Trial of King Soopers shooting suspect to begin | News

More than three years after ten people were gunned down at the King Soopers on Table Mesa Drive in Boulder, the suspect will finally go on trial on Monday.

The case of 25-year-old Ahmad Alissa – who faces ten counts of first-degree murder following the March 22, 2021 mass shooting – will officially begin with jury selection at the Boulder County Justice Center after years of legal wrangling over his mental capacity.

The potential jurors will come to the courtroom next week to fill out questionnaires that will then be given to defense attorneys and prosecutors. Then on September 3, attorneys will begin interviewing the potential jurors in person.

Twentieth Judicial District Judge Ingrid Bakke will preside over the trial, with opening arguments expected as early as Sept. 5. Bakke has denied all requests for expanded media coverage and refused to provide seating for the media, but will allow a WebEx video stream of the highly publicized trial.

According to a spokesman for the 20th Judicial District Attorney's Office, the trial is expected to last about three weeks.

Timeline of events

The trial comes three years and six months after the mass murder that resulted in the deaths of Denny Stong (20), Neven Stanisic (23), Rikki Olds (25), Tralona Bartkowiak (49), Teri Leiker (51), Boulder Police Ofc. Eric Talley (51), Suzanne Fountain (59), Kevin Mahoney (61), Lynn Murray (62) and Jody Waters (65).

Alissa was officially charged with the aforementioned ten counts of premeditated murder, 47 counts of attempted premeditated murder and six counts of possession of a large firearms magazine during the commission of a crime, among other charges and enhanced sentences.

The criminal proceedings stagnated for years because Alissa's mental health remained uncertain.

His lawyers raised this issue immediately after the shooting, and the question of whether he was mentally competent to stand trial – that is, whether he was able to understand court proceedings and help his lawyers defend him – has led to the case being held up for the past two years.

The case was put on hold in December 2021 when a judge ruled he was not sane based on reports from doctors at the Colorado Mental Health Institute in Pueblo.

After medical treatment and rehabilitation, Alissa was declared fit to stand trial by Bakke on October 6, 2023.

Prosecutors said the Colorado Department of Human Services (CDHS) determined the suspect was deemed competent to stand trial in August 2023.

“According to the CDHS, the defendant is now sane due to his 'consistent medication adherence' and recent ingestion of a new medication,” prosecutors wrote in a court document.

In November, Alissa pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity, although his lawyers admitted that he was the shooter who killed the people in the store.

In May, Bakke granted the defense's request to have one of its own experts evaluate Alissa's sanity at the time of the shooting for a second time, but ultimately rejected the suggestion that the trial be postponed until March 2025 to give his lawyers time for the trial.

Instead, the trial was postponed by one month to the upcoming September date.

The defense also sought to move the trial away from Boulder because it believed that the “massive, pervasive and adverse publicity” the case generated would prevent a fair trial and bias any jury selected in the district.

Bakke ultimately denied the motion and kept the trial in Boulder.

On July 8, the defense filed a motion to suppress body camera footage of the Boulder Police Department officers who arrested Alissa and later attempted to speak with her at the hospital. The reason, they claimed, was because the officers did not read Alissa his Miranda rights.

Bakke denied the request on Thursday, arguing that the lack of Miranda rights falls under the public safety exception doctrine, which allows law enforcement to question suspects without first reading them their Miranda rights when public safety is at significant risk.

The court found that Alissa “was in custody essentially from the moment he surrendered to police officers at the King Soopers. When the defendant approached the armed officers to surrender, he was immediately given orders and placed in handcuffs before being escorted outside. It is clear that the defendant was not free to leave the building and that his freedom of movement was restricted to a degree that a reasonable person would understand that he was under arrest,” Bakke said in the response.

It's unclear whether the ruling will allow jurors to see body camera footage of Alissa answering questions about the shooting or whether a transcript of the recording will be used. That could be key evidence for prosecutors to explain to jurors Alissa's mental health condition at the time of the shooting.

What happens next?

During the upcoming trial, prosecutors must prove to jurors not only that he committed the crimes, but also that he was not insane at the time of the crime. They must prove that he knew the difference between good and evil and did not suffer from a mental illness that impaired his ability to make decisions. To prove a charge of premeditated murder, prosecutors must prove that he premeditated and planned the shooting.

If Alissa is found guilty of any of the murder charges, he will be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

If, on the other hand, he is found not guilty by reason of insanity, he could be committed to a psychiatric institution – where he would be treated until he is deemed no longer a danger to himself or others.

District Attorney Michael Dougherty and Assistant District Attorney Ken Kupfner will be the lead prosecutors in the case.

The Denver Gazette will provide daily coverage of the entire process.