One of the defendants in a Boulder kidnapping case has taken a plea deal in his case and could avoid prison time.
Kajuanee Ector, 19, pleaded guilty Wednesday to one count of aggravated robbery, according to online court records.
Boulder District Attorney’s Office spokeswoman Shannon Carbone said as part of the plea agreement, Ector will have to complete five years in the Youthful Offender System, a program run by the Colorado Department of Corrections that houses juveniles and young adults and is focused on helping defendants re-enter society.
The plea deal also includes a suspended 15-year prison sentence that Ector will only serve if he fails to complete the youth offender program.
Ector is set for sentencing on Jan. 21.
“The (juvenile) victim and his family are in support of the agreement,” Carbone said in a statement.
Ector’s defense attorney did not return request for comment on the plea.
Ector’s co-defendant in the case, Christopher Newson, has not yet entered a plea.
According to an arrest affidavit, the named victim in the case designs custom clothing and sells it on an app called Depop. The man told police that a user, later identified as Newson, reached out on Dec. 9 asking to buy some merchandise.
The man met up with Newson at a parking lot in Superior, but because the man did not have an app Newson was using, they could not complete the transaction.
On Dec. 13, Newson reached out again and asked to meet, this time in a Folsom Street parking lot in Boulder. The man told police he went to the parking lot and got into Newson’s car to complete the transaction, which was for $950.
The man told police that he was counting the cash Newson paid him when Newson and another man in the front seat, later identified as Ector, pointed guns at him and demanded his debit card and information. The man said Newson had a handgun, while Ector had an “Uzi” or some other submachine gun.
Newson and Ector drove the man to an ATM in Boulder, but were unable to get more than $500 because of a daily withdrawal limit on the account. Newson and Ector then drove the man to Denver while trying to get him to unlock the account over the phone with his bank.
No further withdrawals were possible, so the men eventually took the money the man had in his wallet and dropped him off in Denver. The man called his parents, who reported the incident to police.
According to the affidavit, detectives were able to get photos of both suspects from surveillance footage. Using information on various apps and the car they were driving, police were then able to identify Newson and then Ector.
