DOUGLAS COUNTY, Colo. — Prosecutors will not seek the death penalty against the older suspect in the deadly shooting at STEM School Highlands Ranch, 9Wants to Know has learned.
On Jan. 2, Devon Erickson, now 19, pleaded not guilty, and his trial was scheduled for May 26. Following that hearing, District Attorney George Brauchler had 63 days to make a decision about the death penalty which made the deadline March 5.
Erickson is accused in the May 7, 2019 shooting that resulted in the death of 18-year-old Kendrick Castillo. Castillo is lauded as a hero for joining other classmates to rush one of the two gunmen.
Eight others were also shot. Two of them were injured by a private security guard who helped detain one of the teen suspects.
Last month Alec McKinney, who was 16 at the time of the shooting but was charged as an adult, pleaded guilty to 17 charges, 14 of them felonies, during an arraignment hearing.
> The video above aired in February, when the younger suspect pleaded guilty.
RELATED: 'Nobody is a winner out of this': Younger STEM School shooting suspect pleads guilty to 17 counts
He will be sentenced in May, and due to his age, he will automatically be sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 40 years related to the first-degree murder charges.
Under Colorado law, defendants who commit crimes as juveniles cannot be sentenced to life without the possibility of parole.
Both suspects were initially charged with 46 separate counts, including two counts of first-degree murder, one count of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder and 31 counts of attempted first-degree murder. Those charges are still pending against Erickson.
In court documents filed Thursday, Brauchler outlined his decision not to seek the penalty.
He concluded that several aggravating circumstances were met that would allow him to seek the death penalty in the case. Kendrick Castillo's parents also had a "genuine desire" that capital punishment be sought in the case, the document says.
However, Brauchler said in the document he considered the defendant's age and lack of prior offenses when coming to his conclusion. He also said it was "noteworthy" that the Colorado Legislature gave final approval to Senate Bill 100, which repeals the death penalty in Colorado.
That bill is now headed to Gov. Jared Polis, who is expected to sign the bill into law.
The new law would apply to offenses charged on or after July 1, 2020, meaning it would not apply to the three men currently on death row in Colorado.
It also meant that Brauchler could have chosen to seek the death penalty against Erickson.
Colorado's last execution was carried out in 1997. Three men are currently on Colorado’s death row:
- Nathan Dunlap: Convicted of killing four employees at a Chuck E. Cheese restaurant in Aurora in 1993. He was granted a “temporary reprieve” by Gov. John Hickenlooper – a status that Polis has shown no intention of changing.
- Robert Ray: Arranged the murder of two witnesses to another killing he committed. One of those victims, Javad Marshall-Fields, is the son of current state Sen. Rhonda Fields (D-Arapahoe County).
- Sir Mario Owens: Convicted of the 2005 killing Marshall-Fields and his fiancée, Vivian Wolfe.
Their sentences could be commuted by Polis, but it's not known if he would do that.
In Adams County, prosecutors are currently seeking the death penalty for Dreion Dearing, the accused killer of Adams County Deputy Heath Gumm. He was shot and killed on Jan. 24, 2018 after responding to an assault call.
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