ARAPAHOE COUNTY | A gang member who pled guilty to shooting a teenager over a video game console in Aurora was sentenced to 20 years in prison this week.
Erron Russell, 22, of Aurora pleaded guilty in April to felony charges of aggravated robbery with the use of a deadly weapon. The charges stemmed from a September robbery of a 16-year-old boy Russell had been in contact with about a Playstation 4 the boy was trying to sell online.
The boy had agreed to meet Russell near the Aurora Highlands mall and sell him the Playstation 4 for $380. When the boy arrived, russell pointed a gun at him and demanded the console. When the boy refused, Russell shot the boy in the thigh and stole the item.
Police were able to track down Russell, a member of the Gangster Disciples gang, by using his correspondence online with the boy before the shooting.
The boy was able to recover from the gunshot and told the court during the trial he had forgiven Russell, but still wanted him to go to jail.
The District Attorney’s office had asked for the maximum penalty available under the plea agreement due to the “terribly aggravating factors” of the case.
“(Russell had) no regard at all for the victim or the impact this might have had on him,” Senior Deputy District Attorney Thomas Byrnes said during the trial. “He shot the victim and left him bleeding there in the street, over the cost and value of a used Playstation – and he showed off pictures of himself posing with gang signs and guns on social media.”