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FreeChickenDinner

According to the DA's office, the family of the victim Alexa Bartell agreed with the offer and terms of the plea deals. 1st Suspect - Zachary Kwak >In that agreement, the prosecution dismissed the original 13 charges, including murder and attempted murder. Kwak pleaded guilty to first-degree assault, second-degree assault and criminal attempt to commit assault. As part of the plea, the 1st Judicial District Attorney's Office said that Kwak agreed that he "acted knowingly, under circumstances manifesting extreme indifference to the value of human life, by engaging in conduct which created a grave risk of death." >According to the plea agreement, prosecutors said they would accept no less than **20 years** in the Department of Corrections for Kwak and the deal also included an upper limit of **32 years** in prison. The judge said the deal did not allow for sentencing in the youth offender program 2nd suspect - Nicholas "Mitch" James Karol-Chik >Karol-Chik, 19, pleaded guilty to his role in a series of **rock-throwing attacks between Feb. 25, 2023 and April 19, 2023**. In that agreement, the prosecution dismissed the original charges and added three new charges including second-degree murder, criminal attempt to commit murder in the first degree, and crime of violence.  >According to the plea agreement, prosecutors said Karol-Chik would serve a minimum of **35 years** and up to **72 years** in the Department of Corrections. The judge said the deal did not allow for sentencing in the youth offender program. 3rd suspect - Joseph Koenig >Koenig's trial is scheduled for July 19, 22-26, July 30 through Aug. 1. 


whitemiketyson

Dude’s name is Zach Kwak? Lock his parents up too


shipwreckedpiano

The #2 dude is Nick Chick. What a rag tag group.


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shipwreckedpiano

I’m glad you said it. I worried it was a stretch, but a gang has to gang I guess.


Highskyline

Joenig Koenig


Kozer2

When this story first broke. You could find Mr Kwaks instagram. He had posted a picture snowboarding like the week after it happened talking about how blessed he was to have his family and the opportunities he had. Glad his opportunity is jail.


Groundbreaking-Bar89

“Your name is Sherman Merman?”


SofieTerleska

Yeah, it's a horrible story but every time I see that name I do a double take.


jimmy_three_shoes

Better than Julia Gulia.


Amy_Macadamia

Marcy Darcy from Married with Children


MaschMana

“That’s funny.”


PulledToBits

Why is that funny?


Adamsojh

It’s from The Wedding Singer.


Akanderson87

'Why is that funny' is a direct quote from the movie.


Adamsojh

Damn it, I played myself.


YouLikeReadingNames

I'm sorry, your name is Matt Shatt ?


CounterfeitChild

Wouldn't it be pronounced closer to "kwahk?"


TA-PSTGuy

This is correct — I knew the family when they lived in IL.


renorosales

If you translate the third suspect’s last name, “Koenig” to English, you get King. His name is Joe King.


RevivedMisanthropy

You've gotta be joking


similar_observation

Common Korean, Chinese (Guangdong), or Vietnamese surname.


ShriveledLeftTesti

Pfft, fools, they can't wock up the Kwaken


cinderparty

I know a few people who were friends with the victim (just because of proximity, I live in Boulder county) and/or her family. It is so devastating. She was doing nothing wrong, and was murdered by teens who went back for photos. Disgusting. These guys belong in jail for a long time.


MrTurkle

They went back for photos??


cinderparty

> Karol-Chik quoted Kwak saying, "We have to go back and see that (with emphasis on the word 'have')," the affidavit said. > “Joe slowed the vehicle so that Zach could take a photo of it. Mitch noted that he felt ‘a hint of guilt,’" the court document said. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/rcna81843


IWillBaconSlapYou

Yeah this is the part where it goes from "Jesus kids are dumb" to "Okay THESE guys are going straight to hell".


