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WEEK OF MAY 4, 2023
VOLUME 18 | ISSUE 46
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Rock-throwing Arvada mayor warns against polarization in final State of the City homicide suspects’ affidavits paint grim portrait of April 19 events BY RYLEE DUNN RDUNN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
ship. Discussing the murder of two Arvada Police Officers over the past two years — Gordon Beesley in 2021 and Dillon Vakoff in 2022 — Williams recounted the “dark days” their passing brought to the city, and the outpouring of grief and support that the community offered the police department in the aftermath. Looking to the present, Williams cited homelessness as a primary concern as the city moves forward, and said the city team was looking to enact legislation that would criminalize actions by homeless individuals. “One challenge facing the entire city — but acutely felt by the police department — is the increase of visible homeless in our community,”
Arrest affidavits — including statements from two of the three suspects — in the rock-throwing death of Alexa Bartell suggest that suspects Joseph Koenig, Nicholas “Mitch” Karol-Chik and Zachary Kwak have a history of throwing projectiles at cars, photographed Bartell’s car after throwing a fatal rock through her windshield, and discussed plans to deny involvement in the crime. Koenig, Karol-Chik and Kwak — all 18-year-old residents of Arvada — were taken into custody by Jefferson County sheriff ’s deputies on the evening of April 25, almost a week after the murder of 20-year-old Bartell, who was one of seven motorists whose vehicles were hit by large landscaping rocks on the night of April 19. While Koenig declined to be interviewed by investigators, Karol-Chik and Kwak gave somewhat conflicting accounts that point to a repeated pattern of throwing projectiles at moving vehicles. Karol-Chik told investigators that he and Koenig had been involved in throwing objects — including a statue and other rocks — on “at least 10 separate days” since at least February. The following account is based on the allegations in the affidavits: On April 19, Karol-Chik and Koenig bought a “project” car, according to Karol-Chik, around 4 or 5 p.m., after which Karol-Chik moved the car to a friend’s house, drove to Kwak’s house to pick him up, and then continued to get Koenig. Karol-Chik’s statement says that he and Kwak both collected landscaping rocks from the Walmart on 72nd Avenue and Sheridan Boulevard, loading them into the bed of Karol-Chik’s pickup, a Chevrolet Silverado 1500. A fourth man said he was with the trio at the Walmart, but asked to be taken home when he suspected the
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Williams poked fun at the Arvada Press’ characterization of his outfits in the past and wore an uncharacteristically muted suit PHOTO BY RYLEE DUNN for the occasion — save for the rhinestones.
Outgoing Mayor Williams looks back on 24 years on the dais BY RYLEE DUNN RDUNN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Arvada Mayor Marc Williams recently gave his final State of the City, capping 24 years as an elected official by looking back on how the city has changed and looking forward to what lies ahead — including an upcoming election that promises to overhaul a council that’s remained fairly consistent for the last few years. Williams — who began serving on city council in 1999 as a councilmember and was elected mayor 12 years ago — began his address by
comparing the city two decades ago to Arvada of the present. “In 1999, there was no Gold Line or transit hub,” Williams said in the April 21 address. “72nd Avenue was not an east/west corridor… 24 years ago, we maintained 780 lane miles of paves streets — today, that number has nearly doubled to 1440… in 1999, we didn’t have the Jefferson Parkway to complete the missing link of the beltway — OK, we still don’t have it, but I’m telling you, there is still a chance!” Williams discussed the reinvigoration of Olde Town and Arvada’s business community coming together to weather the COVID-19 pandemic. He praised partnerships — such as the city’s relationship with the Apex Parks and Recreation District and the Jefferson County School District — as strengths of the city’s management and leader-
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