DENVER (AP) — The prosecution of the Colorado gay nightclub shooter for allegedly kidnapping and threatening to kill their grandparents in 2021 was moving toward a plea deal as defense attorneys reported “great progress” in Anderson Aldrich’s therapy for PTSD, however the case quickly collapsed and was dismissed months later, based on court documents obtained by The Associated Press.
Charges against Aldrich — who had stockpiled explosives and allegedly spoke of plans to turn into the “next mass killer ” before engaging in an armed standoff with SWAT teams — were thrown out during a four-minute hearing in July wherein the prosecution didn’t even argue to maintain the case alive.
Judge Robin Chittum, who received a letter last yr from relatives warning that Aldrich was “certain” to commit murder if freed, granted defense attorneys’ motion to dismiss the case because a deadline was looming to bring it to trial. There was no discussion on the hearing about Aldrich’s mental health treatment, violent past or exploring options to compel Aldrich’s grandparents and mother to testify.
It’s unknown what happened with Aldrich’s therapy. The last mention in court hearings was in January.
On Nov. 19, police say the 22-year-old Aldrich attacked Club Q in Colorado Springs, killing five people and wounding 17 with an AR-15-style rifle before being disarmed and subdued by patrons.
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Details of the 2021 failed prosecution —- specified by 12 court hearing transcripts obtained by the AP — paint an image of potential missteps within the case against Aldrich and raise more questions about whether enough was done to stop the recent mass shooting.
Talk of a plea agreement evaporated by this summer as defense attorneys continually reminded the judge that a trial deadline approached. Prosecutors didn’t successfully serve a subpoena to testify on Aldrich’s 69-year-old grandmother, who was bedridden in Florida. And there is scant discussion within the transcripts of efforts by prosecutors to subpoena other potential witnesses — including Aldrich’s mother, grandfather and a fourth victim listed in court documents but not identified.
Alan Dershowitz, an attorney and Harvard law professor, said it’s extremely hard to predict violent crimes in the long run, but Aldrich’s case is a rare example of when the evidence was so overwhelming for past and potential future crimes that the suspect “clearly must have been confined.”
“This doesn’t appear to be a tough case,” said Dershowitz. “This looks as if a case of prosecutorial incompetence.”
Howard Black, public information officer for the district attorney’s office, said Thursday that he cannot share information concerning the kidnapping case since it’s part of the present investigation. District Attorney Michael Allen has previously said his office did every part it could to prosecute the case, including attempting to subpoena the defendant’s mother, but has repeatedly declined to elaborate.
Chittum’s judicial attendant Chad Dees said the judge declined comment.
The transcripts reviewed by AP don’t include any reference to subpoenas being pursued prior to April this yr — across the time plea deal negotiations fell through.
That left little time to get papers within the hands of the grandmother under speedy trial rules, raising questions on how well the district attorney’s office handled the case.
“The prosecutors proceeded toward a prosecution, after which seem frozen in amber at a critical stage,” said George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley. “Most prosecutors see the service of subpoenas as enhancing with negotiations. It conveys the severity of the case.”
Turley also wondered why there was little mention within the transcripts about attempts to serve subpoenas to the grandfather and mother.
“It’s not clear why the grandmother is the lynchpin to the case when there have been other possible witnesses,” he said.
Throughout the 2021 standoff, Aldrich, who’s nonbinary and uses they/them pronouns based on defense attorneys, allegedly told the frightened grandparents about firearms and bomb-making material of their basement. Aldrich vowed to not allow them to interfere with plans to “exit in a blaze.”
Aldrich livestreamed on Facebook a subsequent confrontation with SWAT teams at the home of mother Laura Voepel, where the defendant eventually surrendered, was arrested and had weapons seized. The FBI had received a tip on Aldrich a day before the threat but closed out the case just weeks later and no federal charges were filed.
By August 2021, when Aldrich bonded out of jail, the grandparents were describing the suspect as a “sweet young” person, based on Allen, the district attorney. At two subsequent hearings that fall, defense attorneys described how Aldrich was attending therapy sessions for trauma, PTSD and mental health and was on medications that made them lethargic, the transcripts show.
In an October 2021 courtroom exchange, Chittum told Aldrich to “hang in there with the meds.”
“It’s an adjustment period of course,” Aldrich replied, to which the judge replied, “Yeah it is going to settle, don’t be concerned. Good luck.”
The transcripts don’t reveal why Aldrich was being treated. Greater than six years ago, Aldrich modified their name as a youngster, after filing a legal petition in Texas searching for protection from a father with a criminal history including domestic violence against Aldrich’s mother. The request for a reputation change got here months after Aldrich — then Nicholas Brink — was apparently targeted by online bullying that ridiculed Brink over their weight and lack of cash.
Court transcripts show no further talk of a plea deal by this May. A prosecutor told the court that month that a subpoena server communicated directly with Aldrich grandmother Pam Pullen, who said she was sick and would get back to him. The assistant district attorney handling the case asked for the trial to be continued citing the “serious charges.”
Prosecutors didn’t explain in court hearings what that they had done to try to serve Aldrich’s mother, who lives in Colorado Springs and told a friend of Aldrich that she kept evading service, or Pullen’s husband, who was caring for her in Florida.
In June a distinct prosecutor told Judge Chittum that authorities still were attempting to serve Pullen. The subsequent month, with the speedy trial deadline fast approaching on July 27, one more prosecutor told the judge that the district attorney’s office had left Pullen voicemails but not spoken directly along with her.
On July 5, Chittum dismissed all charges for “failure to prosecute” during a four-minute hearing. The assistant district attorney attending the hearing had asked for the trial to be continued but didn’t raise any objections when Chittum as a substitute dismissed the case.
To Dershowitz, the case’s dismissal on the grounds that subpoenas couldn’t be served on key victims is a poor excuse.
“I’ve seen so many cases where the prosecution go to extraordinary lengths to take care of issues like this,” he said. “In the event that they desired to serve them, they may’ve done it … and so they could’ve found out a way of more effectively prosecuting (Aldrich).”
While Dershowitz added that it’s not possible to confidently say whether the Club Q shooting might have been avoided if successful prosecution was brought within the 2021 case, he added that “there’s sufficient likelihood here that this might have been prevented.”
Aldrich later tried to reclaim guns seized within the 2021 threat, but they weren’t returned, based on authorities. Soon after the costs were dropped, Aldrich boasted of getting regained firearms and showed former roommate Xavier Kraus two rifles, body armor and incendiary rounds, Kraus previously told AP.
Aldrich was charged last week with 305 criminal counts, including hate crimes and murder. Aldrich’s public defender has declined to speak concerning the case pursuant to Colorado judiciary rules.
Condon reported from from Latest York, Balsamo from Washington and Brown from Billings, Mont.
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