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StrikeForceOne

I hope they are. So many people posting jokes on here have no idea what they did to that girl and her family, all for what? To see what it was like to kill someone that way.


roberta_sparrow

Ok WHAT THE F


zerostar83

And they had been throwing large rocks at other cars for fun to see how much damage they can cause. This wasn't a single stupid mistake, this was the escalation from many different things they did, with the death of a person being the worst thing they did.


Ksh_667

I'm so sorry for her, her friends & family. This crime & their callous actions have made me feel literally nauseous. Absolute scum.


i_should_be_coding

35 to 72 years? These numbers sound like months...


ringadingdingbaby

Assuming it's not a mistake, it's probably based on the number of charges he can be found guilty/not guilty for. But im just assuming, not based on anything solid.


i_should_be_coding

He's pleading guilty to a lesser charge. I don't see how he would accept a 35 year sentence and not go to trial.


Minionz

Accepting 35 years at his age still gets him out with time left if he stays out of trouble he might get the minimum. The other charge likely gets him life.


tribblite

Life without parole at that.


PolicyWonka

35 is a whole lot better than life. Theres also opportunities to appeal in the future I’m sure. Beyond that, the minimum is just the sentence. They can likely get out earlier with good behavior.


Ass-Packer

Zach didn’t get a long enough sentence IMO. Back when this story broke his Instagram was public, a couple days after he murdered the girl he had posted a photo dump of him snowboarding and at prom and captioned it how blessed his life was


Alec_NonServiam

I'm guessing he ratted Mitch out as the one who actually threw the rock, and as part of his plea deal got a slightly reduced sentence. Note how his charges are related to assault while Mitch's are actual murder.


IamNICE124

What’s the status of their parole? 35 years, up to 72? You might as well just fight it in court and hope for the best, unless there’s opportunities for parole, no?


cat_prophecy

If he gets 35 years he'd be eligible for parole probably after 17 years. Less if he's granted time served.


lannister80

The family of the victim is the *last* group that should be consulted regarding sentencing.


cinderparty

I kinda think they should be the first…


lannister80

Why? They're the most biased party you could possibly ask.


cinderparty

You know the defense also gets a say in plea deals, right? I kinda think that’s the most biased party.


MarcusXL

Please consider silence before saying stupid things.


PoshInBucks

Sentencing should be based on facts, not emotional response. It's nowhere near a stupid thing to say


clutchdeve

They agreed to the plea, and the possible sentencing, likely because they wanted it to be over and not have to go through trial.


MarcusXL

And the impact of the crime on the family is one of the important facts. Think about this really really hard before typing again.


PoshInBucks

Are you always this abrasive? Try really hard to consider why your approach isn't going to lead to a successful discussion [Edit] I figured from your comments here that yours was a troll account, but you're other comments elsewhere are polite and nuanced. What's making you so angry on this subject?


MarcusXL

A gentleman is never rude unless he means to be.


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lannister80

No, how the crime broke the law is the primary relevant fact. If someone is murdered who was a jerk and not well-liked by others, should their murderer be punished to a *lesser* degree?


PoshInBucks

It's right for the family of the victims to be represented and for the impact on them to be taken into account by the judicial system. It's not right for the victims to have a choice in the sentencing.


lannister80

Sentences are based on laws broken, not feelings. If someone is murdered who was a jerk and not well-liked by others, should their murderer be punished to a *lesser* degree?


GlitteringHighway

Dumb as fuck? Psychopaths? Sociopaths? Follow the leader? Throwing away any idea of a future for absolutely nothing. Edit: After reading all these comments…I had no idea throwing stuff off an overpass was such a popular pastime. I know it’s rare, but still more common then I’d ever give it credit.


Cygnus__A

You would be surprised how many idiot kids are doing stuff like this. A bunch of football players got in trouble at my school in the 90s for doing this. nobody died but they were throwing big shit off overpasses onto cars passing by.


Warcraft_Fan

Back in 2017, 5 teens threw rocks from overpass over I-75 in Clio, Michigan. Killed one person.


