Colorado teen charged in deadly rock-throwing spree had history of ‘destructive behavior’

One of the three Colorado teens charged in the deadly rock-throwing spree that killed a young motorist last week reportedly had a history of “destructive behavior” — and a neighbor said she was not surprised to learn he was involved in the fatal mischief.

High school senior Joseph Koenig — who was arrested this week along with Nicholas “Mitch” Karol-Chik and Zachary Kwak — was known for his “destructive behavior” and for “causing chaos” even before the horrific incident that killed Alexa Bartell, 20, their friend Joseph Bopp told CPR News.

Bopp was with the suspects, who are all 18 years old, when they loaded Walmart landscaping rocks into Karol-Chik’s pickup truck, according to an affidavit obtained by the Denver Gazette.

He became uncomfortable and asked to be taken home before the trio lobbed the rock that hit the windshield of the car that Bartell was driving on the night of April 19.

One of Koenig’s neighbors, who asked not to be identified, said his arrest “wasn’t a shock.”

“There had been discussion and concerns in the neighborhood for actions he had taken in his past,” she told CBS News Colorado.

She said nonetheless, she was heartbroken over Bartell’s death.