Irreza draws 20-year sentence for attempted murder of AdCo deputy

Staff reports

Cesar Irreza, who pled guilty in April to attempted first-degree murder with extreme indifference charges in connection with an incident involving an Adams County sheriff's deputy. will spend 20 years in prison.

The announcement came from 17th Judicial District Attorney Brian Mason's office. Irreza, 30, also entered a guilty plea to vehicular eluding.

The incident happened near East 148th Avenue and Lanewood Street, east of Brighton, in early April 2020. A press statement from spokesman Chris Hopper said deputies were investigating a possible home-invasion situation. Irreza, who was driving a white Cadillac, left the area and led deputies on a high-speed chase. The statement said speeds were more than  100 mph.

"When Irreza reached the intersection of Tower Road and East 120^th Avenue, in Commerce City, he drove into a Jeep Renegade," Hopper's statement said. "Irreza continued forward and struck an Adams County sheriff’s deputy who was standing in the shoulder with stop sticks. The injured deputy said to his colleagues on scene, 'I’ve never been so close to being killed.'"

Deputies eventually stopped Irreza and took him into custody. The defendant was not a suspect in the original home invasion call, Hopper said, but Irreza did have an active warrant for his arrest stemming from his felony parole.

“The brazen and dangerous conduct of this defendant nearly cost an Adams County sheriff’s deputy his life,” Mason said in the statement. "I am pleased that justice was served in this case and that the defendant will not present a danger to the community for the foreseeable future.”

 The two sentences will run concurrently.