4th Judicial DA states 2021 case against accused killer ‘would not have prevented Club Q’ mass shooting
EL PASO COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) -- Nearly three weeks after a mass shooting at a Colorado Springs LGBTQ+ nightclub, an El Paso County Judge has ordered to unseal the 2021 court case involving the suspected shooter.
On Nov. 19, just before midnight, a gunman entered Club Q and opened fire. Five people were killed and dozens more were injured.
The suspect, 22-year-old Anderson Aldrich, was eventually taken into custody after being released from the hospital for injuries sustained during the attack. According to the Colorado Springs Police Department, two men in the nightclub stopped the suspect.
Since the suspect's name was released, there's been questions surrounding a 2021 bomb threat incident involving the suspect.
Initially, the 4th Judicial District Attorney's Office said there were no records regarding the 2021 arrest. Under current Colorado law, if a case filed in the state is dismissed, it's automatically sealed.
Now, the arrest documents for the June 2021 bomb incident are set to be unsealed.
The 4th Judicial DA's Office held a press conference Thursday at 1:30 p.m. to discuss the unsealing of the case.
District Attorney Michael Allen said the purpose of the conference was to "provide the truth about the prior investigation" and an "effort to correct misinformation spread by media and certain politicians."
According to Allen, his office's ability to be transparent has limits and those limits are set by local and state laws. He called on legislatures to amend the current Colorado sealing statute.
The way records are sealed stems from a 2019 piece of legislation called "Increased Eligibility For Criminal Record Sealing."
Allen said in the 2021 incident, the suspect's grandparents and mother were considered the victims. According to Allen, the suspect's grandparents told investigators that the suspect said they wanted to be the next mass killer.
However, the DA's office said the suspect's mother and grandmother testified in court that the suspect was a "nice, loving young man who should not be in jail." It's since been reported by investigators that the suspect identifies as non-binary and is not referred to currently as male or female.
Allen said ultimately the victims refused to comply with court orders to appear and testify against the suspect. After being in jail for nearly two months, the suspect was eventually bonded out.
By that point, the DA's office said the suspect's case was delayed multiple times as prosecutors tried getting the witnesses to cooperate.
However, because the victims never came forward, the DA's office said a judge eventually dismissed the case.
"The only way that it (the 2021 case) would have prevented the tragic tragedy is if the witnesses were actually present at trial, testified, and somebody was convicted," said Allen.
When asked about an Extreme Risk Protection Order (ERPO) and if his office is open to changing the current wording for Colorado's legislation, Allen said he would be. However, he went on to challenge the effectiveness of an ERPO.
"The idea that a piece of paper, a protection order that is in place will prevent somebody that is bound and determined to do something bad against somebody else oftentimes doesn't stop somebody from doing that."
Allen did admit there are some scenarios where an ERPO would've been effective.
Early in the press conference, Allen said the 2021 case against the suspect wouldn't have prevented the Club Q mass shooting.
When asked to elaborate on his belief that if those charges had moved forward they still wouldn't have prevented the shooting, Allen said, "That case would not have necessarily prevented Club Q. As to the reasons for that I can't get into that because that will impact the Club Q investigation and prosecution. So, you're just going to have to accept that statement that it would not have prevented Club Q."
Watch the press conference below:
The El Paso County Sheriff's Office also released Thursday's statement detailing the 2021 investigation.
In the statement, the sheriff's office said state law prohibited the department from speaking about the interaction as all related incident, case investigations, and prosecution records had been sealed prior to the Club Q shooting.
The statement reads, "Sheriff Elder proudly stands behind the men and women of the Sheriff’s Office involved in our previous case involving Aldrich and their handling of that incident and investigation. From the initial responding Patrol Division personnel, to the Tactical Support Unit (TSU), to the involved detectives, everything lawfully possible was accomplished by EPSO personnel in accordance with applicable and available state laws to keep weapons away from Aldrich and protect the public."
The complete statement is available at the bottom of this article.
It goes on to say, "Since our previous involvement with Aldrich came to light following the Club Q shooting, rumors, false allegations, and incendiary accusations have reached a crescendo that ignorantly denigrated our actions surrounding our arrest of Aldrich in the summer of 2021 despite our repeated reminders to the media, our community members, and politicians that state law strictly prohibited any comment being made by us regarding that previous involvement."
The sheriff's office accused local, state, and national politicians of taking "baseless attacks" and used them to imply the EPCSO failed to apply for an Extreme Risk Protection (ERPO) against the suspect and didn't seize his firearms in 2021.
13 Investigates has previously reported that Sheriff Bill Elder went on record in 2019 saying he would not be using the state's red flag law and would "never" petition the court to take someone's guns away.
13 Investigates has reached out to Elder and his office multiple times for comment on Colorado's red flag laws. We have yet to hear back.
The sheriff's office accused some politicians of being "woefully irresponsible to fan the flames of perception-driven public discontent while they should have reasonably known they did not have the needed information with which to form their influential, yet unfounded and ignorant, opinions."
The EPCSO then outlined the details surrounding the department's interaction with the suspect in 2021.
