NEWSLETTERS
SUBSCRIBE
Colorado Politics

Print Edition

Log in
My Account
Log in
Subscribe
My Account
Log in

Convicted Colorado Springs teen says he deserves life in prison despite plea deal

By 07/16/2024 | updated 2 years ago

A Colorado Springs teenager sentenced to seven years at a juvenile detention facility in the shooting death of another teen said he deserved a more lengthy punishment Monday.

“I fully believe I deserve life in prison,” said Carson Stabler, an 18-year-old who pleaded guilty to killing 19-year-old Trevor Branson in September 2022, at his sentencing hearing Monday.

The fatal shooting of Branson happened in the 6000 block of Gunshot Pass Drive — just off Powers Boulevard on the east side of Colorado Springs. Stabler took a plea deal April 30.

(function(w,d,s,i){w.ldAdInit=w.ldAdInit||[];w.ldAdInit.push({slot:11095963150525286,size:[0, 0],id:”ld-2426-4417″});if(!d.getElementById(i)){var j=d.createElement(s),p=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];j.async=true;j.src=”//cdn2.lockerdomecdn.com/_js/ajs.js”;j.id=i;p.parentNode.insertBefore(j,p);}})(window,document,”script”,”ld-ajs”);

Teen pleads guilty in 2022 Colorado Springs homicide to avoid prison time

He was initially charged with first-degree murder, but he pleaded guilty to one count of second-degree murder through a plea agreement.

Judge Linda Billings-Vela accepted the terms of the deal, which will have Stabler serve the seven years at Youthful Offender Services. The agreement includes a stipulated 35 years in the Department of Corrections if he fails to complete his YOS sentence.

“In your hands, you hold the power to make it right,” Billings-Vela said to Stabler. “You have essentially two lives to live for now.”

Delays continue in the El Paso County courthouse shooting case

The prosecutor of the case said at the sentence hearing that it would have been incredibly difficult to convict Stabler at trial.

Stabler said he couldn’t live with himself had he beaten the case with no repercussions, adding that he knew he wouldn’t learn from his actions if he had.

Branson’s mother, Tamika Alford, described her son as a ‘gentle giant’ who endured whatever life threw at him.

She said his death has left her and the rest of the family not knowing what to do next.

“He was only 19. He was just at the beginning of starting his own life,” she said.

Stabler told the court that he broke a family over ‘pointless words’ and felt it unfair that he gets a second chance.

“If I just took the time to sit there and talk to Trevor,” he said while crying, “I know this would have never happened. He would’ve had a future, but I took that chance away.”

Crash involving truck and motorcycle sends two to hospital in Colorado Springs

The set amount of restitution to the family will be finalized in 42 days, but is currently around $9,000, according to the court.

(function(){ var script = document.createElement(‘script’); script.async = true; script.type = ‘text/javascript’; script.src = ‘https://ads.pubmatic.com/AdServer/js/userSync.js’; script.onload = function(){ PubMaticSync.sync({ pubId: 163198, url: ‘https://trk.decide.dev/usync?dpid=16539124085471338&uid=(PM_UID)’, macro: ‘(PM_UID)’ }); }; var node = document.getElementsByTagName(‘head’)[0]; node.parentNode.insertBefore(script, node); })();

(function(w,d,s,i){w.ldAdInit=w.ldAdInit||[];w.ldAdInit.push({slot:11095961405694822,size:[0, 0],id:”ld-5817-6791″});if(!d.getElementById(i)){var j=d.createElement(s),p=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];j.async=true;j.src=”//cdn2.lockerdomecdn.com/_js/ajs.js”;j.id=i;p.parentNode.insertBefore(j,p);}})(window,document,”script”,”ld-ajs”);

Avatar photo
By Nick Smith nick.smith@gazette.com

Reporter

PREV

PREVIOUS

Trial begins in lawsuit alleging voter intimidation in Colorado after 2020 election

Three civic organizations began to make their case in federal court on Monday that the organizers of a Colorado election auditing effort conspired to intimidate voters in violation of longstanding voting rights law following the 2020 presidential race. Testimony veered in various directions, touching on the legitimacy of the 2020 election and the Jan. 6, […]

NEXT

NEXT UP

Plaintiffs struggle to prove intimidation in second day of Colorado voting rights trial

The plaintiffs who are trying to prove an “election integrity” effort resulted in the illegal intimidation of Colorado voters ran into multiple stumbling blocks in federal court on Tuesday, including the aggressive questioning of the lone voter who claimed she was intimidated and the judge’s skepticism about an attempt to introduce new victims at the […]
Welcome Back.

Streak: 9 days i

Stories you've missed since your last login:

Stories you've saved for later:

Recommended stories based on your interests:

Edit my interests