Teenage family member who killed Fort Worth boxing coach sentenced to 25 years in prison
The teenager who shot and killed a Fort Worth boxing coach in his home earlier this year has been sentenced to 25 years in prison for murder.
The 16-year-old, who was a relative of the victim, was at Joe Guzman’s home on Jan. 16 when he shot and killed the 60-year-old after an argument turned physical. The teen admitted to the shooting and asked the juvenile court judge to determine his sentence, the Tarrant County Criminal District Attorney’s Office said in a news release Wednesday.
Just before his 19th birthday, the teen will return to juvenile court and the judge will determine whether he will go to adult prison for the remainder of his sentence or be released on probation.
Guzman was a longtime boxing coach who worked with the Police Athletic League and the Texas Golden Gloves, a nonprofit organization that works with youths, in Fort Worth.
Andy Rabago, Guzman’s assistant coach at Texas Golden Gloves, told the Star-Telegram that Guzman had been boxing since he was kid and that the only thing he put before his work with Texas Golden Gloves was his family.
“If his job came between him and his work with these kids, he would change something with his job so he could still be here, coaching,” Rabago said. “He loved his family and his two grandsons who he raised.”
Rabago said that when the Dallas Cowboys’ AT&T Stadium first opened, Guzman was invited to parties and to go out drinking with friends. Instead, he took Rabago’s son and two other fighters to see the first game in the stadium.
And you’d always know if Guzman was at a party or event, friends at the gym said. It seemed to happen without fail that the moment you walked in the door, you’d hear Guzman’s “Tarzan scream” calling out to you. He was always excited to see his friends, and always knew the right things to say to make the people around him laugh.
Rabago said Guzman’s death left a void in the Texas Golden Gloves community. His work led fighters he trained to set records in competitions and, for many of them, to eventually become coaches at the gym when they grew up.
Kendrick Releford, a boxing coach and former student of Guzman’s, wrote on Facebook that Guzman’s death “truly leaves a great dent in our boxing and Fort Worth Golden Glove community.”
Joseph Maldonado wrote in a Facebook post in January that Guzman trained him to be an assistant coach after coaching his son from a young age.
“In the 20 plus years that Coach Joe coached, he did it as a volunteer,” Maldonado wrote. “It was his passion. It was a blessing to know Coach Joe and I am grateful that he was a part of my son’s life. He was a big part in shaping my son’s character, with confidence, discipline, resilience and respect.”
Guzman made the same impact on the lives of many young people, teaching them through boxing “to fight for what you want in life, preparing them mentally and physically for any obstacles that they are faced with,” his nephew Junior Chavez wrote in a statement to KXAS-TV.
Joe Basan, vice president of the Texas Golden Gloves Youth Center, told WFAA-TV that Guzman coached there for more than 25 years.
“It’s tragic,” Basan said. “I can’t believe that it happened to him. We’re used to seeing him every day ... Golden Gloves without him isn’t gonna be the same.”