One of three Colorado teenagers charged in the rock-throwing incident that killed a 20-year-old woman when a rock penetrated her car’s windshield pleaded guilty Friday.
Zachary Kwak, 19, pleaded guilty to one count of first-degree assault, one count of second-degree assault and an additional count of attempted assault for his role in last year’s deadly incident. KDVR reported.
His term of office will be for a minimum of 20 years and a maximum of 32 years. His previous charges, including murder, were dropped as part of a plea deal.
Kwak and friends Nikolas “Mitch” Karolczyk and Joseph Koenig were 18-year-old high school juniors when they went on a multi-day rampage in April 2023, throwing rocks and other objects at cars in suburban Denver. I was a student.
According to authorities, on the night of April 19, Arvada resident Alexa Bartel was returning from work around 10:45 p.m. when a large landscaping rock she picked up from a nearby Walmart crashed through her windshield. , which reportedly hit her directly.
Officials said Bartel was on the phone with a friend when the line suddenly went silent. Her body was later discovered in the wreckage of a car parked in a field.
Police said the three returned to the work site later that night and took sadistic photos of Bartel’s destroyed car.
All three were arrested and charged with murder and numerous other charges for allegedly killing Bartel and attacking five other vehicles, which were damaged. The other driver suffered only minor injuries.
Karolczyk told police that he and Kwak started throwing rocks and statues at motorists in February, the paper said.
He also claimed that on April 19, while Koenig was driving, Kwak threw a rock that hit Bartel’s windshield, but Kwak denied that Koenig was the one who threw the fatal rock. insisted.
Koenig’s father, Mark Edwin Koenig, was later arrested on suspicion of trying to prevent police from questioning his son about the incident.
According to KDVR, Kwak is scheduled to be sentenced on September 3, after Karolczyk and Koenig’s trial concludes.
Karolczyk is scheduled for a jury trial on June 7, and Koenig is scheduled to appear for a jury trial on July 19.