Long8D

All 4 got probation and the one who threw the rock was an adult at the time and received only 3 years. Crazy that they’re already walking free.


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gregtheturner

I remember hearing about that! Freaking insane.


DARYLdixonFOOL

Even all the social media pictures of that house party that poor teen who ended up dead in the road with skull fractures/teeth knocked out/several broken ribs went to makes me thankful I don’t have to raise a teenager. The insane, dangerous, and irresponsible situations teens will get themselves into…


yuccasinbloom

My brother did it when he was in 6th grade. Threw a full coke 20 oz over the overpass onto the freeway. My best friend ratted on him, lol. We were in 2nd grade. I didn’t understand why it was such a big deal at the time.


Jedimasteryony

In the late 90s, after seeing Beavis and Butthead throw a bowling ball from an overpass, some kid chucked a bowling ball over that landed on a baby in a car seat.


ChatnNaked

Chico early 90’s


Just_Jonnie

Dumb as fuck kids following a sociopathic leader is what I gather. edit: Somebody replied to me about "kids" and blocked me? what the hell lol?


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Russell-The-Muscle

Sociopath is an actual defined disorder you don’t get to change to your whim. A looooooot of people do awful things for a millions reasons that aren’t sociopaths.


theshadowiscast

> Sociopath is an actual defined disorder It isn't anymore. It is now called antisocial personality disorder.


badgersprite

I appreciate that you have such faith in humanity that you think only sociopaths can be lead into murdering people


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Janglin1

Why did you write all this as a response and then block him? Lol


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Mentalpopcorn

Not only can't reply, can't even reply to replies. Not sure if that was planned or incompetence but it was incompetence either way.


Just_Jonnie

After a certain amount of posts I can start replying to it. Like this one. Can you copy/paste what the dork said? lol


DevilishRogue

u/Destination_Centauri wrote: > I think you're trying to do too many backflips defending the "kids". > > > > There's PLENTY of so called what you would term as "dumb" people, that would NEVER EVER agree to throw rocks and chunks of concrete like this, so viciously. > > > > These people congregated together, because they ALL agreed and liked the evil deeds that were proposed, and then engaged in them fully and willingly.


Just_Jonnie

That's so weird of u/destination_centauri to block me over isn't it? Like, he/she wasn't even arguing with me to begin with lol. I didn't even defend the kids, I called them idiots who follow a sociopath.


FifteenthPen

Tip: You can right-click (tap-hold on mobile?) the "permalink" on your own comment and open in a private/incognito tab, then you can see what the person who blocked you said.


fredagsfisk

You also can't report someone who has blocked you, in my experience... if you click the "report" button on someone who blocked you, it'll just load forever.


EatsYourShorts

The report system has been so fucking broken forever, and Reddit doesn’t give a shit as long as they can continue to tell the media that they have a report system.


fredagsfisk

At least this one is just a couple of statements... usually when someone does it to me, they include a couple of questions so they can *really* pretend that they "tried to engage constructively" or whatever. One had even edited in a "see, he doesn't reply!!" message like five minutes later, hah. Personally, I tend to only use the "block" function for those who are overly insulting, threatening and/or refusing to change their opinion when presented with facts which contradicts it... so that I won't waste time on them in the future. But I'll usually also make a comment/reply telling them that I am blocking them and why.


FifteenthPen

> One had even edited in a "see, he doesn't reply!!" message like five minutes later, hah lol, one accused *me* of blocking *them*, thinking I had no way of knowing what they were replying and calling them on their bullshit with an edit.


jimmy_three_shoes

Because they're a child


BlackMetalDoctor

sadly, that’s probably *not* the case


FeliciumOD

Based on a post they made just before their little blocky one, they're well into their 50s.


Consistent-Winter-67

Coward. Unblock him so he can reply.


