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Colorado teen pleads guilty to rock attack on car that killed female driver

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Colorado teen pleads guilty to rock attack on car that killed female driver

A Colorado teen has pleaded guilty for his role in a deadly rock-throwing spree with his pals that killed a 20-year-old woman in Denver last year. 

Zachary Kwak, 19, was one of three teens who threw landscaping rocks at several cars in April 2023 – with one rock smashing through the windshield window of a car being driven by Alexa Bartell. 

Kwak, of Arvada, pleaded guilty on Friday to one count of first-degree assault, one count of second-degree assault and an added count of criminal attempt to commit assault, Fox 31 reports.

COLORADO TEENS ARRESTED IN ROCK-THROWING ATTACKS TOOK PHOTOS OF MURDERED WOMAN’S CAR AS ‘MOMENTO’: POLICE

Colorado teen Zachary Kwak, left, has pleaded guilty for his role in a deadly rock attack with his friends that resulted in the death of Alexa Bartell, right.  (AAron Ontiveroz/MediaNews Group/The Denver Post, left, and JCSO, right)

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He was previously charged with murder but pleaded guilty as part of a plea deal and will serve no less than 20 years but no more than 32 years. He will be sentenced on Sept. 3 

Prosecutors say that Kwak, along Joseph Koenig and Nicholas “Mitch” Karol-Chik, threw rocks at six cars and injured multiple drivers after 10 p.m. on April 19. They were all 18 at the time. 

Earlier on April 19, they made plans to meet up and drove to Walmart together, where they picked up landscaping rocks from the edge of the store’s parking lot and loaded the rocks into Koenig’s pickup, according to an arrest affidavit previously obtained by Fox News Digital.

Throughout the rest of the night, the three suspects allegedly threw rocks at six different vehicles, including Bartell’s, killing the 20-year-old woman just before 11 p.m. as she was driving while talking on the phone with her friend. The investigator testified on Wednesday that the suspects were driving about 80 mph at the time.

Bartell’s friend told police that she was speaking with Bartell on the phone when she “abruptly stopped talking.” She was driving on the 10600 block of Indiana Street at the time, according to the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office (JCSO).

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COLORADO TEENS ARRESTED FOR ROCK ATTACKS ON CARS THAT KILLED 20-YEAR-OLD

Kwak, pictured left, pleaded guilty for his role in the deadly rock attack which left a 20-year-old woman dead. Nicholas “Mitch” Karol-Chik, center, and Joseph Koenig, right. (Jefferson County Sheriff)

After noticing that they had struck Bartell’s windshield, the three suspects turned back around and drove past the victim’s vehicle, which had swerved into a field, at about 50 mph to observe the damage. Kwak is accused of taking a photo of her vehicle as a “memento.”

Koenig allegedly declared the group “blood brothers” after realizing Bartell was dead, according to Karol-Chik’s interview with authorities.

Karol-Chik told investigators that Kwak became “excited” when he hit a vehicle with a rock. Kwak, meanwhile, told investigators that Karol-Chik would use “Marine” terminology, such as “contact left,” before hitting a vehicle to the left with a rock.

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Bartell’s friend used a phone-finder app to track Bartell’s location and eventually found her stationary vehicle in a field off Indiana Street in Jefferson County and called police.

Investigators used cellphone data to identify the suspects, tying a common phone number that pinged at different crime scenes.

The Jefferson County Sheriff’s deputy also testified that, based on his interviews with the suspects, Kwak and Koenig were the only two suspects accused of throwing the rock that killed Bartell.

Investigators photographed a gaping hole directly in Bartell’s windshield, directly in front of the driver’s seat. (Jefferson County Sheriff)

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After investigators interviewed Kwak, he allegedly insisted that he did not throw the rock that killed Bartell. When the detective who testified Wednesday told Kwak, “I hear you,” he responded: “I don’t need you to hear me. I need you to believe me. I did not throw that rock.”

Bartell’s family was in the courtroom on Friday to hear Kwak make his guilty plea. They could be seen wiping tears from their faces during the 15-minute proceedings, FOX 31 reports. They offered no comment while leaving the courthouse.

Kwak was dressed in a jail uniform, handcuffed. He answered the judge’s questions, saying he understood his plea and its implications.

Investigators previously said that the trio had been throwing rocks at moving vehicles for about two months before their actions allegedly resulted in a fatality.

Koenig and Karol-Chik’s cases are ongoing. All three were initially charged with murder in the first-degree with extreme indifference.

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Utah

Utah DWR: Turkey hunter near decoys shot by other hunter | Gephardt Daily

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Utah DWR: Turkey hunter near decoys shot by other hunter | Gephardt Daily


Photo by Utah Division of Wildlife Resources

UTAH, April 30, 2026 (Gephardt Daily) — The Utah Department of Natural Resources Law Enforcement Division has revealed that one turkey hunter was shot by another during opening weekend of the hunting season.

