Brothers sentenced in local gay harassment case

At approximately 2am on February 24, 2014, two victims were verbally assaulted (with a physical assault attempt) outside El Potrero, a LGBT bar located in Glendale. The attackers, defendants Jacob Matthew Sarmiento, 25 of Denver, and Jason Julian Sarmiento, 22 of Aurora both pointed guns at the victims. The victims successfully fled the scene and were able to call for help.

Police approached the defendants’ vehicle near the intersection of Colorado Blvd and Colfax when one of the men pointed his gun at an officer. The officer got out of his vehicle and told the defendants to put their hands in the air.

The defendants then gave chase, reaching speeds of up to 85 mph with Denver and Glendale police in pursuit. The defendants took a sharp turn onto Martin Luther King Blvd and crashed into a cement median. They ran from the scene and were caught shortly after.

On July 1, 2014, both defendants pled to Felony Menacing with a Real or Simulated Weapon and Bias Motivated Crime.  They were sentenced to 360 days in the Arapahoe County Jail with 173 days credit for jail time served.  In addition, the defendants were sentenced to five years Intense Supervised Probation.

On August 15, 2014, two brothers were sentenced by an Arapahoe County judge for harassing patrons of a gay bar, pointing a gun at an officer, and then leading police on a high-speed chase on Colorado Blvd. earlier this year.