Man who killed Weld County Deputy in crash given the maximum sentence

Published on January 17, 2024

GREELEY, Colo. (Weld County D.A.) - On Friday afternoon, Norberto Garcia-Gonzales (37) was sentenced to 24 years in the Department of Corrections, the maximum allowed under state law. On September 18, 2022, a two vehicle crash occurred at WCR 37 and AA Street in unincorporated Weld County, Colorado. The Colorado State Patrol investigated the crash and determined that the Defendant failed to yield to the right of way to Weld County Sheriff’s Deputy Alexis Marie Hein-Nutz after stopping at a stop sign. Deputy Hein-Nutz, who was riding her motorcycle to work at the Weld County Jail, was killed in the crash.

The Defendant failed to render aid to Deputy Hein-Nutz and fled the scene of the accident on foot. The Defendant was arrested the following day hiding in an apartment in Fort Collins, Colorado. At the time of the crash, the Defendant’s driving privilege was revoked for two prior alcohol related offenses and had outstanding warrants for his arrest. The Defendant had been using a fake social security card and a fake permanent United States residency card under the name Octavio Gonzales.

According to the Colorado State Patrol, open and unopened containers of alcohol were found in the Defendant’s vehicle at the crash site. Because the Defendant fled the scene and evaded capture for over 24 hours, law enforcement was unable to further investigate the Defendant's impairment immediately after the crash.

In November 2023, the Defendant pled guilty to Leaving the Scene of an Accident Resulting in Death, a class 3 felony. The remaining four misdemeanor and traffic offenses were dismissed.

Chief Deputy District Attorney Michael Pirraglia and Deputy District Attorney Daniel Skelton prosecuted this case. During the sentencing, Pirraglia stated "Alexis Hein-Nutz was truly special. She made everyone and everything around her better. We truly cannot describe the impact the Defendant’s actions have caused. Anything less than the maximum sentence would unduly diminish the seriousness of the offense.”

016224-Man-given-maximum-sentence-in-death-of-Weld-County-Deputy.pdf(PDF, 171KB)