'Excited To Move On': Home Invasion Victims React To Sentencing
By Jeff Todd
GOLDEN, Colo. (CBS4)- The first of four defendants was sentenced Thursday for a brutal and violent attack of a home owned by two middle school teachers in Golden.
Cody Jones was sentenced to 45 years in prison after previously pleading guilty to assault, burglary and aggravated robbery.
"Every day, this effects everything in our life," said Jesse Swift.
It was May 16, 2016 when three men knocked on the Swift's door then barged in. The defendants in this case said they were expecting to steal from a drug dealer's home and get away with thousands of dollars and drugs.
All four pleaded guilty in the case. Jones, 20, and Caleb Williams, 21, each pleaded guilty to first-degree assault, first-degree burglary, attempted robbery and crime of violence on Dec. 19, 2016.
Tyler Gorringe, 18, pleaded guilty on Dec. 15, 2016 to first-degree assault, first-degree burglary, attempted robbery and crime of violence. Gorringe was 17 years old at the time of the attack but was charged as an adult.
The fourth person arrested in the attack was Julia Johnson, 19. She pleaded guilty to accessory to burglary on Jan. 3. She was the driver the night of the attack.
Police say three intruders, Jones, Williams and Gorringe, hit the wrong house and escaped in a getaway car driven by Johnson.
"We have two middle school teachers home with their young kids just enjoying a night with their family, when out of nowhere three men burst into their house and assault them," said First Judicial District Attorney Pete Weir. "Jessie swift was a true hero. He fought off these men while one of them was actually holding down his wife. And he did it at the expense of some extraordinary injuries to himself."
"I feel like a father, I think anyone who was a wife and children would have done what I've done and I just think that I'm lucky I have a wife to support me," Jessie said. "I honestly thought I was going to die. I was bleeding out and there was a moment I recognized there was too much blood coming out of my body."
Weir said this was a case that rocked the Golden community and said the crime was "inconceivable" for the normally safe community.
The remaining defendants have sentencing hearings scattered throughout spring and could also be facing lengthy prison sentences.
"We still have three more sentencings to appear at, so this isn't done today. We have 10 more weeks of that," said Jessie.
"But it's a great start! And we are excited, we are excited to move on," Jessica said.
Jeff Todd joined the CBS4 team in 2011 covering the Western Slope in the Mountain Newsroom. Since 2015 he's been working across the Front Range in the Denver Headquarters. Follow him on Twitter @CBS4Jeff.
