alt=Kaitlyn BancroftClinton Burrows could talk to anyone. He was never malicious or aggressive. And at the time of his death, he had been living with his mother so he could help care for her.
Burrows' sister, Becky Kroger, shared these and other details in a 2nd District courtroom Thursday. Burrows, 59, was shot and killed in June during a robbery that occurred as he walked down Patterson Street in Ogden.
"No one deserves to be robbed or murdered. That's what mothers' worst nightmares are made of," she said.
Kroger's comments came during the sentencing hearing for Erik Orozco Sanches, 20, of Clinton, who pleaded guilty to a reduced count of murder and aggravated robbery, first-degree felonies, as part of a plea deal. He had originally been charged with aggravated murder. In exchange for his pleas, prosecutors dropped charges of obstructing justice, a second-degree felony, and use of a firearm by a restricted person, a third-degree felony.
Judge Reuben Renstrom sentenced Sanches to a term of 15 years to life in prison on the murder charge, and to a term of five years to life on the robbery charge. The sentences were ordered to be served consecutively.
The judge also noted a teardrop tattoo on Sanches' face. Prosecutors said Sanches didn't have it when he was first booked into jail, and in prison culture, such a tattoo is often a symbol that the wearer killed someone.
"It's not a badge of honor. It should be a badge of shame," Renstrom said. "You did this. You took a human life."
Prosecutors emphasized that Sanches robbed three other people the same night he shot Burrows, and noted that the bullet in Sanches' gun was designed to shred through the victim. The medical examiner handling Burrows' body had never seen ammunition of that type before, prosecutor Jamie Swink said.
Renstrom said therapy and other resources will be available to Sanches in prison, and he hopes someday there will be healing for the victim's family and "some sort of redemption" for Sanches.
"You have the ability to rehabilitate yourself," the judge said.
Sanches spoke briefly during the proceedings, saying he apologizes to Burrows' family, his own family and to anyone else affected by "this horrible mistake. I shot Clint and I'm sorry about it."
Burrows was found dead with two gunshot wounds in the roadway of 100 Patterson Street in Ogden on June 12, 2022.
Police canvassed the neighborhood and learned that Sanches had been at a gathering in a house close to the shooting. They also found that the victim's phone had been taken, and its location history showed it had traveled to Davis County after the killing.
Police received a tip that Sanches was the shooter on July 7. When Sanches was taken into custody, he told police that he and another person saw Burrows walking down the road and decided to rob him. Sanches admitted that he shot the victim and took the man's phone, which Sanches said he later destroyed, according to the charges.
Sanches told police that Burrows fought back during the robbery and was shot during the subsequent struggle.
He also identified the other person involved in the shooting as Ogden resident Eric Aparicio, 20, according to court records. Sanches said Aparicio "was present for the robbery and had knowledge of the intent to rob the victim," a police affidavit states.
Aparicio has been charged with aggravated murder and aggravated robbery, first-degree felonies.