A Colorado man was sentenced to life in prison for a fatally shooting a woman he abducted from a Westminster hotel in a domestic violence incident, the 17th Judicial District Attorney’s Office said.
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An Adams County jury convicted Jesse Gladney, 38, of first-degree murder on July 24, and Adams County District Court Judge Toni Wehmen on Friday sentenced him to life in prison without the possibility of parole, the mandatory sentence for a first-degree murder conviction in Colorado.
Witnesses first reported seeing a man grab a woman and force her into an SUV in the parking lot of a Super 8 at 12055 N. Melody Drive on June 8, 2024.
Investigators later determined that Gladney had called someone for a ride and when they arrived to pick him up, Gladney went into the building and came out with 36-year-old Valarie Garcia.
The driver told police Gladney was yelling at Garcia and forced her into the vehicle, where he continued to argue with her and threatened to shoot her. He then pulled out a gun and shot her in the chest.
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Garcia was taken to Platte Valley Medical Center in Brighton and died later that night.
In a statement Friday, District Attorney Brian Mason described Garcia’s death as “a brutal and senseless killing.”
“While we cannot bring her back, I am glad we could deliver some amount justice for Valarie Garcia,” Mason said.
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An attorney for Gladney could not immediately be reached for comment.
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