Colorado Springs mother remembers 16-year-old son killed in armed robbery gone wrong

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) - Izak Jasso was just steps from his home when he was shot and killed in a robbery gone wrong. Now, his mother and siblings are trying to cope with the 16-year-old taken too soon.

Jasso had just started his first job at Asian Pacific Market down the street from his house. His mother, Jackie Jasso, said he loved the job. Everything he did had to be close enough to ride his bike.

“When he wasn't wrestling, he was riding his bike, riding his skateboard,” she said.

Jasso said Izak took the job at the market because it meant he could interact and talk with people.

“He's fun, loving, and outgoing,” Jackie said of her son. “Always had a smile on his face.”

On June 10, 2023, Izak was walking home from work at the Asian Pacific Market. What he didn’t know was that 19-year-old Marshaun Weathington was following him, according to Colorado Springs Police Department arrest records.

After walking nearly an entire mile and just two houses down from his front door, Weathington ran up to Izak, raises a gun at him, and demands his wallet, according to the arrest records. Izak turns toward Weathington, who puts the gun into Izak’s stomach. The documents said Izak then grabbed the arms of Weathington and the two started fighting before Weathington shot Izak in the chest.

“There's no words to describe it,” Jackie said of Izak’s death. “It's just a lot of pain.”

Weathington faces multiple charges, including second-degree murder and aggravated robbery.

A light pole, feet from where Izak died, is now a memorial of his life. Flowers and pictures adorn the pole written with messages from family and friends.

“Thank you for being the peace and love we needed,” reads one of the notes.

Jackie said they try to keep her son alive by constantly talking about him and laughing about his “craziness.”

His siblings, including his twin sister, spend most of their time in his room next to a six-foot poster of himself in a Mitchell High School wrestling outfit. Jackie said he had been wrestling since middle school but was afraid of continuing in high school.

“When he got into high school, he really didn't want to do it,” Jackie said. “I talked him into it. I was like, ‘Come on, do it. You're good at it.’”

It was through an opportunity with District 11 that he was scheduled to go on a two-week study abroad trip in Oaxaca, Mexico. He was the only student at Mitchell High School on the trip, and Jackie said he was excited to try out his Spanish. About a week before he was supposed to leave, Izak was killed.

“He was going to be gone for two weeks,” she said. “It would have been the first time he would be away from home.”

Despite tears in her eyes, Jackie insisted on talking about Izak.

“Big heart, big smile, and always willing to help somebody else out in any situation,” she said.

Weathington's first court appearance is Wednesday, June 27.