DENVER (AP) - A man convicted last month of murder and a hate crime in the slaying of a
transgender Colorado woman has received another 60 years in prison after being found a "habitual criminal." Allen Andrade of Thornton was convicted of beating 18-year-old Angie Zapata to death with a fire extinguisher July 17 after discovering she was biologically male.
A judge sentenced him to life in prison without parole for first-degree murder after the jury's April 22 verdict. Weld County District Judge Marcelo Kopcow on Friday sentenced Andrade for his remaining three charges: bias-motivated crime, aggravated motor-vehicle theft and identity theft. Kopcow determined the prosecution proved Andrade was a habitual criminal.
The designation requires a sentence of four times the maximum for each conviction.
Angie Zapata (1988 - July 17, 2008) was a transgender Latina living in Greeley, CO. She was beaten to death by Allen Ray Andrade, 31, a sex partner who discovered that she was transgender.
Background
Born Justin1) in Fort Lupton, Zapata, 18, began living as a woman six years before her murder. She had dreams of moving to Denver, becoming a professional drag queen, and working as a cosmetologist. 2) Zapata cared a lot about her looks, and wanted very much to be a beauty queen, according to her friends and family. She dreamed of being Miss Latina. She had lived in Greeley for about a year, alone, and had faced harassment since moving to town.3)Zapata and Andrade met through MocoSpace, a social network for mobile phone users. Andrade told police that the two met on July 15, and spent the day together.Zapata drove Andrande back to her apartment.4) He said Zapata performed oral sex on him, but would not let him touch her. Andrade spent the night at Zapata's apartment, thought the two slept in separate beds.
The next day, while alone in the apartment, Andrade noticed several pictures that led him to question Zapata's gender. 5)
The Murder
When Zapata returned to the apartment, Andrade confronted her. Andrade said he asked Zapata is she was a man or a woman, and Zapata answered, “I am all woman.” 6)
He grabbed her crotch area and felt male genitalia. Andrade told authorities that he became angry, grabbed a fire extinguisher from a shelf and struck Zapatatwice in the head. He told investigators he thought he'd “killed it.” Andrande wrapped Zapata's body in a blanket and was gather evidence he thought might implicate him when he heard gurgling sounds from Zapata and saw her sit up.7)He picked up the fire extinguisher and struck her again. He gathered Zapata's purse, keys, the fire extinguisher8), and his personal belongings, and left the scene in her car. 9)
The Aftermath
On July 23, 200 people gathered for a memorial to Zapata, at the church she attended. 10)
Allen Andrade
Zapata's bloody, battered body was discovered by her sister, in her apartment, on July 17. The discovery of her stolen car led authorities to Andrade. Andrade was arrested in the Denver suburb of Thornton, where he lives, and was drivingZapata's 2003 PT Cruiser. 11)
On July 31, 2008, Andrade was charged with second degree murder12), and motor-vehicle theft in connection with Zapata's murder. 13) The Weld County district attorney, Kenneth R. Buck, announced that he would prosecute Zapata's murder as a hate crime, which carries an additional 18-month sentence if Andrade is convicted.14)
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