Englewood Herald 0610

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June 10, 2021

ARAPAHOE COUNTY, COLORADO

A publication of

EnglewoodHerald.net

VOLUME 101 | ISSUE 14

‘I pleaded twice’ New details emerge in STEM shooting testimonies BY ELLIOTT WENZLER EWENZLER@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

Kevin Adams, right, with his sister Kristen, grins as a parade in honor of his 44th birthday rolls past the siblings’ Englewood home. PHOTO BY DAVID GILBERT

‘This is the positive side of humanity’ Englewood residents turn out in droves for new neighbor BY DAVID GILBERT DGILBERT@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

Englewood showed its neighborly spirit on June 4, as dozens of

people turned out for a parade and party for a new resident who has quickly earned a lot of love. Dozens of people in cars, on foot, on bikes, or riding aboard an antique auto and a fire truck paraded past the South Delaware Street home of Kevin Adams for his 44th birthday. Adams, who has Down syndrome, lives with his big sister Kristen. She brought her brother to Engle-

wood from New Mexico 18 months ago, shortly after their mother passed away — just a few months after their father’s passing. It’s been a tough time for the siblings. Kristen had to reapply for Kevin’s state benefits in Colorado, facing down a long waiting list and causing financial strain. Kevin has struggled, and Kristen is working SEE NEIGHBOR, P6

Lucas Albertoni was crawling through classroom 107 in STEM School Highlands Ranch when he was confronted by Alec McKinney’s gun. Albertoni looked up as he was attempting to flee and saw the barrel of the firearm, only an arm’s length away, pointed straight at him. He locked eyes with the student holding it. “I pleaded twice, ‘you don’t have to do this,’” he told a courtroom on June 4. “I could tell he wasn’t really listening to anything I was saying.” Albertoni ducked to the right as his shoulder was hit by a bullet. He also sustained shots in his leg and finger that day. Two of the bullets remained in his body as he testified. Albertoni’s story closed off a week of testimony in the case against Devon Erickson, one of the two students charged in the deadly shooting on May 7, 2019. Erickson, now 20, faces 46 charges, including first-degree murder, attempted murder and arson for his part in the attack. McKinney pleaded guilty to similar charges in 2020 and is in prison. Some initially perceived prank So far, prosecutors have called on nearly 20 people who were in the room that day to tell the jury what they remember. For many who spoke, the event started with the assumption that Erickson, who some witnesses say SEE STEM TRIAL, P8

INSIDE: VOICES: PAGE 10 | LIFE: PAGE 12 | CALENDAR: PAGE 9 | SPORTS: PAGE 14

SUNNY SKIES

How to protect your skin in the sun P12


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