Criminal Trials

Aurora theater shooting: Katie Medley among twelve new victims identified

Twelve more people have been identified as victims of the July 20 Aurora theater shooting. Recently released court documents show that prosecutors are charging alleged shooter James Holmes with 24 more counts of attempted murder -- two for each new victim -- bringing the total charges against him to ... More >>

Edward Montour: The other death-penalty decision facing the new DA

This week's feature, "Lethal Election," explores how the race for district attorney in the 18th Judicial District has drawn a national spotlight because the winner will have to decide whether to pursue the death penalty in prosecuting James Holmes, the suspect in the Aurora theater shootings. It's a ... More >>

Insanity defense: Six notorious cases when it worked

One of the central questions in the case of accused Aurora theater shooter James Holmes involves whether his attorneys will employ the insanity defense. The legal tactic has been used many times in mass slayings and other shocking crimes, and not always effectively: Note that serial killers John Way ... More >>

Eric Swanson: "Big bitch" charges dropped in Mayhem concert assault

Eric Swanson is still headed to prison for an attack on another concertgoer at the 2010 Mayhem Festival. But the length of his sentence won't be anything like the mountain of time -- up to 64 years -- he had been facing in the case. Acknowledging that his codefendant had received a relatively light ... More >>

Perrish Cox found not guilty of sexual assault against woman he allegedly impregnated

Update by Michael Roberts: Many observers felt confident that former Denver Broncos defender Perrish Cox would be found guilty of sexually assaulting an unconscious woman last year. After all, DNA evidence showed that he had impregnated her. But moments ago, a jury acquitted Cox of the charges -- a ... More >>

Robert Walters guilty of murdering girlfriend Brittney Brashers, not of putting hit on wife

Robert Walters​A jury has found Robert Walters, 25, guilty of murdering his girlfriend, Brittney Brashers, in November 2009 by beating her to death. The jury found him not guilty, however, of soliciting the murder of his then-wife, Elena Walters, whom he was cheating on with Brashers. Prosecut ... More >>

Boys play with lighters and face arson charges, parents feel burned

Alejandro Perez verdict: A stunning rebuke of Carol Chambers' death-penalty chase?

Alejandro Perez​Last week's acquittal of Alejandro Perez in the murder of another inmate at the Limon Correctional Facility provides fresh ammo for critics of Eighteenth Judicial District Attorney Carol Chambers, whose determination to seek the death penalty for a prison gang homicide has resu ... More >>

Brian Hicks stands trial for allegedly ordering Willie Clark, another man to murder a witness

Brian Hicks.​ Today, reputed gang leader Brian Hicks stands trial in Denver for the murder of a witness named Kalonniann Clark. Prosecutors say Hicks ordered the killing while he was in jail on drug charges in 2006 in order to stop Clark from testifying that he'd tried to shoot her a year earl ... More >>

Jacob Christenson arson case: Denver Post backpedals on story, confused about kid stuff

Jacob & Mom.​Cloaked in secrecy, juvenile court matters are so rarely covered in Colorado that it's been instructive watching the Denver Post fumble a bit in its reporting on Jacob Christenson, the eleven-year-old in Parker charged with second-degree arson over a fire that caused $195,000 in d ... More >>

Travis Anderson guilty of letting abused child die while he surfed Internet about stolen tools

Large photos below.​This week, Travis Anderson was found guilty of child abuse resulting in death and manslaughter in relation to the passing of his three-week old child -- and the evidence put forward against him could hardly have been more damning. Authorities say he stole some tools and the ... More >>

Sean Mueller pleads guilty in Ponzi scheme that ripped off John Elway, others for $71 million

Large photo below.​Last month, we told you about Sean Mueller's alleged Ponzi scheme, which reportedly netted $71 million from 65 investors. Included among them: Hall of Fame quarterback John Elway, whose $15 million loss may have pushed Mueller toward a suicide attempt. Today, Mueller pleaded ... More >>

David Bueno murder conviction vacated: Carol Chambers's office hid evidence, says David Lane

David Bueno.​"Arapahoe County DA Charges Death-Penalty Fees to State," a February 2008 feature by Alan Prendergast, spotlighted the prosecution of David Bueno, one of two cons charged with killing a fellow prisoner in 2004. District Attorney Carol Chambers sought the death penalty against Buen ... More >>

Douglas Taylor found guilty of Aurora arson that killed Jose De Jesus Martinez Espinoza in 2009

Larger photo below.​One of the earliest entries in our Mile High Murder archive involves a May 2009 arson-related murder in Aurora that led to the arrests of Douglas Taylor and Coy Dunn. The victim in the case was subsequently identified as Jose De Jesus Martinez Espinoza. More than a year la ... More >>

Ricardo Sota pleads guilty in Halloween Club Posh killing of John McGaughy-Singleton

Club Posh.​The murder conviction of Douglas Taylor in the May 2009 arson death of Jose De Jesus Martinez Espinoza isn't the only recent resolution to a case from our Mile High Murder archives. Ricardo Soto has pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the death of John McGaughy-Singleton. Details and ... More >>

Zachery Montoya & Francine Segura charged, Make My Day shooter cleared in home invasion

