LESLIE HOFFMAN, Associated Press
ALBUQUERQUE (AP) -- Courtroom spectators had to pass through two metal detectors and wade through more than a dozen law enforcement officers for the sentencing of a gang member Friday after authorities learned of an alleged plot to kill the judge and prosecutors.
Chris Vargas, 31, who was convicted of molesting his former girlfriend’s 4- and 8-year-old daughters, swaggered into the courtroom in shackles and smiled as he surveyed the hordes of jail guards, sheriff’s deputies and media.
After telling state District Judge John Brennan he was wrongly convicted and hadn’t orchestrated any murder plot, Vargas got the maximum sentence from Brennan -- a 75-year prison term.
“These children need to know that you’re going to be in prison for the rest of your life,” Brennan told a smirking Vargas, who had laughed -- and even yawned -- during statements by the victims’ mother and grandmother.
A jury last month convicted Vargas of three counts of criminal sexual penetration and intimidation of a witness.
The trial ended with Vargas allegedly making threats in court against Brennan and prosecutors and bailiffs having to restrain him. In recent days, authorities said they uncovered a gang plot to kill the judge and prosecutors.
Because of the alleged threats, Brennan said police had stationed officers outside his home and were providing extra protection at the courthouse.
The alleged threats didn’t seem to phase prosecutors or Brennan Friday.
Prosecutors asked the judge to aggravate, or increase, the sentence beyond the typical statutory maximum because of Vargas’ lack of remorse, the age of the victims and the trust he violated with the children.
Brennan agreed and added an additional six years to each of the criminal sexual penetration counts.
Under state law, Vargas will not be eligible for parole until he serves more than 60 years of his sentence.
“Go ahead and give me whatever you want because I know I’m innocent, and I’ll be out someday,” Vargas said before Brennan issued his sentence.
Vargas was sentenced in 1992 to nine years for second-degree murder in another case. Corrections officials say he was paroled in September 1998 and then sent back to prison after violating parole. He was freed in May 2000 and then arrested in the molestation case.