Another of the three men accused of killing five people in a house fire in Denver’s Green Valley Ranch neighborhood is likely to reach a plea agreement with prosecutors, his attorney said Thursday during the first hearing since the Colorado Supreme Court upheld key evidence in the case.
Gavin Seymour is continuing plea negotiations with prosecutors, his attorney said. Seymour and Kevin Bui, both 19, each are charged with first-degree murder and dozens of other counts in connection with the Aug. 5, 2020, fire, that killed five Senegalese family members in a home on Truckee Street.
The third suspect, 18-year-old Dillon Siebert, pleaded guilty last year to second-degree murder in the killings.
Seymour’s attorney, Michael Juba, said Thursday that plea negotiations were ongoing, and the prosecution noted that those discussions continue to be productive.
“A disposition is very likely in this case,” Juba said. “We are asking for a setover so we can continue to negotiate.”
Seymour is scheduled to return to court on Jan. 4.
In a separate hearing Thursday, Bui’s attorney, Rachel Lanzen, also asked for a delay, but did not mention any specific plea negotiations. Rather, she said that a second, new attorney who was added to the case Thursday needed time to get up to speed.
“We had been trailing it for quite some time to determine what the Supreme Court would decide,” Lanzen said. “…That decision came down. We need some time to digest that and we need time for co-counsel to get familiar with the case.”
The Colorado Supreme Court last month upheld a controversial search warrant that Denver police used to identify Seymour and Bui. The warrant, which required Google to turn over any users who searched particular keywords in a particular timeframe, is the lynchpin of the case.
The prosecution against Bui and Seymour was on hold while the justices deliberated, but can now move forward.
“We got the mandate from the Supreme Court and we need to get going on the case,” Denver District Court Judge Karen Brody said in court Thursday.
She scheduled Bui to return to court for an arraignment on Feb. 1.
Prosecutors allege Bui mistakenly thought a person who stole his phone lived in the family’s home and he wanted revenge. The teens bought masks to wear to hide their faces and splashed gasoline inside of the home before lighting it on fire in the middle of the night, law enforcement officials have testified.
Police identified the teenagers by obtaining information from Google about users who had searched for the home’s address in the days before the fire. Bui admitted to police that he started the fire. Bui and Seymour were both 16 at the time of the crime; Siebert 14 at the time.
Those killed were: 29-year-old Djibril Diol, 23-year-old Adja Diol, their 2-year-old daughter Khadija, 25-year-old Hassan Diol, and her daughter, 6-month-old Hawa Baye.
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