Grand Junction Daily Sentinel Crime Watch 02/03/2023
Man to serve 48 years for Clifton shooting
By SAM KLOMHAUS Sam.Klomhaus@gjsentinel.com Feb 3, 2023
A man accused of shooting a man and running over his body in January, 2021 was sentenced to 48 years in prison Thursday.
Frank Kurtz, 58, of Clifton pleaded guilty to second degree murder for killing Marcos Bencomo in Kurtz’s driveway. He also pleaded guilty to burglary and assaulting an inmate while in jail.
Several of Kurtz’s family members spoke at the sentencing, saying he has had a very hard life and has affected some people positively.
Bencomo’s family members also spoke about how much he meant to them and how much they missed him.
Bencomo’s mother, Christina Herrera, said her life has been changed forever by the murder of her son.
“The last few years my grief is as strong as my love for my son Marcos,” Herrera said.
According to the plea agreement, which Judge Matthew Barrett accepted, Kurtz was sentenced to 48 years for the murder, 12 years for the burglary and 16 years for the assault, to be served concurrently.
“There is something in you that causes you to commit heinous acts of violence,” Barrett said.
Kurtz said he grew up in a violent world and had been affected by methamphetamine, although that doesn’t excuse what he did, and that he took full responsibility for his actions.
“Ultimately, I’ll spend the rest of my life thinking about how I hurt the Bencomo family by taking one of their loved ones,” he said.
MAN GETS 18 YEARS FOR FATAL CRASH
Steven Roberts, 35, of Grand Junction, was sentenced to 18 years in prison last week in connection with a fatal hit and run in September, 2021 that killed the driver of a motorized scooter.
Roberts pleaded guilty to leaving the scene of an accident involving death, a class-three felony, with extraordinarily aggravating circumstances.
Witnesses said an SUV struck two vehicles, including the scooter, and left the scene near 29½ Road and North Avenue.
