Denver man sentenced to life plus 128 years for murder, shooting at police

DENVER – A Denver man will spend the rest of his life in prison for a November 2015 murder at a house party and for shooting at police officers six months later, and he still faces further felony charges in other cases.

Darius Ratcliff, 21, was earlier this month to life in prison without parole, plus 48 years, after he was convicted earlier this month of first-degree murder and two counts of attempted first-degree murder stemming from the 2015 party shooting.

The shooting happened at a home in the 100 block of S. Bannock Ave. after Ratcliff got in an altercation with a group of others who had been asked to leave. Ratcliff opened fire on them, killing one man and injuring three others.

And on Friday, he received an additional 32-year sentence for his June conviction of first-degree assault on a peace officer that stemmed from a police shooting that happened in July 2016.

In that incident, an officer tried to pull Ratcliff over because his vehicle matched the description of one that had been involved in a drive-by shooting earlier that day. Ratcliff fled officers, and after being found shortly afterward, exchanged gunfire with officers. Ratcliff was shot in the abdomen.

The combined sentences in the cases will run consecutively, which means he faces life without parole, plus 128 years, according to the Denver District Attorney’s Office.

Ratcliff also faces additional burglary, attempted murder, and escape charges from various incidents that happened between September 2015 and September 2016. Those cases are still pending, and Ratcliff will be arraigned on the additional charges Jan. 22.