Accused Club Q Shooter is expected to face more than 300 charges in court

The 23-year-old accused of committing a fatal shooting at a Colorado Springs LGBTQ nightclub last year will appear in court Monday to face formal charges of more than 300 charges, including murder, attempted murder and hate crimes .

It will be the first time in months that survivors of the shooting and relatives of those killed face the suspect. Several of them said they expected the defendant, Anderson Lee Aldrich, to plead guilty on Monday and receive multiple life sentences.

The victims and family members said that plea negotiations had been underway for more than a month and that prosecutors had informed them that the defendant was expected to formally plead guilty. The relatives and next of kin requested anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the plea settlement publicly, which would not be finalized until the court proceedings.

Prosecutors and defense attorneys declined to comment.

A plea of ​​guilty could avoid a lengthy trial and end the state’s criminal case, seven months after the November shooting.

Several victims said they were preparing to give statements in court to describe the pain they and their families endured since that night in November when a gunman burst into the nightclub, a haven for LGBTQ people in Colorado Springs, and began shooting into the crowd before being shot. suppressed by customers.

Five people were killed: Daniel Aston and Derrick Rump, both of whom worked at Club Q; and Kelly Loving, Raymond Green Vance and Ashley Paugh, who were clients. About 20 others were injured, many with serious injuries. Many of the injured knew each other through work or the small LGBTQ community in Colorado Springs.

Monday’s hearing comes just days after some victims and survivors expressed frustration at the slow disbursements of a fund meant to help them recover.

Survivors and families of victims for months made a point to attend each hearing as the case progressed. Some said it was difficult to control their anger and sadness as they sat in court listening to graphic details of the frenzy.

mx. Aldrich identifies as non-binary and uses she/they pronouns, but legal experts said their gender identity alone did not prevent them from being charged with hate crimes. Prosecutors said the defendant had a “particular disdain” for the LGBTQ community and shared an image on a social media app of a rifle scope trained at a Pride party.

“Those are my friends’ lives,” said Ashtin Gamblin, who was shot nine times while working the door of Club Q on the night of the attack. “They were targeted. We were targeted because we are part of the LGBTQ community. There is absolutely no doubt as to why he chose Club Q.”

Some casualties in May took the first legal step toward filing a civil lawsuit against the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office in Colorado Springs. In a notice of their intent to file charges, a prelude to a lawsuit, the victims Mx. Aldrich’s guns should have been seized under Colorado’s red flag laws after making a bomb threat against some family members in 2021, saying they would become “the next mass murderer.” An investigation was terminated when the family members refused to testify, law enforcement officials have said.

Whatever the outcome of Monday’s state court hearing, the US law firm in Denver could still pursue federal hate crime charges against the defendant, which could result in a death sentence.

Federal officials have declined to comment on whether they will press charges, but some survivors have said they have spoken with federal investigators in recent months.

Because Colorado no longer has the death penalty, life in prison is the most severe sentence the defendant can receive under state law.

Defense attorneys have said their client was not driven by hate and instead pointed to mental illness, saying their client had taken medication for schizophrenia, depression and anxiety. The defendant uttered remorse in a recent interview with The Associated Press and indicated their intention to take responsibility.

Some victims who attended previous hearings said the defense statements were a maddening rationalization for the unthinkable. Matthew Haynes, the owner of Club Q, pointed out that millions of Americans dealt with mental illness and took drugs without committing mass murder.

Adriana Vance, whose son Raymond Green Vance was killed in the attack, said the victims of Club Q bonded and expected to be in court together again on Monday.

“We formed a family,” she said.

As Ms. Vance prepared to go to court on Monday, she said she had tried to focus on her 9-year-old son and keep his life busy with trips to museums, the swimming pool and Denver’s Elitch Gardens amusement park. She said she wasn’t sure how to navigate the loss, the grief, raising her son without his big brother — whatever.

“I’ve never experienced anything like it,” she said. “I’m trying to do my best.”