1 of 4 | Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa, 25, was found guilty Monday on all 55 counts at the Boulder County Justice Center in Boulder, Colorado for the mass shooting at a King Soopers supermarket on March, 22, 2021. Alissa shot and killed 10 people, including a Boulder police officer, before pleading not guilty by reason of insanity. File Pool photo by Helen H. Richardson/UPI |
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Sept. 23 (UPI) -- A Colorado jury on Monday found Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa guilty on all counts in the March 2021 mass shooting at a King Soopers supermarket in Boulder County that killed 10 people, shortly before he was sentenced to life in prison without parole.
Alissa, 25, was convicted of killing 10 people, including Boulder police officer Eric Talley, 51. He was found guilty of 55 crimes, including 10 counts of first-degree murder, one count of first-degree assault, 38 counts of attempted first-degree murder and six counts of felony possession of a banned large capacity magazine.
Alissa was sentenced after the verdict to 10 consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole, as well as an additional 1,334 years in state prison.
Testimony in the trial lasted 10 days as witnesses inside the grocery store described the gunfire as they fled or hid to save their lives. One emergency room doctor testified that he crawled onto a shelf and hid behind bags of chips.
The jury deliberated for six hours, starting on Friday, and resumed deliberations Monday morning at the Boulder County Justice Center, before reaching their decision shortly after noon.
While Alissa's lawyers did not dispute that he was the shooter, they argued that he suffered from schizophrenia and could not distinguish between right and wrong. Alissa pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity, claiming he had heard "killing voices" in his head the day of the shooting. He was originally deemed unfit to stand trial nine months after the shooting.
"He often told us about the voices yelling," said Loandra Torres, one of the forensic psychologists who treated him. "He wasn't able to give us more information about how voices yelling led to his behaviors."
Torres testified during the trial that the defendant's behaviors, which included searching online for crowded events and wearing a vest to protect himself, were proof he was not insane.
"It demonstrates carrying out an action in a reasonably logical manner," Torres testified.
One of the witnesses to the shooting, more than three years ago, has since died. The 90-year-old man -- who was confined to a motorized cart inside the store -- was spared during the shooting, which District Attorney Michael Dougherty argued proves Alissa made deliberate choices and knew right from wrong.