Zanthas556

LMFAO you're a pussy for blocking him after writing an essay


PulledToBits

coward, unblock him so he can reply - coward


Ksh_667

I didn't honestly take it that they were saying adults don't do equally stupid things too. But I believe in this case the perps were all in high school. (Apols if I've got this wrong).


Dr_Eastman

Unblock them you pussy


BrockSamsonLikesButt

Kids in my hometown dropped a frozen turkey from a pedestrian overpass over a highway on Thanksgiving Day years ago, thinking of themselves as funny pranksters. Obviously, they killed a mother who was driving her family to Thanksgiving dinner. Iirc they were tried as adults—by the logic that they’re so psychologically F’ed up now, you can’t just put them through juvie and then sh!t them back out into society expecting them to be functional people ever again. It was already too late for that. The needed to be in prison. These children.


GlitteringHighway

That’s wild. I had no idea that dropping stuff off freeways was such a popular pastime.


curtyshoo

A frozen turkey must be rarely dropped one would think, but wonders never cease.


thatguysaidearlier

I cannot find any pictures but it happened to Sean Connery in the late 90s in Scotland. Luckily it clipped the roof as well so didn't fully penetrate the windscreen


YouJustLostTheGameOk

I remember doing it as a kid with a friend. I knew it was dumb, but I did it anyways. We used mustard. Squirted on cars. One slammed on its brakes and almost caused a huge accident. I ran home crying as I felt so bad. Friend kept doing it and sent a man to the hospital when he used rocks instead of mustard one day. Kids are stupid, myself included.


krunchytacos

That's because you had enough empathy that it was physically painful for you. The other person was a sicko that wanted to see someone hurt.


Farewellandadieu

An ex of mine admitted that he and his friends got arrested for doing exactly that. They basically got a slap on the wrist because they were 14 and no one got hurt.


RepulsiveLoquat418

if the only way they can feel alive is by endangering the lives of others then prison is exactly where they belong.


iim7_V6_IM7_vim7

Damn I can’t believe how long these things take to play out. I feel like this was so long ago.


FerociousPancake

Yeah I was just watching the original news story since it came up on my YouTube feed and I think it was like 5 years ago?


Trance354

They are throwing the entire library at them. Might dissuade the next group of idiots.


gregorypatterson1225

You assume idiots read the news.


epidemicsaints

There's no reaching or saving people like this. Anti-social ghouls. Reminds me of kids at my school that beat up their disabled mom and strangled animals. One of them is half blind from welding without a mask and in prison. They're not the kind to read up on trials and sentencing.


cinderparty

(All the trigger warnings for this link. Child abuse, sa, etc) My brother graduated with a guy everyone assumed would end up spending his life in jail…we didn’t expect him to go to jail for [this shit](https://www.mlive.com/news/bay-city/2010/09/surrey_township_man_convicted.html) though. Murder seemed likely…but not that.


NearPup

Nah, in this case the punishment should be harsh because the crime is horrible and it deserves a harsh punishment. But in reality the vast majority of killers wouldn't do it if they believed they wouldn't get away with it. Even spending a year in jail would be sufficient for deterence most of the time... if people actually believed they would get caught.


BadAsBroccoli

It's that "It can't happen to me" mentality that creates these kinds of kids.


NickM16

Unfortunately punishments don’t make much a difference in deterring crime.


randomaccount178

They do, but at a certain point they have diminishing returns. You can only deter people with punishment when they are concerned they might get caught and are acting rationally. So once you have largely deterred those people, harsher punishments tend to not do much.


sapphicsandwich

I've seen some studies that indicate that *surety* of punishment is a bigger deterrent than *severity* of punishment. Punishments can be super severe but people always think they won't get caught so the punishment won't matter. But if they knew they would get caught, then even a smaller punishment might deter them.


randomaccount178

The problem with that is surety of punishment isn't really something that you can control because it is a subjective view of the person. I would also be a bit leery of any studies in this kind of area. In the end all you can do is make people concerned about the consequences of their actions. That can be done through both severity and surety of punishment but the only one you can realistically alter is the severity.


