A Denver-area man has been sentenced to life in prison after being found shooting and killing a family friend during a poker game held in the early-morning hours of Christmas Day of 2019. Curtis Davis-Barnes, now 38, was convicted of first-degree murder in the slaying of 39-year-old Aarion Derritt during a Christmas Eve gathering that turned tragic.
Davis-Barnes received the life sentence last week from Arapahoe District Court Judge Darren Vahle immediately after the jury returned its guilty verdict. Davis-Barnes faced multiple felony charges from the slaying, including the first-degree murder charge resulting in the life sentence, which is the mandatory sentence in Colorado for a first-degree murder conviction.
Davis-Barnes was also accused of aggravated robbery, felony menacing, and criminal possession of a financial device, referring to stolen identification documents, and he received separate sentences of 32 years, three years and one years on those charges. Since the first-degree murder charge does not automatically carry parole eligibility, Davis-Barns may die in prison for the poker-related murder.
Davis-Barnes lost hundreds to slaying victim
The 2019 Christmas Eve party at a house in Aurora, east of Denver, that resulted in Derritt's killing, began as a normal festive occasion. At some point in the late-night hours, several of the party's attendees moved to the basement to play poker and shoot dice. Over the next couple of hours, Davis-Barnes was the game's big loser, while Derritt was up about $700.