Zachary Montoya.​It was clear from the get-go that the shooting of Daniel Deleon at a South Williams Street home had all the earmarks of a Make My Day case, à la the incident in which Filberto Alderete was cleared in the killing of the death of Jesus Sifuentes Jr. And now it's official. The h ... More >>

Willie Clark's associates sort of admit to maybe lying to the grand jury about the case

Kataina "Markie" Jackson-Keeling.​Two alleged associates of Willie Clark, who's currently serving a life sentence plus 1,152 years for murdering Broncos cornerback Darrent Williams in 2007, admitted in court yesterday that they were in contempt when they refused to testify at Clark's trial ear ... More >>

In the hunt for Darrent Williams's killer, the cops went on the offensive early

Isela Reyes-Talamantes gets twenty years for lying about "tortured death" of two-year-old son

Isela Reyes-Talamantes pleaded guilty to trying to cover up a horrible death.​Isela Reyes-Talamantes, 25, wasn't accused of personally killing her two-year-old son, Elijah, in 2008. But she's earned two decades in stir anyhow because, according to the Denver District Attorney's Office, she "ro ... More >>

How many more victims might have been sexually assaulted by Thaddeus Gonzalez?

Thaddeus Gonzalez has already been charged with three sex crimes.​In less than an hour, Thaddeus Gonzalez is due in a Denver courtroom in relation to three sex-crime charges: two counts of sexual assault on a child and sexual assault -- ten year age difference. But the Denver District Attorne ... More >>

Cory Voorhis on reported perjury by ICE agent

Cory Voorhis.​"Tony Rouco is really a small piece of the puzzle," former U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent Cory Voorhis says about an ICE supervisor who reportedly gave false testimony under oath. "It's most obvious that the wrongdoing is at some level higher." In some respects, ... More >>

Mile High Murder: Kevin Stunes convicted of murdering girlfriend Nancy Bannock last Thanksgiving

View Larger Map This just in from the Adams County District Attorney's Office. Late yesterday, Kevin Duane Stunes was convicted of first-degree murder for killing Nancy Bannock last Thanksgiving at 1616 E. 78th Avenue, an area captured in the graphic above (if you have problems seeing the image, cl ... More >>

William Orr's quest for better, cheaper gas left him facing prison time

In for Life: Day Four of the Michael Tate Murder Trial

Flexing His Muscle

The Air Force Academy discovered that prosecuting accused steroid-abusers is as tricky as attorney Rick Collins says.

System Failure

Chanda Johnson went to court for protection from her ex-husband. She didn't get it.

Vendetta

Who's a bigger nuisance -- Douglas Bruce or Denver's property police?

Down and Out

A sampling of Project Exile convictions.

Follow That Story

Left for Dead, Jailed for Good

Take the Money and Run

It took sixteen years and international extradition, but the Colorado Attorney General’s Office finally got its man.

Judgment Day

The state's first death-penalty panel meets--and spares the life of Robert Riggan.

Dealing with the Devil

The Deuce-Seven Bloods spin out of control, ripping families apart--including their own.

Dealing With the Devil

When the Deuce-Seven Bloods went hunting for a snitch, they shot Venus Montoya instead.

Under the Knife

No matter who wins a medical malpractice case, the verdict cuts both ways.

The Waiting Game

Robert Riggan's fate was to have been decided this week. Now he's back in line.

Trial and Tribulations, Part Two

This is the conclusion of Joanne Cordova's story. For part one, see www. westword.com.

Death Takes a Holiday

A technicality stalls the state's first decision under a new death-penalty law.

Bad Company

They had guns. They were after drugs and cash. What they got was trouble.

Justice Delayed

With the right defendant pulling the strings, Colorado's domestic-violence system can be tied into knots. A victim's story.

The Killer and Mrs. Johnson

A gruesome crime. A bizarre defense. Can a crusading author reopen her best friend's case?

Mutual Contempt

A defense attorney accused of being disrespectful to a judge is off the hook--for now.

Liar, Liar

A top DEA informant makes cases--and $200,000 a year--while breaking a few laws himself.

A Fight to the Death

Frank Rodriguez was sentenced to die twelve years ago. Are we there yet?

Beyond Contempt

A judge and a prosecutor in Gilpin County are after a new breed of criminals: jurors and defense attorneys.

Motion to Dismiss

Should Judge Lynne Hufnagel be benched? Ask the bankrupt cabbies, bullied witnesses and banished lawyers who've tasted her bitter brand of justice.

Trial by Ire

The candidates in the Denver's DA's race refuse to come to order.

Jack's Back

The state had an opportunity to lock up rapist and career criminal Jack Ainsworth for good. Now it's too late.

Second-Degree Burn (Part I)

Cher Elder's family knew all about Thomas Luther. The jury didn't.

WAR OF THE WORDS

HOW AN EAGER DA TRANSFORMED A NEIGHBORHOOD SPAT INTO A HEADLINE-GRABBING HATE CRIME.THE HATING GAME WHEN THE ARONSONS TALKED, THE JEFFCO DA LISTENED. BIG MISTAKE.

THE ORIGINAL GANGSTER RAP

THE DEFENDANT IN ONE OF DENVER'S EARLIEST MURDERS SEEKS A NEW TRIAL.