Denver District Attorney's Office

Big Blue Bear vandalism: Charges rejected for man busted in green-paint splashing

Update: Yesterday, Denver police announced, with a good deal of hoopla, that an arrest had been made in the March 31 vandalism of the Big Blue Bear at the Colorado Convention Center, during which the tourism symbol was splashed with green paint. Mere hours later, however, the Denver District Attorn ... More >>

Franklin Sain's racist and sexist anti-gun control e-mails are protected free speech, attorneys say

Franklin Sain, the government contractor arrested last week after sending racist and sexist e-mails to Representative Rhonda Fields, a prominent backer of gun-control legislation (see our previous coverage below), has now been formally charged with two counts, including harassment-ethnic intimidatio ... More >>

William Costello, accused serial rapist, linked to two more crimes but bond lowered

Late last month, we told you about William Costello, charged with being a serial rapist after his DNA scored strikes on three previous sex assaults; see our original coverage below. Since then, he's been linked to two more crimes, yet his bond was actually lowered -- and he's since been released, pr ... More >>

Yakov Rakhshtut: DIA bus driver criminally charged in death of Katherine McKinley

After Katherine McKinley, 57, was struck and killed by a bus at Denver International Airport last month, driver Yakov Rakhshtut did not go through the booking process. Rather, he was simply given a summons for the incident; it's on view below. But after looking at the facts of the case, the Denver D ... More >>

Deonte Crews, alleged gang member, busted for firing into group, hitting woman in back

Deonte Crews, an eighteen-year-old "self-admitted" gang member, has been arrested and charged with attempted murder for shooting into a group of people standing in a yard at 4490 North Dillon Street in Montbello on July 12. A probable cause statement on view below says Crews is a member of the Blood ... More >>

Charles and Michelle Wrenfrow accused of turning tow business into chop shop

Those of us who've had a car towed often gripe about the high cost required to get it back. But what if you had to buy it one piece at a time? That's the scenario presented by allegations against Charles and Michelle Wrenfrow, who allegedly turned their Adams County tow business, C & M Towing, into ... More >>

Merhawi Ocbamichael charged as adult for aggravated robberies as direct file bill advances

This week, the Denver District Attorney's Office announced that it had charged Merhawi Ocbamichael as an adult for a series of aggravated robberies that took place when he was seventeen. It's the sort of decision that won't be made in quite the same way should legislation to reform the system known ... More >>

Kenny and Kathleen Sanchez neglect case: Three-year-old weighed just nineteen pounds

Big photos below.​A shopping trip Kenny and Kathleen Sanchez took with their daughter led to their arrest for child abuse. No, they didn't strike her in public or anything like that. Rather, it was the girl's appearance that raised concern. The three-year-old weighed just nineteen pounds.

Make My Day fatal shooting at 3400 block of West 9th Avenue?

Graphic below.​The Denver Police Department is reporting an early morning homicide on the 3400 block of West 9th Avenue -- and judging by the information the DPD has collected thus far, there's every possibility that it could be ruled justifiable. After all, the account revolves around a home ... More >>

Colorado Firefighter Calendar: DA investigates as founder Kirsten Hamling resigns (PHOTOS)

Big pics below.​Fired Up for Kids, a charity founded by Kirsten Hamling that annually produces the hunk-laden Colorado Firefighter Calendar, is embroiled in controversy right now. The Denver District Attorney's Office confirms that it's got an investigation underway even as Hamling has resigne ... More >>

Occupy Denver: State Patrol spokesman says approach to dealing with protesters "evolving"

​As we reported yesterday, Governor John Hickenlooper said Occupy Denver protesters can't continue camping overnight near the State Capitol -- but he acknowledged that jurisdictional issues have complicated things. Such issues have yet to be resolved, says a Colorado State Patrol spokesman. Bu ... More >>

Juan Garcia-Castrejon, 17, charged as adult in house party murder of Brianna Rae Ramon (75)

Big pic below.​Juan Carlos Garcia-Castrejon doesn't turn eighteen until September, but the Denver District Attorney's Office has already branded him an adult. That's how he's been charged in the Mother's Day murder of Brighton's Brianna Rae Ramon, seventeen, after a house party spun out of co ... More >>

March against "police terror" tonight in honor of Marvin Booker, Oleg Gidenko and other victims

​Against the backdrop of Independent Monitor Richard Rosenthal's conclusion that Officer Eric Sellers should have been fired, not suspended, for brutalizing volunteer firefighter Jared Lunn comes the latest protest against "police terror." According to an item on West Denver Copwatch featuring ... More >>

Peter Bellar to be tried again after hung jury for Douglass Singleton murder: Marijuana related?

