A school shooter who killed a heroic teenager who lunged at him to try and save his friends has been convicted of murder.
Devon Erickson, 20, was found guilty of the first-degree murder of Kendrick Castillo, 18, at a court in Denver, Colorado, on Tuesday afternoon just a day-and-a-half after jurors retired to deliberate.
Erickson stood with his hands clasped and a face mask as Tuesday's 48-count indictment was read out, and appeared calm. He was convicted of all charges, including 31 counts of attempted murder - one for each of the students in the classroom he barged into moments before killing Castillo.
He and his accomplice Alec McKinney - who previously admitted the same charges - walked into the STEM School in Highlands Ranch on May 7, 2019 carrying handguns and other weapons hidden in guitar cases. Both killers attended the school at the time.
Students in that room were watching The Princess Bride as part of their British literature studies
Castillo and two friends jumped up from their desks and shoved Erickson against a wall. Erickson fired off several rounds, and fatally struck Castillo, who was later hailed as a hero for his courageous actions.
Erickson is said to have been a chronic drug abuser at the time, with his substance abuse said to have left him unable to think clearly.
He was charged with a total of 48 counts, including 31 counts of criminal attempt to commit murder in the first degree. He pleaded not guilty to all charges.
In previous interviews, fellow students say they are angry about red flags they claim were missed in relation to Erickson, and a former student Erickson would bully younger students and had previously made jokes about shooting up the school.
Devon Erickson is pictured in court in May 2019. He was convicted of murder on Tuesday
Erickson is pictured with his hands clasped during Tuesday's sentencing hearing
Kendrick Castillo, 18, died protecting his classmates STEM School Highlands Ranch in Denver and opened fire in May 2019
Castillo was hailed a hero in the wake of the May 2019 shooting
Maya Elizabeth McKinney aka Alec McKinney, who is transgender, was previously sentenced to life plus 38 years after striking a plea deal which saw him admit to 17 charges
Students and teachers hold their hands in the air as they exit the scene of the shooting
McKinney, a transgender man who appeared on the court docket as Maya McKinney, was previously sentenced to life plus 38 years after striking a plea deal which saw him admit to 17 charges. He's eligible for parole because he was a juvenile at the time of the attack.
He initially claimed to have forced Erickson into opening his parents' gun safe and to snort a line of cocaine, with Erickson's lawyers using that behavior to try and claim that their client acted under duress.
McKinney, has since said that Erickson's behavior was voluntary, and rubbished claims that his accomplice was forced to accompany him on the shooting spree.
Last Friday, defense toxicologist Wanda Guidry testified that Erickson's drug abuse, malnourishment, and long-term sleep deprivation and insomnia meant he 'couldn't think, concentrate or understand' what was going on on the day of the shooting.
'I believe it created psychiatric symptoms ... disruption in mood, behavior and thinking,' Guidry said of the drugs found in Erickson´s system hours after the shooting. 'He had a very difficult time figuring out or thinking of what he needed to do, what was right or what he wanted to do.'
Defense attorneys rested their case Friday without testimony from Erickson.
The May 2019 shooting took place in Colorado's STEM School in Highlands Ranch
Students are evacuated from the Recreation Center at Northridge in Highlands Ranch after a shooting at the STEM School Highlands Ranch on May 7, 2019
Terrified students were evacuated from the school after shots were fired
Chief Deputy District Attorney George Brauchler argued that Erickson agreed to participate in the attack as long as it looked like he was pressured into it and or could emerge as a hero by killing McKinney.
Brauchler said the students' concocted 'victim-hero' strategy unraveled after Castillo rushed Erickson when he pulled out a gun inside a darkened classroom as students watched a movie.
'There is no evidence, zero evidence, of fear,' Brauchler said. 'There is only evidence of a willing partnership.'
Erickson's gun went off, Castillo was killed and others tackled him, he said.
Their other possible scenario, in which McKinney killed himself, was stymied after an armed security guard apprehended him, Brauchler said.
Erickson's lawyer, Julia Stancil, said her client was manipulated into joining the attack by McKinney, a new friend who preyed on him during a family crisis.
Castillo was the only person who died that day, but eight others were injured.
Mike Pritchard, who was the school's director of information technology at the time, testified that he heard the commotion and saw Erickson being held down and Castillo on his stomach, The Denver Post reported.
'At that time, he wasn't responsive, like he was trying to say something, but it wasn't anything I could actually understand,' Pritchard said of Castillo. 'He was responsive and breathing.'
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