Man sentenced to 24 years for deadly shooting in '23

Published on December 12, 2024

GREELEY, Colo. (Weld County D.A.) – A Weld County judge sentenced a man last week to more than two decades in prison for fatally shooting another man at a Weld County home last year.

On Friday, Weld County District Court Judge Timothy Kerns sentenced 20-year-old Benjamin Mitich to 24 years in the Colorado Department of Corrections for killing 21-year-old Johnathan Hayes in 2023.

The shooting happened on February 4, 2023, when Weld County deputies were called to a home located at 12499 Weld County Road 94 in unincorporated Weld County.

In September, a jury convicted the defendant of second degree murder.

The defendant was originally charged with manslaughter. However, Weld County Detective Mathew Rosten continued to investigate and found a video on the defendant’s cell phone that filmed three minutes prior to the 911 call.

In the video, the defendant is loading the gun and racking the slide just prior to shooting Mr. Hayes.

The District Attorney’s Office then amended the charge to second degree murder on December 27, 2023.

“This shooting was not just a tragedy; it was a senseless act of violence that took the life of Johnathan Hayes and shattered many people’s lives,” Deputy District Attorney Lacy Wells said. “This type of deadly behavior won’t be tolerated in our community.”  

When deputies arrived to the home, they found the victim with a gunshot wound to the head. The victim was flown to Northern Colorado Medical Center where he was later pronounced deceased.

“He was a beautiful human being,” Autumn Petty, the victim’s mother, said during the sentencing hearing Friday. “His smile and laugh were literally the two best things in the world. He truly loved everybody. He was amazing and the world is dimmer without him in it.”

Deputy District Attorneys Lacy Wells and Daniel Skelton prosecuted this case.