Man Who Was 15 When He Killed A State Trooper Gets Sentence Reduced

BRECKENRIDGE, Colo. (CBS4/AP) -- A man who was 15 years old when he killed a Colorado state trooper has been resentenced due to a U.S. Supreme Court ruling. Marcus Fernandez, now 41, was convicted of shooting Trooper Lyle Wohlers on Interstate 70 near Georgetown in 1992. Fernandez and an accomplice were in a stolen car taken from a home in Douglas County they had just burglarized and were headed to California when Wohlers stopped them. After shooting Wohlers, Fernandez and his accomplice ditched the stolen car and the gun in Georgetown a few miles away, before being caught in a dragnet along I-70.

Fernandez was sentenced to life in prison without parole but on Monday he was resentenced to 46 years in prison during a hearing in Summit County Court in Breckenridge. The resentencing means he will spend an additional 10 years in prison, followed by ten years of parole.

Fernandez's 46-year sentence will include 16 years for motor vehicle theft to be served concurrently.

The Supreme Court in 2012 struck down mandatory life imprisonment without parole for juvenile offenders. In 2016, Colorado passed a bill establishing a resentencing process to comply with the court's decision.

Trooper Wohlers' funeral was attended by over 1,000 people from twelve states, including then Governor Roy Romer, according to the Office of the District Attorney for the Fifth Judicial District. Last year, a marker was placed along I-70 at the exact spot where his life was taken, memorializing his contributions to public safety.

(© Copyright 2019 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)