Big pics below.​Like the allegedly marijuana-related fatal crash involving Joshua Wittig, the January 2010 murder of Douglass Singleton, reportedly during a robbery involving medical marijuana, made a big splash initially, then fell off the media's radar. Turns out a lot's happened in the case ... More >>

Steven Lee Hill: DNA hit leads to charge for 2007 sex assault on 59-year-old woman

Big pic below.​DNA may not be forever, but it can survive long enough to prompt charges for years-old crimes -- like, for instance, the one that just gob-smacked Steven Lee Hill. He's now been accused of sexually assaulting a 59-year-old woman along an East Mississippi bike path back in 2007 - ... More >>

Dominique Redwood & Jesse Rincon: Latest on alleged sex assaulter, accused hit-and-run driver

Big pics below.​Update: The Denver District Attorney's Office has announced charges in two very different but equally serious crimes. Dominique Redwood is accused of sexually assaulting a woman at knifepoint in a light-rail station elevator, while Jesse Rincon faces a hit-and-run count for all ... More >>

John F. Kennedy High School student, 17, held in alleged sex assault against 14-year-old

​Late last month, a seventeen-year-old student at John F. Kennedy High School was arrested in connection with an alleged sexual assault against a fellow JFK attendee, age fourteen. During lunch. In the school's basement. Look below to see a Denver District Attorney's Office release on the inci ... More >>

Mario McDonald charged along with "grandma" Edna Iddings in horrific child abuse allegations

Big pics below.​Abuse meted out against a ten-year old back in September was so horrific that people are still being charged in the case. The latest? Mario McDonald, the boy's father. McDonald's not accused of physically harming the boy personally. Rather, he's said to have allowed the child' ... More >>

Jacquelyn Perea: Contribuing to delinquency of minor charge in Alicia Martinez murder case

Big pic below.​We don't usually hear about folks accused of contributing to the delinquency of a minor -- and at first blush, the charge against Jacquelyn Perea, who allegedly took a sixteen-year old to a party where alcohol and drugs were being used, and gave her marijuana, doesn't seem espec ... More >>

Skyler Dematteo, Tyrale Haselrig-Graham did vodka shots with nine-year old, DA says

Big pics below.​We all know wacky relatives who slip kids sips of booze at parties. But the Denver District Attorney's Office says eighteen-year-olds Skyler Dematteo and Tyrale Haselrig-Graham crossed the line from playfulness to child abuse on New Year's Eve, giving a nine-year old so many vo ... More >>

Tiffany Nicole Weaver, 7 others, indicted for alleged meth-fueled auto-theft ring (PHOTOS)

Big pics below.​Meth makes people do some desperate things -- like, according to a grand jury indictment aimed at Tiffany Nicole Weaver and seven others, steal vehicles from seventy different victims. Of the 103 counts, Weaver is named in 83 of them. Page down below to see mug shots of the sus ... More >>

James Leyva, star of amazing mug shot, gets 42 years for medical marijuana center robbery try

Big pic below.​We've been sharing memorable 2010 mug shots lately -- and James Leyva's certainly qualifies. Last December, we told you about an attempt to rob the Healthy Choice Wellness Center, an MMJ dispensary whose employees turned the tables on the stick-up artists, as Leyva's booking pho ... More >>

Sean Mueller, John Elway Ponzi-schemer, says he's suicidal, gets 40-year sentence anyway

Large photo below.​Confessed Ponzi schemer Sean Mueller, whose victims include John Elway, first came to the police's attention in April, when he threatened to commit suicide by jumping off a parking garage. At his sentencing hearing yesterday. Mueller said he still thinks about taking his lif ... More >>

Darold Hinojos charged with murder, allegedly stabbed Joey Fuller in frenzy over girlfriend (37)

Larger photo below.​It's official: Darold Hinojos has been charged with first-degree murder in the stabbing death of Joey Fuller. The arrest affidavit, on view below, alleges that Fuller was killed simply for stepping out of his apartment and inquiring about a commotion caused by Hinojos's se ... More >>

