Anderson Aldrich, the alleged perpetrator of the Club Q mass shooting, is scheduled to appear in court on Monday for an arraignment hearing, in what could be Aldrich’s final appearance in district court.

Aldrich is accused of fatally shooting five people and injuring nearly two dozen more at the LGBTQ+ nightclub Club Q on North Academy Boulevard on Nov. 19, 2022. Aldrich faces 323 total charges, including first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, hate crimes and more from the 4th Judicial District Attorney’s Office. 

Aldrich at Monday’s arraignment will have the opportunity to enter a plea for the first time since being arrested inside Club Q in 2022. 

Suspect in Club Q nightclub mass shooting expected to take plea deal: Report

According to a report from The Associated Press, Aldrich is expected to take a plea deal on Monday that will see the defendant plead guilty to multiple murder and hate crime charges, which will ensure a life sentence in prison.

Aldrich spoke with the AP from the El Paso County jail, and confirmed the plea deal. 

“I have to take responsibility for what happened,” Aldrich said to the AP. “I don’t know if this is common knowledge but I was on a very large plethora of drugs… I had been up for days. I was abusing steroids. … I’ve finally been able to get off that crap I was on.”

If Aldrich accepts a plea deal on Monday it could mark the end of the case in 4th Judicial District Court. The District Attorney’s Office, which previously declined to comment on the legitimacy of the reported plea deal, stated that it will host a press conference shortly after Aldrich’s arraignment. 

If Aldrich opts not to accept a deal and instead enters a not-guilty plea, a jury trial will be scheduled instead. 

Reaction to reported plea deal for alleged Club Q shooter Anderson Aldrich: ‘You’re not really in a position to say no’

Former 18th Judicial District Attorney George Brauchler spoke with The Gazette about the reported plea deal from the AP, and stated that he believes it was an attempt for Aldrich to avoid the death penalty at the federal level.  

“It’s just hard to imagine a guy getting to the place where he illegally arms himself, goes to an LGBTQ place and tries to murder everyone in there, and then because he’s charged and has a couple months of sobriety is like ‘Wow, I should have never done that,'” Brauchler said. “That’s hard to imagine. I guess it could happen. But I think it probably has more to do with the fact that they fear the federal death penalty more than anything else.”

Colorado abolished the death penalty in 2020, but it remains a possible sentence at the federal level. The AP report stated that federal investigators remain active on the Aldrich case.

Aldrich’s arraignment is scheduled to begin on Monday at 8:30 a.m. 

Club Q survivors, family members call on Colorado Healing Fund to release additional contributions