Defendant Maya McKinney, aka “Alec,” pleaded guilty today in Douglas County District Court to 17 counts related to the shooting at the STEM school in Highlands Ranch on May 7, 2019.
McKinney pleaded guilty to:
• first-degree murder in the death of Kendrick Castillo;
• conspiracy to commit first-degree murder after deliberation;
• 6 counts of attempted murder after deliberation
• attempted murder extreme indifference (this count is amended to name everyone who was not physically shot in room 107)
• second-degree assault (this count identifies the victims who were injured as a result of the security guard’s response to the active shooter situation)
• conspiracy to commit arson
• conspiracy to commit burglary
• conspiracy to commit criminal mischief
• possession of a weapon on school grounds
• possession of a handgun by a juvenile
• 2 crime-of-violence sentence enhancers
Other charged counts were dismissed as part of the plea agreement.
Sentencing by Judge Holmes is scheduled to occur on May 18 at 9 a.m. Due to changes in Colorado law in 2016 by the state legislature, the mandatory minimum sentence for 16-year-old McKinney is life with possibility of parole after 40 years minus earned time. The maximum sentence under the plea agreement is life with the possibility of parole after 40 years minus earned time plus 407½ years in the Department of Corrections.
Charges are still pending against adult defendant Devon Erickson. Criminal charges are merely a formal accusation that an individual has committed a crime. Erickson is presumed innocent unless proven guilty. That presumption remains despite the pleas of guilty in McKinney’s case.
