The suspect charged with killing five people at a Colorado LGBTQ dance party had visited the nightclub at least six times before, including with his mother, but he repeatedly expressed violent intention to hurt gay people, police officers testified in court Wednesday.
Anderson Aldrich, who injured more than a dozen others before being subdued by heroic people in Club Q, posted hateful commentary on his web site, including a video called “wrong target” which Coronado Springs detective Rebecca Joines characterized as a “neo-nazi mass shooter terrorist training video.”
A message sent by a Discord account associated with Aldrich to a friend in Australia showed a rifle scope centered on a participant of a pride parade, Joines testified.
Wednesday’s preliminary court hearing delved into many troubling elements of Aldrich’s hateful behavior in the months leading up to the Nov. 19 assault on the nightclub. Aldrich is charged with more than 305 counts in the shooting, including bias-motivated charges.
What happened at Club Q?
Colorado Springs Police Officer Connor Wallick testified about responding to the shooting and finding Aldrich, who was wearing a ballistic plate carrier with a grenade and several magazines of ammo attached to it, fighting with another patron.
“I could hear people screaming, crying. I could smell a lot of gunpowder. You could hear the music that was still going,” the officer testified.
When the officer handcuffed Aldrich, the suspect said that he was not the shooter. He claimed the shooter was hiding, then later he attempted to blame the man who had been found on top of him trying to wrest his gun away.
A black AR-platform rifle was also found near where Aldrich was struggling with the bar patron, Wallick testified.
Massive arsenal, photos paint troubling picture of crime scene
Prosecutors presented photos of the crime scene, including the bodies of Daniel Aston, Derrick Rump, Ashley Paugh, Kelly Loving, and Raymond Green Vance. Some of the photos elicited audible reactions from survivors of the attack who were in the courtroom.
Detective Jason Gasper testified that several magazines of ammunition for the rifle were recovered, including an empty 60-round drum and a number of 40-round magazines, some of which still had ammunition remaining. A rifle and 9mm handgun allegedly used by Aldrich were also found at the scene. The rifle had a red-dot sight and flashlight attached, Gasper said.
Still photos from security footage showed Aldrich entering the club with his rifle raised and ready to fire.
Throughout the Wednesday morning session, Aldrich visibly shook, and at one point was handed what appeared to be a box of tissues by a member of the defense team.
Search of home finds rainbow targets
A search warrant was also conducted on the home of Aldrich’s mother, Laura Voepel, where Aldrich also lived. Inside the home, detectives found rainbow-colored targets with what appeared to be small caliber bullet holes in them, several gun parts, and ammunition for several different guns. A rough sketch of club Q was also found inside the apartment.
Defense attorneys said that Aldrich told medical staff that he is nonbinary.
Hero struggles to wrest rifle
Detective Ashton Gardner testified that Navy Petty Officer Thomas James had confronted the shooter. James was on an outdoor patio when he heard shooting, Gardner testified. James grabbed the hardest item he could find, a metal bucket, and rushed inside to confront the shooter.
Gardner testified that James struggled with the shooter, grabbing the super-hot rifle barrel and sustaining blisters to his hands, but continued to struggle over the rifle despite the pain. Aldrich then allegedly pulled a pistol on James, shooting him twice in the chest.
Despite his wounds, James continued to struggle with the shooter until help arrived, Garder said.
“It’s clear he was very winded and didn’t have much energy left, but he continued to struggle,” Gardner testified.
Troubling web site revealed
Rebecca Joines, the lead detective on the case, testified that Aldrich administered a website called “freespeech2.RU” where Aldrich posted hateful commentary.
People familiar with the website told investigators that Aldrich had expressed a hatred for the LGBTQ community as well as law enforcement, and frequently used slurs while playing video games.
Joines said Aldrich had posted several videos prior to the shooting and appeared to have attempted to live stream the shooting based on an app on his phone.
During cross-examination, defense introduced evidence of drug use found in Aldrich’s vehicle, including two pieces of tin foil with a white substance on them, a lighter, and seven bars of Xanax in the vehicle.
During a search warrant executed on the apartment Aldrich shared with their mother, investigators recovered several prescription bottles, prescribed to treat a number of mental illnesses meant to combat depression, schizophrenia, PTSD, bipolar and anxiety disorders.
What is the suspect’s mental health history?
Voepel told Joines that Aldrich is severely disabled and suffers from PTSD from a previous sexual assault.
Defense also pointed to Aldrich visiting the club six times in the 15 months leading up the attack, showing a photo of Aldrich smiling with his mother.
After the shooting, Aldrich told investigators that he had taken a large amount of narcotics, including Fentanyl, cocaine, methamphetamine, heroin, and fentanyl. During a conversation at the jail, Aldrich allegedly said he’d “really (messed) up” and that they’d “killed all those people.”
The defense alleged that Aldrich had told Thomas James, who first confronted Aldrich before other patrons including Rich Fierro came to assist that “my mom won’t accept me because I’m gay. You’re all the same.”
Prosecutors say attack was planned
Prosecutors drove home the point that the attack was premeditated, stating that he demonstrated knowledge of right and wrong, had previously drawn an annotated sketch of the club, wore body armor, carried multiple weapons and more than 100 rounds of ammunition, and began shooting immediately after gaining access to the club.
At the end of the preliminary hearing, Judge Michael McHenry will make a decision whether there is enough evidence for the case to go to trial. He may also make a decision to dismiss some of the charges, but allow others to go forward.