LoDo shooter reaches plea deal for attempted murder | Crime and Justice

A year after a teenage girl opened fire late at night at a bar in Lower Downtown Denver (LoDo) because her ID was refused, the suspect, with extreme indifference, pleaded guilty Friday to a single count of attempted first-degree murder.

There were eight named victims in the case, five of whom were shot.

Keanna Rosenburgh, now 18, spoke loudly as she made her guilty plea at the podium in a maroon prison outfit. She told the judge that she stopped going to school after tenth grade. She was 17 when she committed the shooting.

Three of Rosenburgh's victims suffered gunshot wounds to the leg, another was shot in the ankle and a fifth victim was shot in the right big toe.

She was originally charged with more than 20 criminal charges, including eight attempted murder charges. Security footage showed Rosenburgh indiscriminately firing a pistol at a crowd of people in line at Dierks Bentley's Whiskey Row on September 16, 2023.

The ID Rosenburgh showed at the door belonged to a 25-year-old woman with a different name, according to the affidavit.

After the incident, she fled to Southern California and was on the run until October 19, 2023, when Denver police arrested her with the help of the Los Angeles FBI.

The Lakewood teen's case never went to adult court, so she was charged as an adult, but she is eligible for juvenile offender services because of her age when she committed the crime.

As part of the plea deal, she faces a prison sentence of five to seven years in the juvenile offender system. A 21-year sentence from the Department of Corrections has been suspended, meaning that if she successfully completes her time in the juvenile justice system, she will not have to serve any time in the DOC.

However, if her youth sentence is overturned for any reason, she could face 21 years in prison.

This all means that if she serves the entire sentence in adolescence, she could be free at 24.

The only charge she pleaded guilty to was changed to name all five victims in the case.

One of the victims told Denver Gazette news partner 9NEWS that she was not happy about the plea deal.

“I think there's a lot more compassion for them than there is for the victims,” ​​Desarie Gomez said. “She should have lived. She definitely changed my life. She changed my friends and my families. And I don't think that's fair, that I'm going to experience this for the rest of my life and that she's just going to have to deal with this for the next six years, Max.”

Gomez had five surgeries on the broken bones, destroyed arteries and “completely torn” nerves, she said.

“I actually rarely leave my house, but it just so happened that I was outside that night and that changed everything for me,” Gomez said. “I had to cut school.” I actually dropped out and hopefully wanted to go back, but there were a lot. It definitely took a huge toll on my body and a huge toll on my mind.”

Rosenburgh's lawyers had asked that her case be moved to juvenile court, which would have had less serious consequences if she had been convicted as an adult.

The Denver Police Department's investigation revealed that Rosenburgh was denied entry to the bar due to issues with her ID. She started to walk away but quickly returned to have another conversation with security, police said.

As she walked away a second time, police said, she pulled out a gun and fired it several times toward the club, wounding the five victims. Police said they believe the five victims were not targeted and happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

As the Denver Gazette previously reported, the shooting was one of many factors that led to an increase in police presence in LoDo and sparked a series of community meetings aimed at curbing violence in the neighborhood.

In August of this year, Denver Police Chief Ron Thomas said that due to some mitigation measures, such as: Food trucks in the area have seen a “significant decrease” in violence, such as dispersing revelers in dedicated ride-share areas on weekends and banning late-night driving.

Victims, people supporting Rosenburgh and experts will deliver impact statements at her sentencing, scheduled for January 22, 2025.

The Denver Gazette's news partner 9NEWS contributed to this story.