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A Jefferson County judge refused to reduce the prison sentence for one of the men convicted in the killing of 20-year-old Alexa Bartell during a spree of rock-throwing attacks more than two years ago.
Nicholas “Mitch” Karol-Chik, 21, was sentenced in May to 45 years in prison for Bartell’s death. She was killed in April 2023 when Karol-Chik and two other teenagers threw a 9.3-pound rock through her windshield as she drove on Indiana Street near the Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge. The rock struck Bartell in the head.
In September, Karol-Chik sought to knock 10 years off his sentence through a post-sentencing review, citing his good behavior in prison. He noted that he’d applied for a 10-year prison education program through which he expects to receive a bachelor’s degree in Christian studies and then work in chaplains’ offices across the prison system.
First Judicial District Court Judge Christopher Zenisek, who presided over Karol-Chik’s case and imposed the original 45-year prison sentence, opted against holding a hearing to listen to arguments about sentence reduction and instead denied Karol-Chik’s request in a brief Oct. 8 order.
“The court, in its discretion, determines that the sentence is appropriate as originally imposed due to the severity of the offense and community safety concerns,” Zenisek wrote.
Karol-Chik was convicted of second-degree murder and attempted first-degree murder in Bartell’s killing. He faced between 35 and 72 years in prison under the terms of his plea agreement.
The two other participants in the attack are also serving decades-long prison sentences.
Joseph Koenig, 21, was convicted of first-degree murder in a jury trial and sentenced to life in prison. Zachary Kwak, 20, was convicted of assault and attempted assault and sentenced to 32 years in prison, the maximum possible sentence.
All three men were 18 at the time of the rock-throwing spree. They rode together in a truck and egged each other on as they threw rocks first at parked cars and then at passing cars as the night went on. The driver of the truck sped up before the attacks, and Koenig whooped with excitement after Bartell was killed and her car drifted off the road, testimony at trial revealed.
Prosecutors argued during Koenig’s jury trial that he threw the rock that killed Bartell; his defense attorneys argued that Kwak threw it. Both sides acknowledged that all three teenagers could be convicted in Bartell’s killing regardless of who threw the rock.
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