CASTLE ROCK, Colo. — Video of an interview that took place with a suspect immediately after the deadly 2019 shooting at STEM School Highlands Ranch was shown during the third day of his trial Tuesday morning.
Devon Erickson is charged with 46 counts in connection with the May 7, 2019, shooting at the school that killed senior Kendrick Castillo and injured several other students.
Det. Joseph Pollack with the Douglas County Sheriff's Office (DCSO) took the stand Tuesday and testified that he recorded portions of a conversation he had with Erickson on his cell phone. That conversation happened while Erickson was handcuffed in classroom 107, where the deadly shooting took place.
> Video above from Friday: 'I had to take his fingers and pry them off the firearm': Student describes subduing suspect during STEM School shooting.
During the interview, Erickson responded to Pollack's questions, saying that there were two shooters including himself. He also described the make and model of guns used in the shooting and other details, including the car they used.
In the video, Erickson also discussed that he felt threatened and coerced into participating in the shooting, particularly when he said Alec McKinney, who has already pleaded guilty in the case, sent him a Snapchat message that he would shoot up the school office if Erickson did not return from the nurse's office to room 107 where the shooting took place.
Erickson is seen in the video breaking down into tears multiple times as he answers Pollack's questions. However, Pollack testified Erickson did not once ask about the status of the potential shooting victims during the recorded or unrecorded parts of the interview.
In the video, Erickson also said that McKinney tried to set his house on fire by dousing a car in the garage in gasoline, and that he was concerned about animals that may be in the house.
Tyler Strimbu, a senior in the classroom when the shooting took place, testified that Erickson stood up in the classroom and aggressively yelled "nobody f****** move" with a gun in his hand.
Strumbu admitted he thought it was a senior prank until Erickson fired shots from the gun, at which point three people he later identified as Kendrick Castillo and two others charged Erickson.
According to his testimony, Strimbu then hid in a corner with bookshelves and witnessed a classmate struggle with a person later identified as McKinney and yell for everyone to run.
Strumbu said he took the opportunity to leave, stepping over Kendrick Castillo's body on his way out of the classroom before running toward the high school office on the other side of campus and warning anyone he saw about the shooting.
Erickson pleaded not guilty in January 2020. His trial was originally scheduled for last year but it was delayed twice due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He faces 46 counts including:
- Two counts of first-degree murder
- One count of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder
- 31 counts of attempted first-degree murder
His trial is expected to last a month.
The other suspect pleaded guilty last year and wasn't sentenced to life with the chance for parole because he was a juvenile at the time of the crime.
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