Man sentenced to life in prison for shooting, killing woman in 2022

Published on April 09, 2025

GREELEY, Colo. (Weld County D.A.) – A Greeley man was sentenced to the rest of his natural life in prison Wednesday after a jury convicted him of shooting and murdering a woman in November of 2022.

On Wednesday, a jury found 24-year-old Amos Alaniz guilty of first-degree murder for killing 21-year-old Herminia Marquez in 2022.

“She was a bright beautiful soul,” the victim’s mom said during the sentencing hearing. “She was a loving daughter, a sister and a friend. Her heart was big and her love for others was evident in everything she did. The loss of her is a wound that will never heal.”

On November 28, 2022, Greeley officers responded to a shooting in the 1100 block of 24th Street Lane.

Upon arrival, they found Marquez, who appeared to have been shot. She was later pronounced dead.

The defendant shot and killed Marquez after she and the defendant’s sister wouldn’t return a vehicle, that was stolen at the time, to the defendant. 

“This was nothing other than a senseless killing,” Chief Deputy District Attorney Anthony Perea said. “And still to this day it makes no sense in reality. You can hear the pain and suffering that this family has, and I don’t know if any sentence the court imposes will ever take their pain away.”

In July of last year, a jury also convicted 28-year-old Mary Alicia Garcia of first-degree murder for her role in Marquez’s death.

Garcia was driving the getaway vehicle when Alaniz shot and killed Marquez. Garcia is currently serving a life sentence in the Colorado Department of Corrections.

On Wednesday, Weld County District Court Judge Anita Crowther imposed the maximum sentence to Alaniz, which is life in DOC, without the possibility of parole.

Chief Deputy District Attorney Anthony Perea and Deputy District Attorney Katherine Fitzgerald prosecuted this case.