The teens suspected of opening fire inside STEM School Highlands Ranch each face 48 criminal charges, including first-degree murder, and the younger suspect’s case will proceed in adult court for now.
The two appeared Wednesday in Douglas County District Court before Judge Theresa Slade, who denied bond for both. They are being held in connection with a May 7 shooting at the school where 18-year-old senior Kendrick Castillo was killed and eight other students were injured. Both suspects were students at the school.
Documents from the cases are hidden from public view because Douglas County District Court Judge Theresa Slade suppressed both cases. George Brauchler, the 18th Judicial District Attorney, requested that the cases be opened to the public except for the probable cause statement and affidavit, which contain details about the shooting and the defendants. He said he would request that those documents be released in two weeks once investigators finish their work.
Brauchler said in court that he would charge the 16-year-old, Alec McKinney, as an adult. The teen’s defense attorneys immediately challenged that and asked the judge to consider whether it should be sent back to juvenile court. The judge will make her decision after a later hearing.
The other suspect, Devon Erickson, automatically faces adult charges because he is 18 years old. The two suspects face different legal paths and potential sentences because of their 2-year age difference.
Their charges are one count of first-degree murder, 33 counts of attempted first-degree murder – extreme indifference; two counts of second-degree arson; one count of a juvenile in possession of a handgun; two counts of third-degree burglary; two counts of theft between $2,000-$5,000; one count of weapon possession on school grounds; two counts of criminal mischief; one count of interference with school – impede staff; one count of reckless endangerment; one count of violent crime – causing death; and one count of violent crime – used weapon.
During his hearing, Erickson sat up in his chair and listened to the proceedings. In his prior court appearance, the teen had slumped in his chair with his head hanging so that his hair blocked his face from everyone in the room.
Defense attorneys have been allowed to walk through STEM School except for the handful of classrooms where the shooting occurred, Brauchler said. His office and investigators are working to allow students and staff to retrieve their belongings such as laptops and cell phones that were left behind in the chaos.
The hearing was previously scheduled to happen last week but was moved at the request of prosecutors and defense attorneys. Erickson is scheduled to appear in court on June 7. McKinney is scheduled to appear on June 14.
Officials have not released information about the suspects’ motives, how they acquired the handguns they allegedly used or whether officials were warned about a threat before the shooting.
The parents of Kendrick Castillo, who died in the school after tackling one of the shooters, sat in the front row during the hearings Wednesday. They dressed in formal clothes — a celebration of life for their only son was scheduled less than two hours after the hearings for his suspected killers concluded.
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