The man who pleaded guilty to second-degree murder for the April 2024 shooting death of 55-year-old Jason Bales was sentenced to 30 years in prison Wednesday in the 4th Judicial District.

Michael Darby, 31, was arrested April 23, 2024, for his part in the shooting and killing of Bales the week prior. According to past coverage, Colorado Springs police officers found Bales, who had multiple gunshot wounds to his torso and his arm, while responding to reports of shots fired in the 4200 block of Sinton Road in Colorado Springs on April 18, 2024.

Court records show Darby entered into a plea agreement with the prosecution in March that had him plead guilty to one count of second-degree murder, with the remaining charges to be dismissed. The 30-year sentence is to be served in the Department of Corrections.

The story behind the fatal shooting went back several months before the night shots were fired, according to past Gazette coverage.

While responding on April 18, 2024, police said they also saw that a green Dodge Magnum crashed into a concrete jersey barrier along the roadway. According to arrest records, investigators soon discovered the victim’s vehicle to have been registered to Kathleen Murphy of Colorado Springs.

Murphy and Bales were found to both be involved in two open CSPD domestic violence cases in the months leading up to Bales’ death.

Murphy told detectives that she, Darby and her friend Sarah Marsaw were driving in her GMC Acadia to return “some property” of Bales on April 18 when she observed the Green Dodge Magnum parked on the west shoulder of Sinton Road, arresting documents state.

Murphy then told detectives she reversed into the parking lot of the nearby Colorado Parks and Wildlife building, where Darby and Marsaw began to argue. She told detectives the argument erupted between the two because Darby was upset that she (Murphy) was still involved with Bales despite his past treatment of her, officials said. Darby then walked over to confront Bales, which led to shots being fired.

Darby’s arrest affidavit states that when Murphy asked Darby what had happened, he claimed Bales had “grabbed” him and Darby had shot him once in the stomach as an act of self-defense.

When asked about any history between the three, Murphy described a disturbance between Bales and Darby that had occurred days before the shooting at Murphy’s residence along North El Paso Street.

Murphy told detectives Darby and Bales had engaged in a verbal altercation in which Darby called Bales an expletive.

Additionally, video surveillance provided by Murphy’s neighbor presented a second altercation between the two in which Darby pointed a gun at Bales and threatened to kill him, records state.

Darby initially faced first-degree murder charges for the shooting, which would have come with a life sentence.