Thread by @ColetteBordelon

I'm at the courthouse in #ColoradoSprings for the preliminary hearing of the alleged #ClubQ shooter. The suspect is charged with more than 300 counts, and the hearing is scheduled for three days.

I'll thread updates here throughout the day.
@DenverChannel

The shooting happened at the LGBTQ bar days before Thanksgiving. Five people were killed and more than a dozen injured.

The hearing is scheduled to start at 8:30.

Affidavit breakdown: denver7.com/news/club-q-sh…

If you're wondering what a preliminary hearing is, it's when prosecutors must prove to the judge there's enough evidence for a trial.

Rich Fierro and his family just arrived. Wyatt Kent, who was in a relationship with Daniel Aston, is here too.
denver7.com/news/club-q-sh…

The suspect just entered the courtroom. Some victims teared up. Rich Fierro stared hard.

The #ClubQ owner, Matthew Haynes, is here. #ClubQ management recently announced they’ll be reopening by the fall.

Judge Michael McHenry is in the room.
@DenverChannel

The defense asks to delay the preliminary hearing. The judge considers it, but wants to see if they can push forward after hearing testimony.

The prosecution calls their first witness, Officer Wallick with the Colorado Springs Police Department.
@DenverChannel

Ofc. Wallick estimates it took 2 minutes from the time he heard the original call, to the time he responded to #ClubQ.

Dispatch told the officer there was an active shooter there, wearing body armor and armed with an AR style weapon.

@DenverChannel

“I could hear people screaming, crying in there. I could smell a lot of gunpowder," said the officer, who was the first one inside. Two other officers were behind him.

He didn't hear active gunshots. He was told the shooter was on the ground, with another person on top of them.

Officer Wallick found the suspect, who matched the description dispatch provided. There were a "bunch of magazines on the ground next to this person, along with blood on the wall."

The person who was on top of the suspect was holding the weapon when the officer found them.

Officer Wallick says once he got the suspect into custody, he noticed what looked like a grenade on the front of the vest the suspect was wearing.

Officer Wallick identifies the alleged shooter he arrested as the suspect in the room.

@DenverChannel

Officer Wallick asked the suspect what their name was, and never got a response. He also asked if they were the shooter, but the suspect told the officer the "person on top of them" was the shooter.

@DenverChannel

The suspect continually told the officer the person who had disarmed them was the shooter. The suspect also said they were shot, but the officer didn't find any evidence of a gunshot wound.

The suspect's head was bleeding a lot at the time.
@DenverChannel

It sounds as though the person who disarmed the suspect, referenced many times in this testimony, is Rich Fierro. He's one of the people who helped stop the suspect.

denver7.com/news/local-new…

The defense has no questions for the cross examination of Officer Wallick, so he's released.

Prosecutors call Detective Jason Gasper next, who works with the Colorado Springs Police Department. He conducted the scene investigation at #ClubQ.

@DenverChannel

Pictures from the scene are admitted into evidence. The courtroom is now looking at the photographs.

One of the pictures shows a 2005 Gold Toyota Highlander - registered to the alleged shooter - which is right outside of #ClubQ.
@DenverChannel

Another picture shows a "live cartridge" (live round) inside the car. The suspect's #Colorado driver's license was found in the parking lot, Detective Gasper says.

Photos show shell casings outside the front doors, and leading inside @ClubQ.
@DenverChannel

Several people begin to cry, and a few noises are heard, as a picture of Daniel Aston is shown. He's wearing a blue shirt, and laying in a doorway, deceased. It's a very hard picture to see.

I'm going to share this picture of Aston, given to me by his partner.
@DenverChannel

Another very difficult picture is shown, where Raymond Green is laying face down in a doorway. His girlfriend, Kassy Fierro, is wiping her eyes.
@DenverChannel

A picture where the bar can be seen, also shows a person on the ground, who Detective Gasper identifies as Ashley Paugh.

From our sister station @KOAA: koaa.com/news/club-q-sh…

Derrick Rump's feet are shown in a different photograph, wearing black sneakers, and surrounded by broken glass. Detective Gasper says in between his shoes was a magazine consistent with an AR-15 style weapon.
@DenverChannel

Prosecutors show a picture of the AR-style weapon Detective Gasper has referenced several times. Gasper said there were no magazines in the weapon, a flashlight attached to the front of the gun, and a red dot style sight as you move back down the gun.
@DenverChannel

Another picture shows a smaller handgun on a table inside of #ClubQ, which is "almost completely covered in blood." Detective Gasper said there was a hair lodged in the chamber, which was collected as evidence.
@DenverChannel

I'm sitting behind the suspect, who appears to be bouncing their leg or arm.

We're looking at stills from surveillance cameras, showing the alleged suspect wearing a red shirt, tan ballistic vest, a pistol, and 6 AR-style magazines. The person is carrying an AR-style weapon.

Then, a still in black and white shows a person with the same description, holding the AR-style weapon up, with a muzzle flash.

At this time, defense counsel pats the suspect on the shoulder and says "it's okay," as the alleged shooter shakes.
@DenverChannel

Pictures of the inside of the suspect's home are shown. The first shows multi-colored shooting targets with "numerous small holes" in them - found in the suspect's mom's bedroom.

Another picture is of rounds of ammunition, consistent with rounds fired by an AR-15 style weapon.

One of the pictures is of a book, called Rebuilding the Reichstag.

Another is a black mask found in the suspect's bedroom. Then, a picture of something used to camoflauge a person - called a ghillie, pictured here:

Several pictures show pieces used to put together a firearm. One of the pictures is a drawing that Detective Gasper says is a "very rough sketch of #ClubQ."

