A Colorado teenager has pleaded guilty to his role in a rock-throwing incident with friends that killed a 20-year-old woman in Denver last year.
Zachary Kwak, 19, was one of three teens who threw landscaping stones at several cars in April 2023, including one driven by Alexa Bartel. It crashed through the car’s windshield.
Kwak, of Arvada, pleaded guilty Friday to one count of first-degree assault, one count of second-degree assault and an additional count of attempted assault, Fox 31 reported.
Colorado teens arrested in rock-throwing attack; police take photo of murdered woman’s car as ‘memorabilia’
Colorado teenager Zachary Kwak (left) has admitted his role in the rock attack by his friends that led to the death of Alexa Bartel (right). (AAron Ontiveroz/MediaNews Group/The Denver Post, left, JCSO, right)
He was previously charged with murder but pleaded guilty as part of a plea deal and will be sentenced to 20 to 32 years in prison.He is scheduled to be sentenced on September 3rd.
Prosecutors said Kwak, along with suspects Joseph Koenig and Nikolas “Mitch” Karolczyk, threw rocks at six cars after 10 p.m. on April 19, injuring several drivers. It is said that the All were 18 years old at the time.
According to an arrest affidavit previously obtained by Fox News Digital, the two made plans to meet early on April 19 and drove together to Walmart, where they pulled landscaping stones from the edge of the store’s parking lot. He said he picked it up and loaded it into Koenig’s pickup truck. .
The three suspects spent the rest of the night throwing rocks at six cars, including Bartel’s, and are accused of killing a 20-year-old woman who was driving while on the phone with a friend just before 11 p.m. Investigators testified Wednesday that the suspects were driving about 130 mph at the time.
Bartel’s friend told police that he had been talking to Bartel on the phone when he “suddenly stopped talking.” According to the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office (JCSO), she was driving in the 10600 block of Indiana Street at the time.
Colorado teens arrested for stone attack on car, 20-year-old killed
Kwak, pictured on the left, admitted his role in the rock attack that killed a 20-year-old woman. Nicholas “Mitch” Karolczyk (center) and Joseph Koenig (right). (Jefferson County Sheriff)
After noticing that they had hit Bartel’s windshield, the three suspects turned to assess the damage and drove past the victim’s car, which veered into a field, at about 80 mph. Kwak is suspected of taking photos of his own car as a “souvenir.”
According to Karolczyk’s interviews with authorities, Koenig declared the group “blood brothers” after learning of Bartel’s death.
Karolczyk told investigators that he became “agitated” when Kwak hit his car with a rock. Meanwhile, Kwak told investigators that Karolczyk would use “Marine” terms such as “contact left” before hitting the vehicle on the left with a rock.
Bartel’s friend tracked her location using a cell phone tracking app and eventually found her car parked in a field off Indiana Street in Jefferson County and called police.
Investigators used cell phone data to identify the suspects, linking them to common phone numbers that rang at various crime scenes.
A Jefferson County sheriff’s deputy also testified that, based on interviews with the suspects, Kwak and Koenig were the only suspects accused of throwing the rock that killed Bartel.
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Investigators photographed a large hole directly in front of Bartel’s windshield, directly in front of his driver’s seat. (Jefferson County Sheriff)
After investigators interviewed Kwak, he allegedly claimed that he was not the one who threw the rock that killed Bartel. When a detective testifying Wednesday told Kwak, “I can hear you,” Kwak replied, “You don’t have to listen. Believe me, I didn’t throw a rock.”
Bartel’s family was in court Friday to hear Kwak’s guilty plea. They were seen wiping tears from their faces during the 15-minute trial, FOX 31 reported. They declined to comment as they left the courthouse.
Mr. Kwak was dressed in a prison uniform and handcuffed. He answered the judge’s questions and said he understood his plea and its implications.
Investigators previously said the trio had been throwing rocks at moving vehicles for about two months before the fatal crash.
Mr. Koenig and Mr. Karolczyk’s lawsuit is still ongoing. All three were initially charged with first-degree murder in a highly indifferent manner.
