The two men charged after a truck drove into a crowd outside Golden’s Rock Rest Lodge last October have pleaded guilty to separate charges in the case.

The alleged driver, 30-year-old Ruben Marquez, has pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, three counts of vehicular assault and one count of attempted second-degree assault.

Adrian Ponce, 26, was killed in the Oct. 9 incident. Three Rock Rest employees were seriously injured, and other people at the scene sustained minor injuries.

During Marquez’s Aug. 17 arraignment, Judge Lindsay VanGilder said the plea agreement outlined a 30-year prison sentence, although how much time Marquez serves for each count is subject to her ruling.

Marquez, who is in custody at the county jail, is scheduled to be sentenced at 1:30 p.m. Sept. 15 at the Jefferson County Courthouse.

Meanwhile, 26-year-old Ernesto Avila — Marquez’s cousin who owns the truck — was originally charged with felony accessory. On Aug. 15, he pleaded guilty to three misdemeanor counts, including driving under the influence.

Avila, who’s out on bond, was driving the truck when a Jeffco Sheriff’s deputy stopped it shortly after the incident. However, based on eyewitness statements, investigators believe he was a passenger when Marquez reportedly drove the truck into the crowd.

VanGilder ordered an alcohol evaluation ahead of Avila’s sentencing, which is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. Oct. 13. The DUI charge carries a sentence of up to one year in the county jail, VanGilder explained, while the other misdemeanors are up 120 days in jail. Avila's exact sentence will be subject to VanGilder's ruling.

The Oct. 9 incident

As VanGilder has summarized, the general facts of the case are that three cousins — Marquez, Avila and Jose Loera — went to The Rock Rest Lodge on Oct. 8.

At bar close on Oct. 9, Marquez’s group got into a verbal argument with Ponce’s group outside. The verbal confrontation escalated to a physical one, with one witness reporting that Ponce punched Marquez.

Avila’s truck was parked outside the Rock Rest, on roughly the southeast side of the building. Avila reportedly got into the truck, but it wouldn’t start. He left the keys inside, based on what he told investigators, and exited the vehicle.

As bar employees were outside trying to break up the fight, Avila got back in the truck with Marquez. However, the prosecution posited that Marquez was behind the wheel this time and intentionally drove into the crowd.

When describing the driver, witnesses gave a mix of descriptors, including bald, short, heavier-set Hispanic male wearing a white T-shirt with neck and face tattoos. These match Marquez’s appearance on Oct. 9.

Marquez’s defense attorneys previously stressed the number of conflicting eyewitness accounts, saying some gave a description of the driver that better matched Avila than Marquez.

However, the bar manager, who was within a few feet of the truck when it hit the crowd, picked Marquez out of a photo lineup and was 100% certain Marquez drove the truck into the crowd.

Marquez was initially charged with 17 counts, including first-degree murder, vehicular homicide and multiple assault charges. He was initially held at the Jeffco jail without bond. However, after the Colorado Supreme Court ruled defendants can’t be held without bond even in Class 1 felony cases, Judge Lindsay VanGilder set his bond at $500,000 cash in June.

At Marquez’s bond hearing in June, Ponce’s family members told VanGilder how they’re completely heartbroken by Ponce’s death. His two children are now growing up without a father, and Ponce’s mother described how she now has to visit her son in the cemetery.

“He has destroyed my whole world,” Ponce’s mother said of Marquez. “… My heart is broken. My life is shattered.”