A Denver jury said Leo Cisneros was not guilty of reckless child abuse resulting in the death of his 10-year-old daughter, Auralia.

He was convicted of a lesser charge of possession of marijuana with intent to distribute.

Cisneros’ family was elated that he was acquitted of the child-abuse charge, which could have resulted in more than 50 years in prison.

“If he was the worst father, don’t you think they would have found him guilty?” said Cisneros’ cousin, Jonathan Davis, after the verdicts came in.

Davis, who sat through the two-week trial, said Cisneros still faces between eight and 24 years in prison for the marijuana conviction and a charge of having a gun while possessing drugs. He will be sentenced Nov. 5.

Jurors began deliberating Friday and resumed this morning. They returned the verdict at about noon today and quickly left the courthouse without comment.

Auralia was shot in the face on Nov. 26, 2007, during a shootout between her father and three men who tried to break into the front door of their west Denver apartment.

The robbers — Trivi Trujillo, Joshua Rojas and Juvencio Hernandez — all have pleaded guilty in the case and are serving or are expected to serve between 16 and 24 years in prison.

Davis says he believes Trujillo shot Auralia through a window of the family’s apartment and doesn’t think anybody has properly paid for her death. He said his cousin was merely a “petty weed dealer” who was ambushed in a robbery he did not expect.

“These guys could do 10 years and be right back out on the street,” he said. “That’s not justice.”

The jury did not have to determine whose bullet killed the girl. Jurors also did not have to decide whether Cisneros was allowed to shoot at the robbers because under Colorado’s “make my day” law, he had a right to defend his home.

Prosecutors argued that the fatal shot came from Cisneros’ gun, a point contested by the defense, who criticized Denver police for not investigating the path of the robbers’ bullets.

Deputy District Attorney George Poland also told the jury that Auralia was holding a baggie of pot in her pocket at the time of her death.

But Auralia’s mother, along with a neighbor and one of the first Denver officers at the scene, testified they saw Auralia’s hands across her chest at the time of her death.

“This whole time, they were trying to say that there was marijuana in her hand and it was his bullet that killed her,” Davis said. “The jury saw the truth.”

Defense lawyer Laura Menninger said the case was unique because she didn’t know of another incident where the victim of a robbery became the focus of prosecution.

“The jurors paid very careful attention and did their job,” she said. “There was a lot of pretrial publicity to overcome and things that turned out not to be true.”

Felisa Cardona: 303-954-1219 or fcardona@denverpost.com