Colorado Springs man sentenced to 27.5 years in prison for murder, drug charges

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – A Colorado Springs man will spend nearly 28 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to second degree murder and multiple drug offenses, the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado announced Thursday.

41-year old Jose Baeza was charged with one count of conspiring to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine and 500 grams or more of a substance containing a "detectable amount of methamphetamine."

He was also charged with one count of distributing and possessing with the intent to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl, and one count of possessing a firearm as a felon.

Baeza also pleaded guilty to one count of second degree murder for an incident that happened in La Junta in March 2022.

According to a plea agreement, Baeza, also known as "Terco," shot someone over a drug debt owed to the drug trafficking organization Baeza was a part of. The person he shot, who was not identified by the Attorney's Office, died of a gunshot wound to the chest.

According to KRDO13 records, Baeza was arrested back in November 2022 after a ten-month federal investigation into drug trafficking in Colorado Springs.

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The Drug Enforcement Administration handled the investigation.

“I commend the work of DEA’s Colorado Springs Resident Office and our partners at the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the District of Colorado for bringing justice to Jose Baeza,” said DEA Rocky Mountain Field Division Special Agent in Charge Jonathan Pullen. “Those involved in drug trafficking and murder have no place in our society, and DEA will continue to be relentless in its pursuit of individuals and criminal organizations who break the laws of the United States.”