Suspects in Colorado school shooting due back in court

Law Firm News

Both suspects in a suburban Denver school shooting are due back in court Friday as prosecutors file charges in the attack that killed a student and wounded eight others.

The district attorney’s office also is expected to decide whether the younger suspect will be charged as an adult in Tuesday’s shooting.

Kendrick Castillo, the 18-year-old senior killed during the shooting, and two classmates at the STEM School Highlands Ranch have been credited with helping thwart the attack by charging at one of the shooters when he entered a classroom. Authorities have said an armed private security guard restrained the second shooter.

Authorities have identified the suspects as 18-year-old Devon Erickson and 16-year-old Maya McKinney, whose attorney has said uses male pronouns and the name Alec. They have been in jail since Tuesday on suspicion of murder and attempted murder and made their first court appearances Wednesday.

District attorney George Brauchler plans to file formal charges and decide whether to charge McKinney as an adult by Friday’s hearings. Colorado law permits prosecutors to file adult charges of serious felonies against 16- and 17-year-olds without prior approval from a judge.

The two students allegedly walked into their school with handguns and opened fire in two classrooms. Investigators have offered no immediate motive and refused to discuss how the students obtained the weapons.

Related listings

  • Congo court poised to rule on presidential vote challenge

    Congo court poised to rule on presidential vote challenge

    Law Firm News 01/18/2019

    Congo's constitutional court is poised to rule on a challenge to the presidential election, with the government on Friday dismissing an unprecedented request by the African Union continental body to delay releasing the final results because of "serio...

  • Lump of coal? Taxes more likely for online gifts this season

    Lump of coal? Taxes more likely for online gifts this season

    Law Firm News 12/01/2018

    Shoppers heading online to purchase holiday gifts will find they're being charged sales tax at some websites where they weren't before. The reason: the Supreme Court.A June ruling gave states the go-ahead to require more companies to collect sales ta...

  • Supreme Court agrees to hear Maryland cross memorial case

    Supreme Court agrees to hear Maryland cross memorial case

    Law Firm News 11/02/2018

    The Supreme Court agreed Friday to hear a case about whether a nearly 100-year-old, cross-shaped war memorial located on a Maryland highway median violates the Constitution's required separation of church and state, a case that could impact hundreds ...

USCIS Adjusting Premium Processing Fee

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced today it is adjusting the premium processing fee for Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker and Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Workers beginning on Oct. 1, 2018 to more effectively adjudicate petitions and maintain effective service to petitioners.

The premium processing fee will increase to $1,410, a 14.92 percent increase (after rounding) from the current fee of $1,225. This increase, which is done in accordance with the Immigration and Nationality Act, represents the percentage change in inflation since the fee was last increased in 2010 based on the Consumer Price Index for all Urban Consumers.

“Because premium processing fees have not been adjusted since 2010, our ability to improve the adjudications and service processes for all petitioners has been hindered as we’ve experienced significantly higher demand for immigration benefits. Ultimately, adjusting the premium processing fee will allow us to continue making necessary investments in staff and technology to administer various immigration benefit requests more effectively and efficiently,” said Chief Financial Officer Joseph Moore. “USCIS will continue adjudicating all petitions on a case-by-case basis to determine if they meet all standards required under applicable law, policies, and regulations.”

Premium processing is an optional service that is currently authorized for certain petitioners filing Forms I-129 or I-140. The system allows petitioners to request 15-day processing of certain employment-based immigration benefit requests if they pay an extra fee. The premium processing fee is paid in addition to the base filing fee and any other applicable fees, which cannot be waived.