Former Rocky Ford police officer who was convicted of murder is sentenced

Update 2

A former Rocky Ford Police Officer who was convicted of second-degree murder has been sentenced.

James Ashby was ordered to serve 16 years in prison followed by five years on mandatory probation.

It took a jury 10 hours to convict Ashby of second-degree murder in the death of Jack Jacquez Jr. in October of 2014.

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Update 1

A jury has convicted James Ashby of the second-degree murder of Jack Jacquez Jr.

This comes after more than 10 hours of deliberation from the jury.

Jack Jacquez Sr., father of Jack Jacquez Jr., said his family finally has answers.

“Closure for sure, it will bring us some peace and most of all it’s not even for my family, it’s justice for my son, our son, my wife’s my son, my daughters,” he said.

Otero County District Attorney Jim Bullock said this case is not a win, it is still a tragedy in the community. He does say justice has been served.

“This is not a win for anyone. This is a tragedy and it’s been a tragedy for our community and it continues to be a tragedy,” said Bullock.

Rocky Ford Police Department said the community’s trust in them was tarnished because of the shooting. Since October 2014, it’s re-written its mission statement, instated body cameras, hosted community-building events and changed its hiring policy. Police Chief Mickey Bethel spoke about Thursday’s jury decision.

“We both respect and accept the verdict. And we move on. We go forward with our mission. Yeah, I’m glad it is done,” said Bethel.

Ashby will be sentenced on Sept. 23.

Ashby’s attorney tells KRDO NewsChannel 13 that they are disappointed by the verdict and plan to appeal.

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Original report:

Deliberation will continue Thursday of a former Rocky Ford police officer who is accused of murdering a man.

James Ashby is facing a second-degree murder charge for the death of Jack Jacquez from October 2014.

Both sides spent almost three hours showing the jurors why they should convict or acquit Ashby.

The defense says Ashby thought Jacquez was a burglar and shot him out of self defense.
Ashby’s attorneys also say the physical evidence, like the CBI bullet trajectory test and the placement of the shell casings, is in their client’s favor.

The district attorney says Ashby murdered Jacquez after Jacquez made Ashby angry and disrespected him after riding his skateboard on Highway 50. The DA says it doesn’t make sense on why Jacquez would break into his own home.

Michael Garcia, Jacquez’s cousin, says it’s hard to go to court and he wants it all to be over.

“The other thing is seeing the autopsy photos. That was too much. I couldn’t get sleep after that,” he said.

At a prayer vigil Thursday night in Rocky Ford, close friends and family gathered asking for justice.

” Jack was my son’s best friend. He’d been to my home many times. I really liked Jack a lot. He was a good soul, a good person. He surely didn’t deserve what happened to him,” said Ramona Danette Ulloa, a family friend.

If Ashby is convicted he could face up to 48 years in prison.