Motel Dog Shooting Incident: Man Gets 25 Years For Robbery

GOLDEN, CO –A man who pleaded guilty to participating in a Wheat Ridge motel robbery last year in which a service dog was shot was sentenced April 25 in Jefferson County District Court.

Jemelle Charles Adams, 32, was sentenced to 25 years in prison for his role in an aggravated robbery at the American Motel in Wheat Ridge in November, 2017, the Jefferson County District Attorney's Office said.

On Nov. 10, 2017, around midnight, Wheat Ridge officers responded to reports of a disturbance and gunshots at the American Motel at 10101 W. 170 Frontage Road.

According to a police affidavit, Adams and co-defendant Jasmine Martinez knocked at the door to room 504, giving false names and asking to be admitted. The two women inside the room did not know them and refused to open the door. Adams, armed with a handgun, then broke through the door and demanded "pills and money," prosecutors said. Jasmine Martinez, also entered the room, waving a weapon.

Adams allegedly pistol-whipped the women in the room, then shot one of the women's service dog, 10-year-old "Nalla," who was trying to protect her owner, police said. The dog survived, but its leg was shattered and had to be amputated, police said. Adams and Martinez then took items from the room and left, prosecutors said.

Wheat Ridge police released a video of Martinez and Adams in the hotel hallway hall being followed by the dogs after the robbery. Nalla was limping in the video because she had been shot in the leg at close range, police said.

Adams pled guilty on February 20, 2019 to aggravated robbery. Codefendant Jasmine Nicole Martinez was sentenced on October 31, 2018 to ten years in prison for her role in the offense.

Related: Service Dog Shot In Wheat Ridge Hotel Robbery

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