The Colorado Independent, CO, USA


Accused killer of transgendered woman faces additional charges

By Ernest Luning 12/31/08 6:00 PM


A man accused of bludgeoning to death an 18-year-old transgendered Fort
Lupton
woman<http://www.greeleytribune.com/article/20081231/NEWS/812319983/1001&title=A\
ndrade%20faces%20habitual%20offender%20tag>will
face additional criminal charges that could increase his sentence even
if he's not convicted of the most serious murder charges, the Greeley
Tribune reported Wednesday. The Weld County district attorney filed habitual
criminal charges this week against Allen Andrade, 32, who stands accused of
killing Angie Zapata in July. Police say Andrade beat Zapata to death with
his fists and a fire extinguisher after he learned the transgendered
teenager was biologically a man.

Andrade is scheduled to stand trial in April on a raft of felony charges —
first-degree murder, commission of a hate crime, automobile theft and
identity theft. But if the jury convicts on a "lesser-included" charge, such
as second-degree murder, the Thornton man could find himself facing a
relatively brief prison sentence, the Tribune reports. The habitual criminal
charges would quadruple any sentence handed to Andrade. A first-degree
murder conviction carries a mandatory sentence of life imprisonment or the
death penalty in Colorado but a second-degree murder sentence can range from
8 to 24 years.

"If he's convicted of lesser-included, if we don't file these (habitual
charges) now, then we don't have the option later," Weld District Attorney
Ken Buck said. "We filed these so that if a lesser-included is the verdict,
then we have the opportunity to pursue the habitual criminal" status.

Buck would only present evidence on Andrade's three prior felony convictions
— for contraband possession, theft and lying to a pawnbroker — if a jury
convicts on the lesser charges, the Tribune reported.

When he was arrested in August, police said Andrade referred to Zapata as an
"it,"<http://coloradoindependent.com/4385/suspected-killer-arrested-in-transgend\
ered-teens-murder>telling
them that he believed he "killed it."

The Tribune first referred to Zapata as
"he"<http://coloradoindependent.com/4469/greeley-tribune-changes-course-in-cover\
age-of-transgender-murder>when
the newspaper reported the murder but changed
its
practice<http://www.greeleytribune.com/article/20080723/NEWS/88648512/1001&paren\
tprofile=>after
family members and transgendered advocates objected.

ABC News also corrected its coverage after first suggesting Zapata's beating
death was "provoked by her
lifestyle."<http://coloradoindependent.com/4453/abc-news-changes-coverage-of-gre\
eley-transgender-teen-murder>The
news organization subsequently wrote she "may have been targeted
because
she was transgender" after the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation
protested.

Andrade's trial is set for April 14 in Greeley.


(c) 2008 The Colorado Independent

http://coloradoindependent.com/18613/accused-killer-of-transgendered-woman-faces\
-additional-charges