18-year-old gets five life sentences in 'Labor Day Massacre' in

The Gazette

September 28, 1999

LITTLETON - Convicted murderer Alexander Pogosyan was sentenced Monday to five consecutive life terms in prison without parole for his role in the so-called Labor Day Massacre.

Arapahoe County District Judge James Macrum Jr. handed down the sentence after hearing testimony from members of the five victims' families and pleas from Pogosyan's mother to spare her 18-year-old son.

A district court jury convicted Pogosyan of five counts of felony murder on June 18. He was also convicted on five counts of second- degree murder, two counts of first-degree burglary and one count of being an accessory to crime in a 1998 rampage that left five people in two different houses dead.

"It was very emotional. There were sobs," said Michael Knight, spokesman for the Arapahoe County District Attorney's Office.

"They (the victims' families) felt that the court could never get their loved ones back and that Mr. Pogosyan had shown no remorse," Knight said.

But Knight said Pogosyan's mother said she believed her son did not commit the murders.

"She said she won't rest until justice is served," he said.

Pogosyan showed little emotion during the two-hour hearing and did not address the court, Knight said.

Under Colorado law, each of the felony murder convictions carries a mandatory sentence of life in prison without parole.

The judge also sentenced Pogosyan to six years in prison for being an accessory to a crime. Knight said it was an "insurance policy" in case the murder convictions were ever overturned on appeal.

Investigators believe Pogosyan and his friend Michael Martinez armed themselves with shotguns, put bandanas over their faces and went on a murderous rampage at two Aurora homes Sept. 7, 1998.

Martinez, 18, was found shot to death at an office park near the Park Meadows mall several hours after the other shootings. No one has been charged in his death, although Pogosyan was initially said to be a suspect.

Also killed were Eddie Morales Jr., and Zach Obert, both 18, in a house in Aurora. Marissa Avalos, 16, Penny Bowman, 37, and her son, Greg Medla, 18, were found shot to death in a second home nearby.

Defense attorneys argued during the trial that Pogosyan was a victim of sloppy police work. They said investigators failed to follow up on other potential suspects.

But prosecutors claimed the defendant and Martinez went on a rampage out of revenge. Witnesses said Martinez was bent on getting back at those he felt were "snitching" on him.

Several witnesses testified that Pogosyan boasted he and Martinez had "blasted" five people. His girlfriend, Noelle Peterson, 16, testified that he told her he shot three of the victims.

Artur Martirosyan, 18, is suspected of driving Pogosyan and Martinez to one of the homes. He remains a fugitive.

During the sentencing hearing, defense attorneys argued motions for a new trial but were denied, Knight said.

They also pleaded with the judge to take into account that Pogosyan was a juvenile, just 17, at the time of the murders. But Knight said Pogosyan was treated as an adult throughout the proceedings and the judge stayed that course.

Teen-Ager Is Convicted In 5 Deaths in Colorado

The New York Times

Monday, June 21, 1999

Alexander Pogosyan and Michael Martinez

Authorities believe Alexander Pogosyan and Michael Martinez are responsible for a shooting rampage that left six people dead in Aurora over Labor Day, 1998.

Pogosyan is accused of killing five of the six people who died in the September 7 shootings. Authorities say the sixth victim, Michael Martinez, helped Pogosyan carry out the crime. Martinez later was found shot to death in a field, but no one has been charged in his death.

Authorities believe Pogosyan and Martinez went on a shooting spree that day and gunned down Ed Morales Jr. and Zack Obert, both 18, at the Morales home. Then they went to another home and killed Greg Medla, 18, Penny Bowman Medla, 37, and Marissa Avalos, 16. Martinez was killed later the same day. His body was found in a field with 13 gunshot wounds.

Their alleged getaway driver Artur Martirosyan, who fled Colorado after the Labor Day murders and is still at-large, told police that after the killings Martinez announced he wanted to find his girlfriend and kill her, too. "They all snitched on me, and I'm going to get them," Martinez told Martirosyan. About 9:30 p.m. that night, Martirosyan said Alex Pogosyan called him, sounding dejected. "They got Mike. I'm just sitting here at home waiting for Mike,'' Pogosyan told him. Who "they" are is still uncertain.

Michael Martinez's father, Miguel Martinez, testified that he drove his son to Denver Health Medical Center early Sept. 7 to be checked for a sexually transmitted disease. He left the teen with $20 to take a cab home, but Pogosyan picked him up. When they returned to his house, Martinez said he found his son in the kitchen taking knives but disarmed him. "He told me everyone was going to die,'' the elder Martinez said. "I told him nobody was going to die. Then he left and slammed the door on me."

Esther Martinez said she and her husband had returned home that weekend to find their son had broken a rule prohibiting him from having friends over when no adults were present. Martinez broke into tears as she described finding Pogosyan's clothing on her son's bed, along with a duffel bag that contained shotgun shells. She also found surgical gloves among the clothing.

When the teens returned moments later, Esther Martinez said she demanded that Pogosyan leave, but he refused. "He say I just came here to protect Michael. They are going to come to kill Michael, blast out your windows and kill you and your husband." She testified that Pogosyan gave her a telephone number of the alleged enemy. When she called the number, a teenage girl answered, and Martinez said she told her to "leave the boys alone and don't call my house anymore."

Mayhem.net

Alexander Pogosyan

May 26, 1999

According to his girlfriend, Nicolle Peterson, 16, Alexander Pogosyan admitted taking part in a shooting rampage that left six people dead in Aurora over Labor Day, 1998. Peterson testified in court that Pogosyan told her he'd killed at least three of the victims. "Alex said he was either going to kill himself or spend the rest of his life in jail... He was ... on the verge of tears."

Pogosyan is accused of killing five of the six people who died in the September 7 shootings. Authorities say the sixth victim, Michael Martinez, helped Pogosyan carry out the crime. Martinez later was found shot to death in a field, but no one has been charged in his death.

Alexander Pogosyan