A judge has sentenced an Aurora man to 25 years in prison for shooting another man outside of a Castle Rock grocery store in 2019, the 18th Judicial District Attorney’s Office announced Tuesday.

Hugo Vazquez-Topete, 29, pleaded guilty to one count of first-degree assault in connection with the shooting. Prosecutors agreed to drop other charges against Vazquez-Topete as part of a plea deal, the attorney’s office said.

“The time for second chances has passed, and a prison sentence is the appropriate consequence for his actions,” said Senior Deputy District Attorney Jake Adkins. “In addition to almost killing the victim, he also endangered numerous people and showed a complete disregard for the value of human life.”

The shooting happened on Aug. 6, 2019, in the parking lot of a King Soopers grocery store on Ridge Road. Vazquez-Topete was at the store’s gas station with two associates when they encountered the victim getting gas with several friends.

The two groups got into an argument and the victim and his friends got in their car and drove away. While the victim was at the stoplight, Vazquez-Topete and one of his co-defendants fired a gun at their car, the attorney’s office said.

The victim was shot in the chest. He suffered life-threatening injuries but survived, the attorney’s office said.

“For a perceived minor slight, he didn’t hesitate to pull out a gun and fire at a group of people he didn’t even know,” Adkins said, adding that Vazquez-Topete had a previous criminal history.

Vazquez-Topete and his associates fled the scene but were later identified and arrested using witness testimony and surveillance footage.

The other shooter, 27-year-old Benito Bautista, fired at the car but did not hit anyone. He pleaded guilty to one count of attempted first-degree assault on Nov. 3, 2020, and was sentenced to 14 years in prison, the attorney’s office said.