Colorado suspect, 16, to be charged as adult
Pair’s hearing comes hours before victim’s funeral
CASTLE ROCK, Colo. – A 16-year-old suspect in last week’s deadly shooting rampage at a suburban Denver high school will be tried as an adult on firstdegree murder charges, prosecutors said Wednesday.
Alec McKinney, 16, and Devon Erickson, 18, have been jailed since the assault May 7 at the STEM School Highlands Ranch that left one student dead and eight wounded. District Attorney George Brauchler had not revealed until Wednesday whether McKinney would be charged as an adult or a juvenile.
Both suspects had court hearings Wednesday, and documents briefly made available revealed that both face a long list of charges, including murder and attempted murder. Judge Theresa Slade ordered the documents sealed after defense attorneys asked that the charges be kept secret for at least two
more weeks while they investigate the case. They argued that releasing the charges could sway witness testimony.
“There are times when it is appropriate to suppress information,” Slade said.
In the two hearings, each defendant sat quietly, wrists and ankles shackled. Erickson, his black hair dyed with purple-pink streaks, didn’t speak or interact with anyone. McKinney spoke only once, in a clear, high voice, to acknowledge a question from the judge. McKinney’s attorneys plan to ask Slade to return his case to juvenile court.
Investigators declined to discuss how the students obtained weapons.
Wednesday’s hearing took place hours before services were to be held for the lone fatality, Kendrick Castillo, a senior at STEM School Highlands Ranch. Castillo’s parents attended the morning court session. Reporters were kept away from family members.
“I can’t imagine going through a more difficult situation than they are going through,” Brauchler said.
The shootings rocked the community. Parents said the charter school, which is technology focused, works hard to create an environment of personal accountability and problem-solving. Students must request admission to attend the school.
Bullying isn’t tolerated, said parent Candace Craig, who has three kids at the school. She said she believes it’s important to understand why the attack occurred.
“I want to call them names and reduce them to their actions, but when it’s this close to home, there’s a piece of me that can’t reduce them to what they did,” she said. “We need to hear from them.”
Friends have remembered Castillo as funny, smart and modest and expressed no surprise that he protected his classmates. Castillo, a member of the school’s robotics club who loved to tinker with his own projects, would have graduated this month.