An Arapahoe County jury has found an Englewood teenager guilty of first-degree felony murder, second-degree murder and attempted robbery in the 2016 death of a Denver chef.
Raheem Benson, 18, was convicted Thursday in the murder of Nicholas Lewis, 33, and faces a sentence of up to life in prison with the chance for parole after 40 years at his June 15 sentencing hearing, according to a news release by Vikki Migoya, spokeswoman for Arapahoe County District Attorney George Brauchler.
“Because our state legislature passed a law substantially decreasing the penalties for juvenile murderers, this remorseless killer of a random, innocent, much-beloved, productive member of our society may be let back out onto our streets with our families before he is 40 years old,” Brauchler said in a statement.
“He shot the victim in the chest multiple times and left him to die on the side of the road. Prisons exist to protect us from dangers like this.”
On Oct. 1, 2016, Benson randomly shot Lewis, a chef at Blackbird Public House, as Lewis was walking home from a convenience store, Brauchler said.
Englewood police found Lewis lying on his back on a sidewalk on the 3000 block of South Acoma Street.
Teenager Louis Lara-Macias was also arrested in the case. Lara-Macias pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and was sentenced to 21 years in prison.
“We appreciate the fine and swift investigative work of the Englewood Police Department in halting this tragic crime spree,” said Chief Deputy District Attorney Rebecca Gleason, who prosecuted the case.
“This defendant took one life and forever altered others by committing a violent and senseless murder,” said Senior Deputy District Attorney Brittany Martin, who prosecuted the case with Gleason. “We hope this verdict will bring some peace to the Lewis family, who lost a son, brother, father and friend.”
