by Blaine Howerton | NorthFortyNews.com
GREELEY, Colo. (Weld County D.A.) – Erik Hernandez, a former police officer for the town of LaSalle, has been sentenced to six years in the Colorado Department of Corrections for the 2023 shooting death of an unarmed man at a local Family Dollar store.
The sentencing, delivered on Friday by Weld County District Court Judge Marcello Kopcow, follows Hernandez’s guilty plea to manslaughter, a class 4 felony, in January.
The incident occurred on May 3, 2023, when Hernandez investigated a citizen’s report of a “suspicious vehicle” at the Family Dollar in LaSalle. During the encounter, Hernandez shot and killed Juston Reffel.
A Weld County Statutory Grand Jury subsequently indicted Hernandez on a charge of second-degree murder in June 2023. However, a trial in November 2024 ended without a unanimous verdict after nearly two days of jury deliberation.
“There’s nothing more serious than the loss of human life,” stated Deputy District Attorney Lacy Wells. “There’s one benefit here, though, and it’s that this individual will never be a police officer again. Juston deserved better and so did the citizens of Weld County.”
Deputy District Attorneys Lacy Wells and Daniel Skelton jointly prosecuted the case.