24 for the shooting death of Juan Carlos, 25, in September 2011. After two weeks of trial, the jury deliberated for a day and a half before returning a guilty verdict on Aug. 28. Martinez was found guilty of first degree murder and aggravated robbery. He was sentenced to life in prison on

the murder count and 32 years on the robbery. The sentences will be served concurrently. According to information provided by District Attorney Peter Weir’s office, Martinez was a close Martinez friend of Carlos’ family. On the evening of Sept. 16, 2011, Martinez, Carlos, Mark Sepulveda and other friends and family all went out together.

After going out, Martinez and Sepulveda went to the Carlos’ home in Lakewood. Once inside the house, Martinez and Sepulveda went downstairs into Carlos’ basement bedroom. Carlos was last known to be alive in his room with the two men. Carlos’ fiancé arrived home the next morning and found him dead in his bedroom. He had been shot one time, in the back of the head. She also discovered that some of his valuables were missing from his safe.

A PRESSING MATTER Visitors to Cider Days work the antique presses to turn their apples into cider at last year’s festival. Now entering its 38th year, the festival — which celebrates the city’s agricultural history — is one of the city’s longest running traditions, and will be 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 5, and Sunday, Oct. 6, at the Lakewood Heritage Center, 801 S. Yarrow St. Tickets cost $7 for adults and $4 for children, with all the funds raised going to support educational programs at the Heritage Center. Admission not only allows visitors access to all the special activities, but includes a tour of the Heritage Center museum. See story on Page 3. Courtesy photo

Candidates discuss priorities, goals Forum asks about marijuana, light rail and demographic shifts By Clarke Reader

creader@ourcoloradonews.com Lakewood city council candidates answered questions about issues facing their wards, legal marijuana and changing demographics in the Jeffco League of Women Voters and KLTV8 forum.

Ward 3

Shakti and Dan Smith, the candidates for Ward 3, see two different issues as the most pressing for their ward.

“Opportunities for the youth are the most pressing thing in our ward,” Shakti said. “We need to support the youth in making good choices and giving them opportunities can have a big impact on their lives.” She said that groups like the Boys and Girls Club opening and Alameda High School’s graduation increase rising are steps forward, but there need to be more options, like after school programs, early childhood education and summer programs. “We are seeing a big increase in crime, especially graffiti,” Smith said. “We need to get kids into programs, and bring parents into this problem as well.”

Smith said he would like to find a way to help small businesses that get graffiti on them avoid the city fine if they don’t clean it up in a certain amount of time. He also said he would like to see an increased police department presence in the ward. When asked about what the city can do to combat poverty, both candidates said that jobs is the best way to help fight poverty, and so getting more businesses to invest in the community would be a major help. “The biggest long run challenge for the city is demographic shifts,” Shakti said. Goals continues on Page 16

Not long after police began their investigation, Martinez and Sepulveda were involved in an armed robbery of a cell phone store in Denver. When Denver police responded, Martinez ran, but Sepulveda remained at the store. He threatened police, pointing a gun at them. Officers fired and hit Sepulveda, who eventually died of his injuries. Martinez continued to be the subject of the investigation and was arrested in October, 2011.

High school students ‘Roar’ into competition Students enter contest to win a Katy Perry concert By Clarke Reader

creader@ourcoloradonews.com Lakewood High School students are looking to raise funds for those affected by the Colorado floods, and have entered a competition to get a little help from pop megastar Katy Perry. Students and student groups at Lakewood banded together to create a lip dub video to one of Perry’s songs, in the hopes of bringing her to the school. Perry’s latest single is called “Roar,” and she is teaming up with “Good Morning America” for a music video contest, where the winner will receive a live concert by Perry to be held at the school on or around Oct. 25 and broadcast on “Good Morning America.” According to Lakewood principal Ron Castagna, the students had done a lip dub video to one of Perry’s songs before, and was looking to do one again this year. “This was all before any of the floods happened, and then we heard about the contest,” Castagna said. “We thought if we were lucky enough to win, we might be able to use this as a huge fundraiser for flood victims.” Courtney Coddington, a senior at the school and student body president, said that “Roar” was a perfect fit for the school, since the mascot is the tigers. Since the idea for recording a video had been proposed before any of the flooding, students were expecting to have a much longer time frame to work on the video, but Perry’s announcement put everything on a rush. “We were expecting a six-month time frame, and then we heard about a contest, and had about a week-and-a-half instead,” Coddington said. “It was pretty crazy setting it up, but we had so many groups and students sign up who were so into it and so spirited.” The filming became part of the school’s homecoming week, and was filmed on Friday, Sept. 20. They filmed the entire four-

Roar continues on Page 16

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