AURORA | A gang member who killed a Sudanese immigrant in 2011 in what investigators say was a case of mistaken identity has been sentenced to life in prison.
Devon Grant-Washington, 23, was convicted last week of first-degree murder stemming from the December 2011 death of 43-year-old Youn Malual in unincorporated Arapahoe County.
In a statement, prosecutors said Grant-Washington killed Malual as he pulled up to his home just west of the Aurora border because he thought he was a rival gang member. Grant-Washington then fired several shots into the home of a rival gang member, prosecutors said.
In addition to the murder charge, Grant-Washington was convicted of attempted first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder and illegal discharge of a firearm. The judge sentenced him to life in prison on the murder charge and an additional 102 years behind bars on the other charges.
Grant-Washington is one of five people charged in connection with the slaying.
Brandon D. Jackson, 30, and Amin Elhoweris, 28, were found guilty of first-degree murder in separate trials earlier this year and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Urocca Guyton was found not guilty last year in a separate trial.
Bruce Dwayne Roberts, 28, pleaded guilty to being an accessory after the fact with the agreement that he would truthfully testify about others, prosecutors said. But he did not comply with the agreement and prosecutors said they are trying to revoke it.
The case is one of several prosecuted by the cold case unit at the Arapahoe County district attorney’s office. Prosecutors said the unit worked with investigators from the Arapahoe County sheriff’s office to bring the case before a grand jury, which handed down indictments in 2014.
“Our Cold Case Unit continues to find success in holding murderers accountable for their heinous crimes,” District Attorney George Brauchler said in a statement. “We will continue to seek the truth and seek the punishment of the wicked.”
Deputy District Attorney John Kellner, the lead prosecutor on the cases and one of the prosecutors assigned to the cold case unit, said Grant-Washington showed no remorse for the killing.
“The District Attorney’s Office is pleased that the jury and judge in this case have given such a strong message to gang members and to the family of Youn Malual,” he said in the statement.
Assistant District Attorney Mark Hurlbert, who worked with Kellner on the case, said Grant-Washington belongs behind bars.
“It isn’t always easy to get gang members off the streets, but it’s always worth our time and efforts to do so,” he said.