GREELEY, Colorado — A 31-year-old man will spend the rest of his life behind bars after fatally shooting a gas station manager during an attempted robbery several years ago.
On June 9, the Weld County District Attorney’s Office announced that Kyle Moore had been found guilty of first-degree murder and aggravated robbery by a jury. A judge then sentenced him to life in the Colorado Department of Corrections with no possibility of parole, plus an additional 64 years.
Prosecutors say Greeley police responded to a report of an armed man attempting to steal a vehicle at the Cosmic Market gas station on December 14, 2021. Officers discovered that Victor Martinez, 51, the store’s manager, had been shot during an attempted robbery. Martinez was taken to a hospital, where he died of a gunshot wound.
According to authorities, Moore’s co-defendant, Trent O’Neil, pleaded guilty in 2023 to second-degree murder, two counts of aggravated robbery, first-degree aggravated motor vehicle theft, and third-degree assault. He received a sentence of 55 years.
During the sentencing, Weld County District Court Judge Marcelo Kopcow stated, “You committed the ultimate crime of taking another person’s life.” Someone who has done nothing to you.
Deputy District Attorney Timothy McCormack added, “This defendant has demonstrated a complete disregard for human life.” It is heartbreaking that the victim’s family must now face a lifetime of grief and loss. Mr. Martinez was simply doing his job, trying to make a living, when his life was brutally taken away.”
