Judge rules man who killed Fountain police officer can be sentenced as habitual felon | Courts

The man convicted of causing the death of Fountain police officer Julian Becerra was declared a habitual felon by an El Paso County judge Wednesday, which could lead to his sentence being quadrupled.

Devon Bobian, 32, was convicted in a jury trial in May of eight counts of leading multiple law enforcement officers on a chase in El Paso County that resulted in Becerra's death. The charges included second-degree murder, aggravated robbery and criminal threats.

Bobian appeared in court Wednesday for a habitual felon trial, where Judge Chad Miller was tasked with determining whether Bobian's prior felony convictions in Colorado make him eligible for sentencing as a habitual felon.

Any defendant in Colorado convicted of a felony with at least three prior felony convictions can be considered a habitual felon and have their maximum sentence quadrupled.

The maximum sentence for anyone convicted of a Class 2 felony, the most serious charge Bobian faces, is 48 years in prison. If Bobian is convicted of a habitual felony, he faces up to 192 years in prison.

Prosecutor Jeffrey Harwood called investigator Cecil Weir of the 4th Judicial District Attorney's Office to testify that Bobian had been convicted of four felonies in the state of Colorado.

Weir confirmed that Bobian had four felony convictions before his homicide conviction: robbery in 2013, possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute in 2017 and two counts of possession of a firearm by a former offender in 2022. All four convictions occurred in Pueblo County.

According to court documents, Bobian was sentenced to six years in prison after pleading guilty to robbery and three years for possession of controlled substances with intent to distribute. The two 18-month sentences Bobian received for pleading guilty to the two weapons possession charges remain in effect, according to Department of Corrections documents.

In addition to the four felony convictions, Bobian has two misdemeanor convictions in Colorado. Court records show Bobian was sentenced to one year in prison in 2017 after pleading guilty to misdemeanor assault and 120 days in jail for pleading guilty to unauthorized absence in 2023. Misdemeanor convictions, however, do not contribute to a repeat offender sentence enhancement.

Weir explained in his testimony that he confirmed beyond a shadow of a doubt that it was Bobian who was convicted of the four previously mentioned criminal cases using the name, booking photos and fingerprint matches.

After Weir's testimony, Miller ruled that the prosecution had met its burden of proof on all four counts of repeat offence. Whether Bobian can be convicted of repeat offences, however, will be decided at a proportionality review hearing scheduled for September 13.

At that hearing, Miller will determine whether Bobian's potential sentence as a habitual offender would be disproportionate to the charge for which he was convicted.

At a repeat offender hearing for Joel Hollendorfer, who was convicted of manslaughter in 2023 for killing Kara Nichols in 2012, Judge William Bain said it was “very rare” for a judge to find that a repeat offender sentence was disproportionate to the charge against him. Hollendorfer was sentenced to 24 years in prison.

After Bobian's proportionality review hearing, a final sentencing hearing will be scheduled. Harwood told the court he expected a “significant number of people will want to speak” at the hearing.

The two co-defendants who were in the car with Bobian at the time of the incident were convicted for their involvement in the case.

Last year, Anthony Vallejos was sentenced to 27 years in prison after pleading guilty to one count of aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon, a Class 3 felony, for his involvement.

This year, Daniesha Pacheco was sentenced to eight years in prison after pleading guilty to an amended count of aggravated robbery with a violent felony sentence enhancement.