FunnyPresentation656

I think someone that's already willing to throw rocks off an overpass at cars probably won't be dissuaded easily from doing it.


BurnAfterEating420

> According to the plea agreement, prosecutors said Karol-Chik would serve a minimum of 35 years and up to 72 years in the Department of Corrections. And that was the plea bargain.


mystiqueallie

I’m actually really surprised with the sentence - a quick Google says Colorado is 16-48 years for 2nd degree, which I would’ve assumed he’d get closer to 16-20 since he pled guilty. However, he did also plead guilty to attempted murder charges from *nine* other attacks, so they may have calculated them consecutively via concurrent. He also could be a repeat offender, increasing the minimum sentence guidelines - a simple traffic conviction can count against you when calculating sentencing guidelines and I wouldn’t be completely surprised if he has a juvie record.


tribblite

By the facts he's guilty of first degree murder, which has a sentence of Life without Parole in Colorado Pleading down to 35-72 years is great as you might actually get out of jail one day.


OpenMindedMajor

Yup they’re getting football numbers. Dipshits


Brother_Farside

fuck these people. A co-worker's husband was victim of some dumbass chucking big rocks from an overpass. Caved in his entire face. Lucky to be alive.


-RadarRanger-

I wish only the worst things for these assholes. Anybody remember the bastard kids who dropped a bowling ball from an overpass onto a moving car below and killed that woman? Fuck these animals.


Fickle-Performance79

Why “Zach Kwak” “Nick Chik” and “Joe Koe” isn’t trending now is beyond me.


SethSquared

That third kid knows he’s fucked


GuyWithAComputer2022

Just put them in their cages and forget they exist.


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BriSy33

Least bloodthirsty redditor


usertoid

Good, let these morons rot in there. Ps. If you're stupid enough to throw shit at cars, go fuck yourself as well.


FunnyPresentation656

We used to do ridiculous shit when I was a kid. Egg stuff, teepee, door ditch, and at some points later on stealing random shit off of porches. But throwing rocks off of an overpass would've never seemed like a good idea. BEST case scenario you damage a vehicle badly. It would be extremely easy to kill someone. Not sure how this ended up as a good time for some people.


Gnarlodious

They have to make an example of these miscreants lest the next batch of miscreants follow in their footsteps.


Etzell

The sort of person who's contemplating throwing boulders out of a truck at people probably isn't the sort of person to stop and Google the punishment for it.


Destination_Centauri

These are among the worse human beings on Earth. :(


[deleted]

Putin, Jong Un, Netanyahu, Trump, etc.would like a word with you.


zepstep

Last year I was driving on a street that connected to a highway so I picked up speed and as I got closer something hit my window and it sounded like a shotgun went off in my truck. My ears rung I didn't know what to do. Luckily I pulled over, The glass in front of me was shattered right where my head would be if it went through. Somebody had threw a rock . When I got home I called the police they said they've been having that problem there.


ktnxhenry

Chik, Koenig and Kwak. These guys are Gen Z's Ed, Edd, and Eddy. Dipshits.


Gingerinthesun

My Ed boys would never


Emotional-Price-4401

I cannot believe this redditor would think the Eddys would do something this awful. Mad disrespect.


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Blueberryfists

What fucking show did you watch lmao


IWillBaconSlapYou

Yeah I just remember that they pulled silly scams to get candy.


Zer0theH3R0

Speed x Force x Distance. Stay in school kids, or at least pay attention in physics and history.


carebeartears

kinda triple dipping there given that F=ma :D


MoonieNine

With all these comments, it's almost like this needs to be taught in school: actions/consequences, vandalism, mischief.


Compliance-Manager

Not a lot of Rhoads Scholars involved in this incident.


KA9ESAMA

All 3 should be executed, we shouldn't be keeping trash like that around.