Defense attorneys say an inmate played former Denver sheriff's Deputy Matthew Andrews "like a puppet" before he helped the felon walk out of the Downtown Denver Detention Center.

Andrews, 37, was sentenced on Friday to six years in the Department of Corrections — the maximum sentence allowed under the plea agreement he accepted in November. He pleaded guilty to one count of attempting to influence a public servant, a Class 4 felony.

The original charge of aiding the escape of an inmate was dropped.

Felix Trujillo
Felix Trujillo (handout)

Andrews could have received a sentence of probation, but Denver District Court Judge William Robbins said Andrews' actions placed the public at risk and dishonored the entire sheriff's department.

"Every day there is a parade of people who come through here and stand where you are standing," Robbins said. "Better was expected of you."

Andrews, who did not make a statement, nodded his head as the judge handed down the sentence. His voice cracked as he quietly interjected, "I know" and "You're right."

On April 7, Andrews helped former inmate Felix Trujillo — who was awaiting sentencing for his role in a 2012 home invasion — escape from the facility. Denver police said Trujillo was wearing a deputy's jacket and baseball cap when he and Andrews walked out of the jail together. Andrews told his co-workers he drove Trujillo to Thornton, where he fled in a waiting vehicle.

Trujillo surrendered three days later.

On Friday, Andrews' attorney, Dan Recht, said a few days before Andrews helped Trujillo escape, he started receiving text messages from someone he believed to be Trujillo's brother. The messages suggested Trujillo was involved in a cartel and was "worth a lot of money."

The messages, however, were being sent from Trujillo himself, on a phone that had been smuggled into the jail, Recht said.

"I started to worry about who exactly I was dealing with and what would happen to me and my family if I didn't cooperate," Recht read from a statement Andrews wrote.

But prosecutors said Andrews' actions were driven by money Trujillo promised to pay him.

Trujillo was sentenced in August to 10 years for the escape charge and 24 years for his role in the home invasion.

Recht said Andrews, who was out on bond before Friday, began therapy and learned that certain "character flaws" made him more susceptible to threats or fear.

But Robbins, who took long, contemplative pauses while sentencing Andrews, said that was the job he signed up for and the duty his colleagues carry out every day.

"They didn't roll over. They didn't become part of the problem," Robbins said. "If I were to put you on probation, that kind of makes all the other people who stood up to threats look like fools."

Robbins said the sentence was difficult to hand down, as countless letters described Andrews as a good man and a loving father to four children. Still, he said it would be unfair to give Trujillo the maximum allowable sentence and not do the same for Andrews.

Jordan Steffen: 303-954-1794, or