These are still pictures from inside of the suspect's home. And we have a short break now.

@DenverChannel

The defense begins their cross-examination of Detective Gasper, stating it's not illegal to purchase parts of firearms in Colorado, assemble them, own ammunition, or shoot at targets - all referencing what was found in the suspect's apartment.

@DenverChannel

The defense presents pictures showing the suspect on October 29, 2022, inside of #ClubQ - less than a month before the shooting.

The first picture shows someone who appears to be the suspect at the bar.
@DenverChannel

The defense is asking about a witness who spoke with Gasper. The witness brought a table to the suspect's home the same afternoon as the shooting.

The witness said "nothing he experienced there would have indicated to him that there was any kind of violent threat."

The defense asks Gasper about statements the suspect made in the hospital, before they were intubated. The suspect said they had been awake for four days, they were sorry, and told medical personnel they were non-binary (Gasper vaguely remembers the last statement).

Det. Gasper learned through conversations with the #ClubQ owner there was a different, unrelated FBI investigation surrounding the club weeks before the shooting.

Apparently, there were threats made to the business and some kind of internet breach. @DenverChannel

The defense concluded their cross-examination of Gasper by asking about "concerning writings" found in the suspect's apartment, but Gasper says he didn't see any directly targeting the LGBTQ community.
@DenverChannel

In the re-direct, prosecution immediately points out social media is another mode of communication, where evidence comes later.

The third witness is Detective Ashton Gardner, with the Colorado Springs Police Department.

As prosecutors go through each person who was shot and survived, their locations, and their injuries, the suspect begins crying and is passed a box of tissues.
@DenverChannel

We’re on lunch break.

Prosecutors have gone through 18 of the people who were shot and survived. Their stories are all horrifying - and yet, have glimmers of goodness - like Thomas James, who gave his ambulance bay to another victim.

We’re back at 1:30.
@DenverChannel

We're back in the courtroom.

Rich Fierro is discussed, who went to help Thomas James detain the suspect. Fierro threw initial weapon away from the suspect and beat them with their own handgun. “I kept hitting them until you came," Detective Gardner says Fierro told police.

Next is Lead Detective on the #ClubQ investigation, Rebecca Joines. @4thJudicialDA circles back to evidence found inside the suspect’s home. One note reads: “Please relieve me of my own fate, I’m drowning in my own wake. How long must I wait for you to rid me of this hate?”

A receipt from October 2022 shows Derrick Rump, one of the five people killed, was the suspect’s server when they went to #ClubQ just weeks before the shooting.

Joines is aware of the suspect being there at least six times because of the ID scanner at the club. @DenverChannel

Joines says the suspect is the administrator of a site, where 4 videos were posted prior to them entering #ClubQ in Nov.

She describes a different video, titled “wrong target” as a neo-nazi white supremacist mass shooting training video, which includes clips of shootings…

…primarily in Europe, at synagogues and mosques.

An associate of the defendant says they often used slurs against the minority & LGBTQ communities, and that their mom identified as non-binary, but not the suspect. @DenverChannel

The blood on the handgun we saw a picture of earlier was actually the defendant’s blood, according to the Lead Detective.

It was the gun Fierro used to beat them.
@DenverChannel

The DA asks Joines about an interaction the suspect had with their property manager. The suspect was upset about not getting mail, and called the property manager a “f*****.”

@DenverChannel

Joines says the defendant downloaded an app the night of the #ClubQ shooting that indicates they wanted to livestream the shooting.

The detective believes the defendant was trying to emulate the “wrong target” video mentioned in an above tweet and posted on their site.

Now discussing a picture investigators say the defendant sent to another person on the app, Discord.

The picture is of a rifle scope over a gay pride parade.

With that, the defense is asking questions, and quickly points out Joines was not a part of that online conversation.

Defense attorneys also clarify the video, “wrong target,” was not created by the defendant and someone else has been prosecuted for it.

They also point out it’s her opinion that the defendant was attempting to emulate that video the night of the #ClubQ shooting. @DenverChannel

The defense pulls up pictures of more than 10 prescriptions, prescribed to the defendant. The purposes of the meds range from treating symptoms of depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, nightmares from PTSD, bipolar disorder, and heroin addiction.
@DenverChannel

UPDATE: The judge came back from break, and the WebEx recording has a commentary section where someone under the name of "Laura V" has been commenting things that could be "relevant to the case at large."

The defendant's mom is named Laura Voegel. Counsel is discussing.

And we're back. The Q&A portion of the WebEx has been deactivated. Picking up with the cross examination of Lead Detective Joines.

The defense shows a picture of the defendant and their mom inside Club Q. @DenverChannel

The defense goes on to say that when Thomas James, the person who first confronted the shooter, was fighting with the defendant - the defendant said to James "my mom will not accept me because I'm gay, you're all the same."

@DenverChannel

Detective Joines said when she was at the hospital later on the night of the shooting, the defendant told her they identify as non-binary.

During that interview, the suspect cried and asked, "is anybody hurt?"
@DenverChannel

The defense continues by having Det. Joines confirm that the defendant asked why a doctor is looking at them. The response from investigators: "well, the doctor's probably worried about you."
Suspect: "You guys are some of the only people who have ever cared about me in my life."

During the re-direct of Det. Joines, @4thJudicialDA asks if the defendant seemed to know the difference between right and wrong, carried more than 100 rounds of ammunition that night, wore body armor, and had a map drawn of #ClubQ's interior.

She answered yes to everything.

Prosecutors have rested their case. The judge denied the defense's motion to continue (delay) the hearing.

The hearing will continue tomorrow morning at 9.
@DenverChannel