A Jefferson County judge Friday sentenced the second of three teens who took part in a rock-throwing spree that killed 20-year-old Alexa Bartell to 32 years in prison.
Zachary Kwak (Courtesy Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office)Zachary Kwak, 20, was sentenced roughly a year after he pleaded guilty to assault and attempted assault. He faced between 20 and 32 years in prison.
“They could not have picked on an individual more forgiving or loving than they picked on that night,” District Judge Christopher Zenisek said before imposing the sentence.
“There was nothing, literally nothing, that Alexa Bartell did that put her in that situation.”
Kwak, who was 18 at the time, was with two other men when they collected landscaping rocks the night of April 19, 2023, and threw them at a string of oncoming cars. They killed Bartell when one teen threw a 9.3-pound rock at her car as she drove on Indiana Street. The rock went through her windshield and struck her in the head, killing her.
“I think about this every night, I dream about it often. Anytime I see something that reminds me of this case or Ms. Bartell, I feel truly crippled by the remorse I feel for what happened and the role that I played in it,” Kwak said in court Friday, wearing an orange jail jumpsuit and hand cuffs.“I don’t know why I did not act and I do know that I should have,” Kwak said. “I can say that now, but in the moment, I did nothing.”While Kwak played a role in the attacks that led to Bartell’s death, he “had lesser involvement than the other two,” the judge said. He has expressed remorse, cooperated with investigators and testified in the jury trial. Kwak had no prior convictions.
Kwak didn’t call for help and took photos of Bartell’s car after it crashed into a nearby field, Zenisek said. After her death, Kwak went snowboarding and to prom.
“So in the court’s view, does it matter who threw the final rock? … Maybe not so much. There’s plenty of evidence of all the parties collaborating together, planning this together, of supporting one another, cheering one another on,” Zenisek said.
“But it seems to matter in this course of sentencing, aggravation and mitigation, whose final act of destruction, meanness and violence committed that harm on Ms. Bartell.”
Kwak pleaded guilty last May. His sentencing was delayed so he could testify in the jury trial for his codefendant Joseph Koenig, 20, who was convicted of first-degree murder last week. Koenig will be sentenced in June.
A judge sentenced the third person who was part of the rock-throwing spree, Nicholas “Mitch” Karol-Chik, 20, to 45 years in prison Thursday for a conviction of second-degree murder and attempted murder.
Prosecutors at Friday’s hearing asked the judge to sentence Kwak at the higher end of the range.
Brynn Chase, a deputy district attorney, said while the court may never know Kwak’s exact role on April 19, 2023, given the conflicting details shared in testimonies, it was undeniable that he took out his phone and took a photo of Bartell’s car after she was killed.
“Regardless of his reason for trying to take a picture, he had his phone in his hand and did not call for help, did nothing to try to mitigate the situation,” Chase said.
Speaking for the second day in a row Thursday, Kelly Bartell, Alexa’s mother, remembered her “teammate in life” who was gentle and had big dreams.
“Zachary Kwak took a plea deal, a guilty plea deal for lesser charges and lesser sentencing. While I’m grateful that his plea deal and testimony led to a conviction, the fact remains, he was complicit and is guilty, and I will never see my daughter, Alexa, again in this life,” she said.
Bartell’s family on Thursday questioned Kwak’s honesty as he stood on the stand during Koenig’s trial, when he said he did not throw any rocks on April 19, 2023.
“Despite his testimony, I can’t shake that deep and unsettling feeling that what he said wasn’t entirely true. I still believe that his actions are just as guilty as the others, I do not believe that we have heard the full truth about what happened that night,” Erin Miller, Bartell’s cousin said.
Through tears, Bartell’s brother, Ryan, read a letter he wrote to Alexa, remembering her infectious laughter, loyalty to friends and kindness to strangers.
“The pain of your loss may never fade, but I hold onto the beautiful memories we made together,” Ryan Bartell said. “Your legacy lives in our hearts of all who knew you and your love continues to inspire us.”
Kwak’s defense attorney Emily Boehme requested a sentence of 20 years, with credit for time served.
She said Kwak passed three polygraph tests while identifying Koenig as the person who threw the rock that killed Bartell. He took responsibility for collecting the rocks that the two other men used to throw at oncoming traffic, she said.
“Mr. Kwak was complicit, he was involved, he took direct action to assist Mr. Karol-Chik and Mr. Koenig and failed to act on many occasions when it mattered most and had devastating and fatal consequences,” Boehme said.
At the time of the crime, Kwak was a “traumatized young man with a neurologically immature brain,” she said.
Acknowledging her son’s actions, Sherry Kwak, Zachary’s mother, asked the judge to show mercy, saying her son has acknowledged his guilt, cooperated with investigators and taken full responsibility for his part in the attacks.
Her son was bullied for his Korean heritage as a kid, was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and ADHD and he struggled with substance abuse, she said.
“Now he’ll live with the consequences of that night for the rest of his life,” she said.
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