by North Forty News Staff | NorthFortyNews.com
Convictions send strong message about justice and public safety in Northern Colorado
GREELEY, Colo. – A Weld County man with a violent criminal past has been sentenced to a combined 145 years to life in the Colorado Department of Corrections after being convicted in three separate sexual assault cases.
Last week, Weld County District Court Judge Allison Esser handed down a 99-years-to-life sentence to Damaige Plascencia for a 2015 sexual assault case. That sentence will be served consecutively with two earlier convictions—one from 2023 and another from 2022—both involving sexual assaults on women in Northern Colorado communities.
The most recent conviction stems from an incident in July 2015 in Greeley. Officers responded to reports of a woman who had been held at gunpoint and sexually assaulted after leaving Roasty’s Bar in Downtown Greeley. A sexual assault nurse examiner (SANE) exam was conducted at the hospital. Plascencia was identified as the suspect in 2017 through a DNA match using CODIS. In December 2024, a jury convicted him of sexual assault, menacing, and kidnapping.
Plascencia was already serving time for two other violent offenses:
- In March 2023, he received a 26-year-to-life sentence after a jury found him guilty of sexually assaulting a woman in 2016, an incident that occurred after he cut the power to her home.
- In August 2023, he was sentenced to 20 years to life for sexually assaulting a woman he had befriended at Lit’l Bit Bar and Grill in Evans in 2019.
Weld County Chief Deputy District Attorney Arynn Clark emphasized the gravity of these convictions. “Three separate juries in Weld County found this man guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of committing some of the most horrific crimes imaginable,” she said. “These sentences serve not only as punishment but as a clear message: our community will not tolerate this kind of brutality.”
The court ruled that all three sentences be served consecutively, resulting in a total sentence of 145 years to life. Law enforcement officials and prosecutors say the case highlights the importance of DNA evidence, victim support, and community vigilance in ensuring long-term safety for Northern Colorado.
READ MORE: For resources related to sexual assault support and victim services in Northern Colorado, visit the Colorado Coalition Against Sexual Assault.
Information provided by the Weld County District Attorney’s Office.