A man has been sentenced to five years in Colorado’s youth offender system for his involvement in a shooting on Flagstaff Road in 2023.

Josue Esai Hernandez-Gonzalez, 19, pleaded guilty in August to one count of attempted second-degree murder. All other charges were dismissed.

He received five years in the young offender system with a 15-year sentence suspended if he does not comply. He received 343 days of credit for time served.

A booking photo of Hernandez-Gonzalez is not available because he was a minor at the time of the incident. Prosecutors charged Hernandez-Gonzalez as an adult because of the “premeditated nature of the shooting and the people shot,” according to the release.

In a sentencing hearing Friday morning, Assistant District Attorney Carlos Rueda said Hernandez-Gonzalez was extremely lucky no one died in the case. Rueda added that the plea agreement was drawn up acknowledging Hernandez-Gonzalez’s age and the fact that the shooter was his brother.

“Without him helping his brother make the shots, there would be no shooting,” Rueda said.

Rueda explained that one of the victims lost his scholarship to pay for college basketball. The victim’s father added that his son also dreamed of following the family tradition of serving in the armed forces, which he will no longer be able to do.

“My son lost a lot in his life because of this individual and I know this individual will have to pay for it for the rest of his life,” said Dave Gomez. “I just want him to understand that what he did was a cowardly act.”

Hernandez-Gonzalez said he understood he caused a lot of harm and reacted to very bad choices.

“I want to apologize to the victim and the families, the community,” Hernandez-Gonzalez said. “I’m still learning from my mistakes. I believe that God is forgiving and when it comes time to get out, I plan to get better and better at what I have to do. I just want to apologize to the victims and the family.”

Boulder District Judge Dea Lindsey told Hernandez-Gonzalez that he had many opportunities to change his mind and that he was very lucky someone wasn’t killed.

“Mr. Hernandez, I’ve already said this once today, but when you’re that young and you’re brown, it follows you by design, by being a brown man,” Lindsey said.

She later added: “What I want you to consider is that you have a bigger burden, and what I mean by that is you have to be, you have to work harder and try harder or it’s not going to be the end of your criminal situation”.

Lindsey said she believes people aren’t the product of the worst thing they’ve ever done.

“You have people who care about you and want to see you succeed, and I don’t see that every day,” Lindsey said. “My expectation is that you will be great.”

Jafet Hernandez-Gonzalez, 23, the defendant’s older brother and co-defendant, accepted a plea deal in October in which he pleaded guilty to one count of attempted second-degree murder , according to court records. All other charges, including seven counts of attempted first-degree murder, were dismissed. He is still awaiting sentencing on December 17.

According to the release, on May 12, 2023, a group of young adults left a graduation party in a Cadillac Escalade and traveled to Flagstaff Mountain. The Escalade crashed in Flagstaff and was never driven again. In a second car, Jafet Hernandez-Gonzalez arrived to help before getting into a verbal confrontation with the driver of the Escalade.

Jafet Hernandez-Gonzalez drove away and took a gun before returning with his brother to the mountain. According to the release, other people at that time had arrived to help those in the Escalade.

Josue Hernandez-Gonzalez passed the pack twice before slowing a third time. As he drove by, Jafet Hernandez-Gonzalez fired several shots into the group — shooting the Escalade driver and another victim. The release says both victims survived their injuries, but the indictment says one victim suffered serious bodily injury.

Jafet Hernandez-Gonzalez’s cell phone was traced to being at the scene of the shooting at the time of the shooting. His cell phone record also confirmed that he met for a weapons exchange.