DENVER (KDVR) — A teen who was hours away from his 18th birthday when he tried to steal a car with two children inside has been convicted as an adult and sentenced to 16 years in prison, the 18th Judicial District Attorney’s Office announced.
Mark Jackson, now 19, pleaded guilty to attempted aggravated robbery, a fourth-degree felony, in the Oct. 8, 2024, incident in Aurora, and a judge sentenced him to 16 years in prison followed by three years of mandatory supervised release, the district attorney’s office said in a news release Wednesday.
In the October 2024 incident, police received a 911 call from a victim reporting that two men had tried to kidnap him in the 16900 block of East Quincy Street.
One of the suspects, later identified as Jackson, held a gun to the victim’s head and told him they were going to take his car. But the victim was concerned about the safety of his two young daughters, as they were in the back seat of the car.
The victim grabbed the gun and tried to put it away, but it exploded and burned his face without any bullet hitting him. He then managed to get his own gun and fired one shot but missed.
“This was an extremely dangerous situation that could have easily ended in tragedy,” Deputy District Attorney Emily DiTivo said in the news release. He added: “The victim showed incredible courage in the face of unimaginable fear, especially with his children in the car.”
Officers tracked the vehicle in which the suspects arrived to a gas station using a license plate reader database.
Each of the suspects was found in possession of weapons equipped with keys that could be converted into machine guns.
“Thanks to the quick actions of Aurora police officers, two armed and dangerous individuals were taken off the streets before anyone was killed,” District Attorney Amy Baden said. “This type of crime requires swift and serious consequences. This case highlights the strong partnership between law enforcement and prosecutors to keep our community safe.”
Jackson was arrested in April in connection with a separate shooting after he posted bail for an attempted carjacking in October 2024, and was on parole at the time of both incidents for a 2023 juvenile weapons offense conviction.
The other suspect, Eric Aswako, 21, earlier pleaded guilty to possession of a weapon by an ex-felon, a fifth-degree felony, and was sentenced to three years in prison.