AURORA | A man who shot and killed a family friend in the early hours of Christmas Day after losing money playing poker in 2019 will spend life in prison.
Earlier this month, a jury convicted Curtis Davis-Barnes, 38, of first-degree murder and various other crimes related to the shooting. He was ordered to a life-long prison sentence by Arapahoe District Court Judge Darren Vahle immediately following the verdict.
Police were called to a home near the intersection of East Mississippi Avenue and South Buckley Road at around 2 a.m. Dec. 25, 2019. Police said upon arrival they found 39-year-old Aarion Derritt shot to death in the basement.
According to police, the homeowner told officers that family and friends had gathered for the holiday and several people had gone downstairs to play poker and dice. Over the course of the night, Davis-Barnes apparently lost between $600 and $700 to Derritt and became angry.
That’s when Davis-Barnes went upstairs, retrieved a handgun and returned to the basement to shoot Derritt. Police say Derritt had been shot in the head and several times in the torso.
After shooting Derritt, Davis-Barnes grabbed the money out of Derritt’s pockets and fled.
Davis-Barnes was also convicted of aggravated robbery, felony menacing and criminal possession of identification documents.
“By all accounts, Mr. Derritt did nothing to provoke the defendant. He did nothing to instigate a confrontation or incite any violence,” Chief Deputy District Attorney Jason Siers said in a statement. “He was playing a game, and he ended up shot dead when he should have been able to go home and celebrate Christmas.”