According to the statement, deputies responded to a reported bomb threat at a home in the 9800 block of Rubicon Dr. on June 18, 2021. After obtaining search and arrest warrants for the suspect on charges of Felony Menacing and First-Degree Kidnapping, the Sheriff's Office Tactical Support Unit responded.
The suspect was then apprehended after a standoff and negotiation at the Lorson Ranch home. The suspect was booked into the El Paso County Jail.
According to the sheriff's office, because the threat wasn't just to the victims but also to the general public, the arresting deputy requested and was granted an enhanced bond of $1 million.
The sheriff's office states all firearms belonging to the suspect were found during a search of a home in the 6300 block of Pilgrimage Rd. Those firearms were seized and placed in the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office Evidence Facility. Additionally, bomb-making materials were also found, seized, and placed in the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office Evidence Facility.
The suspect had a first court appearance on July 1, 2021. The suspect remained in the El Paso County Jail following this first appearance.
On Aug. 5, 2021, the sheriff's office said the suspect appeared before a judge. That judge reduced the bond amount from $1 million to $100,000 and lifted a portion of the Mandatory Protection Order (MPO) that had been placed against the suspect in June.
According to the EPCSO, what was left of the MPO prohibited the suspect from possessing firearms.
On Aug. 7, 2021, the suspect bonded out of jail.
On July 5, 2021, the EPCSO said the judge presiding over the case dismissed the charges against the suspect and the suspect was released from the conditions of the bond. At that point, the suspect was able to possess firearms lawfully.
On July 6, 2021, a general request for the release of all evidence was received by the sheriff's office from the DA's Office. On Aug. 4, however, the DA's Office amended the request to "request all evidence be held per the statute of limitations that governed the specific crimes for which Aldrich was previously charged."
On July 7, 2021, the suspect's defense team requested a motion to seal the record.
On Aug. 11, the motion to seal the record was granted.
The suspect requested all items seized be released on Aug. 12, 2022. The sheriff's office said the request was denied by the EPCSO.
According to the EPCSO, all firearms and bomb-making materials seized remained in the control of the sheriff's office. The 4th Judicial DA's Office is now in possession of that evidence.
Regarding the red flag law, the sheriff's office said an Extreme Risk Protection Order (ERPO) was never filed. The EPCSO said this was due to the MPO granted by the judge during the initial court proceedings.
The sheriff's office states, "To have petitioned for an ERPO after an MPO was issued would have been redundant and unnecessary."
The sheriff's office goes on to state an ERPO wasn't needed because all firearms and weapons the suspect was known to possess had already been seized during the 2021 request.
Additionally, the EPCSO at the time the MPO was automatically reported to the Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI) by the courts and that would've flagged the suspect during any attempt to purchase a firearm while out on bond.
Because the case was dismissed, the EPCSO claims the department's "ability to even present a factual basis for a potential ERPO request at that point was no longer available because the case in which those facts were detailed had been sealed."
The sheriff's office also said at that point, the events from June 2021 were too old to be effective in court to request an ERPO and there was no new evidence that a threat could exist "in the near future." Either or would've been required to obtain an ERPO, per the EPCSO.
The sheriff's office said without an ERPO or a Felony conviction, there was "no legal mechanism that even existed that would have prevented Aldrich from lawfully acquiring more firearms following the dismissal of the government’s case against him and the removal of the MPO."
From there, the sheriff's office states the legal ability of the suspect to obtain a firearm could only have been addressed legislatively. The EPCSO states, "It most certainly is not a situation with which to indict the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office for wrongdoing or inaction in this case."
The statement briefly touches on Sheriff Elder's opinion on the red flag laws, by stating that he is one of numerous other law enforcement and Constitutional law experts across the U.S. who've expressed their opposition to this law. However, the statement said his "opposition" is to the law "as written," not the concept.
The statement goes on to say, "Sheriff Elder strongly stands behind his commitment to ensuring the 4th Amendment protections of citizens against unreasonable searches and seizures by the government, of which his personnel and he represent. The ERPO law has no such 4th Amendment protections for citizens."
It ends by saying Elder "strongly urges Governor Polis and our state legislators to take a new look at this important legislative issue with expert advice in mind this time in order to craft effective, pragmatic legislation that also passes Constitutional muster."
While visiting the Club Q memorial, 13 Investigates asked Gov. Polis to comment on Elder's stance on the red flag law.
"Well, that's worrisome, to rule it out under any circumstances. Again I think just as you might argue it's premature without knowing all the facts about whether it should have been invoked here, and that's fair. You know, we know an approximation of the facts and it looks like perhaps it should have been used. To rule it out categorically is very dangerous," said Polis.
During the court appearance, it was announced the accused killer faces 305 charges. Those include Murder in the First-Degree, attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon, and bias-motivated crime-causing bodily injury.
Read the full statement released by the EPCSO below:
As of 2:30 p.m., the 2021 arrest affidavit has not been made available to the public.
PREVIOUS REPORTING:
Club Q accused shooter’s possible criminal past shines spotlight on Colorado’s sealed records laws
FBI received a tip about suspect in Club Q shooting day before 2021 bomb threat arrest
Suspect in Club Q mass shooting appears in court, faces 305 charges