“Opening weekend should be about the thrill of the hunt and the quiet of the woods,” the news release says. “Instead, it served as a harrowing reminder of how quickly a mistake can turn a hunt into a tragedy.

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“During the opening of the limited-entry turkey season, a hunter was shot and required emergency medical treatment. The victim was positioned in vegetation behind their decoys. Another hunter, spotting the decoys, stalked in and fired—hitting the hunter concealed behind them.”

Unlike most big game seasons, turkey hunting does not require hunters to wear blaze orange, the release says.

“This makes visual identification your #1 responsibility. ‘I think it’s a bird’” isn’t good enough. You must positively identify the beard and the bird.

“Every round has a destination. If your target is in thick brush or near decoys, be aware of the ‘blind spots’ behind them.”

If you hear a gobble or see movement, wait, the statement says.

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“Never fire at a flash of color or a movement in the brush. If you see another hunter approaching your setup, do not move. Speak up in a loud, clear voice to announce your location.

“The goal is to bring home a bird, but the priority is making sure everyone makes it home for dinner. Stay sharp, stay visible when moving, and always—always—confirm your shot.”

No additional information was released about the location of the shooting or the condition of the hunter hit.





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Washington

Stabbing at Washington state high school injures 6, including suspect, police say

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Stabbing at Washington state high school injures 6, including suspect, police say


TACOMA, Wash. (AP) — A student at a Tacoma high school was booked on five counts of first-degree assault after four students and an adult security guard were wounded in a stabbing at the school Thursday, police said.

The Tacoma Fire Department took five people to hospitals from Foss High School, with four of the patients in critical condition and one with minor injuries, said Chelsea Shepherd, a spokesperson for the department.

A sixth person was in police custody and taken to a hospital with minor injuries, she said. All were in stable condition as of late afternoon.

All of those wounded were either stabbed or cut, said Shelbie Boyd, a spokesperson for the Tacoma Police Department. The suspect was among those cut in the altercation.

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The school went into lockdown at 1:38 p.m. after the violence began and students were safely dismissed at 2:45 p.m., Tacoma Public Schools said in a statement.

“The school is secure, and we are currently investigating,” Boyd said, adding that a reunification area had been set up at the school for parents to pick up their students

School and after-school activities for Friday were canceled. The school will reopen Monday with counselors on site to support students and staff.

“We are grateful for the quick, calm action of our staff and our first responders,” the district said.

Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

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Wyoming

Rising fuel costs are squeezing a Wyoming landscaping business — and customers could feel it soon

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Rising fuel costs are squeezing a Wyoming landscaping business — and customers could feel it soon


WYOMING, Mich. — Tryston Crain has been mowing lawns since he was a kid. He started with a couple of houses in his neighborhood, before turning it into a full fledged business.

Now, rising fuel prices are threatening to squeeze his small landscaping business — and potentially his customer’s wallets, too.

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Trystan Crain has owned his own lawn scaping business since he was 16.

Crain started Crain Lawn and Landscape in high school, at the age of 16. Today, he serves more than 60 clients every week in the Wyoming area.

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“I’m an owner operator with a couple guys that work with me on bigger projects, but primarily just myself,” Crain said.

With dozens of clients to serve, Crain and his crew make frequent trips to the gas pump — filling up trucks two to three times a week, on top of fueling their four mowers.

Crain's truck

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Crain’s has been around for 6 years, helping over 60 clients a week.

I asked Crain what kind of impact rising fuel prices have had on his business.

“When you jump up $1 a gallon, that’s 30 gallons, three times a week. That’s $100 a week just for the truck, $400 a month, and you got the mowers on top of that. So, at this rate it’s almost $1,000 extra a month,” Crain said.

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WATCH: Rising fuel costs are squeezing a Wyoming landscaping business — and customers could feel it soon

Rising fuel costs are squeezing a Wyoming landscaping business — and customers could feel it soon

That added cost is forcing Crain to pull money away from growing his business just to keep up with daily operations.

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“When we go into budget, with what we want to spend on, you know, X, Y and Z, and we have to take out money that we would usually put into reinvesting, growing the business back into just our daily operations. It hurts us,” Crain said.

Mower in trailer

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As fuel prices continue to rise, its having an impact on Crain’s and their budgeting.

Crain said he does not want to pass those costs on to his customers — but may have no choice if prices stay high.

“When they’re struggling with all their rising prices, you know, groceries on top of everything else, rent, gas, everything’s going up. So it’s just not something that I want to put on to them. But if it gets to a point where it keeps going up or stays this high for a while, it’s something that you might have to think about,” Crain said.

This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.

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