Azimdzhon Mazhidov, 15 others from Russia, Tajikistan charged with ripping off $300,000

Large pics below.​Azimdzhon Mazhidov is accused of getting rich with a little help from his friends. He's among sixteen defendants from Russia and Tajikistan charged with stealing more than $300,000 from assorted banks. But they didn't use guns. Instead, according to an indictment on view belo ... 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 >>

Michael Mendenhall accused of shaking down elderly clients for more than $1 million

Larger photo below.​The $1 million-plus allegedly swiped from clients by Michael Mendenhall can't compare to the $71 million allegedly stolen by Ponzi schemer Sean Mueller. But Mueller pleaded guilty to ripping off the likes of John Elway, while Mendenhall is accused of stealing from elderly ... More >>

Jerry Gallegos: 6-year jolt for cop impersonator who couldn't start car he tried to steal

Large photo below.​On the surface, it seems like a perfect scam. Approach a stopped vehicle, flash a bogus police badge, confiscate the driver's keys and wallet, then hop into the car and drive off. But what happens if the car won't start? For Jerry John Gallegos, the answer to that question ... More >>

Myles Stephens booked for armed robbery at medical marijuana center, 2nd suspect at large

Larger photo below.​Back in May, medical marijuana dispensary reviewer William Breathes admitted to having steered clear of The Clinic Alternative Medicine due in part to the stereotype that you can find anything on East Colfax -- but he wound up happy he stopped by. Lucky thing his visit didn ... More >>

Chris Bartkowicz faces jail for growing pot as Aris Minter, two others charged with stealing it

Large photos below.​Oh, the irony. Shortly after we learned Highlands Ranch's Chris Bartkowicz will plead guilty today to federal marijuana counts in exchange for a five-year stipulated sentence, the Denver District Attorney's Office announced that it's charged three men -- Aris Minter, Donjur ... More >>

John Elway's $15M: Did it nearly push suicidal alleged Ponzi schemer Sean Mueller over edge?

John Elway.​Yesterday, we told you John Elway was among the investors allegedly scammed by accused Ponzi schemer Sean Mueller. Now comes news that Elway and a partner invested $15 million a month before Mueller reportedly tried to commit suicide -- an act that led to his unmasking.

Jose Nevarez-Coronado, charged in traffic death of Yvonne Frye, here legally despite Post claim

Large photo below.​Yvonne Frye, 62, a much-loved professor at the Community College of Denver, was killed last week in a crash for which twenty-year-old Jose Nevarez-Coronado has been charged with vehicular homicide. Nevarez-Coronado was allegedly drunk -- but not in the country illegally, as ... More >>

Teenager charged with child abuse resulting in death, allegedly asleep as baby drowned in tub

A Flickr photo​The Denver District Attorney's Office isn't release the name of a seventeen-year old who's been charged with child abuse resulting in death. But it's sharing information about alleged negligence that allowed his eleven-month-old cousin to die. The accusation: The teenager left t ... More >>

Benjamin Janicki accused of licking, tickling vaginas of girls at Park Hill day care center

From 7News coverage.​The arrest affidavit that's led to the arrest of Benjamin Janicki, nineteen, is a horror show for any parent -- or any human being with a functioning moral compass. At this point, the Denver District Attorney's Office has charged Janicki with sexual assaults on three chil ... More >>

Marcus Duran shooting: Classic "Make My Day" case or unjustifiable homicide?

A photo of Marcus Duran from Channel 31 coverage.​Update, 11:18 a.m. May 26: According to Denver District Attorney spokeswoman Lynn Kimbrough, a determination about whether or not to charge the homeowner who shot and killed seventeen-year-old Marcus Duran, who was allegedly trying to break int ... More >>

Andrew Szeremy, No. 91: Father charged with first-degree murder in infant son Noah's death

Andrew Szeremy is accused of having very young blood on his hands.​On May 17, 2009, Westword launched Mile High Murder, a blog category tracking homicide in the seven county Denver/Boulder area. We thought the tragedies during year one had ended at ninety, with the death of elderly Charlene C ... More >>

Donnie Young's widow allegedly ripped off by Xavier Joseph Duran for over $700,000

Xavier Joseph Duran allegedly targeted an extraordinarily sympathetic victim.​The Denver District Attorney's Office release about an indictment naming Xavier Joseph Duran is brief and fairly colorless. But the references to multiple counts of securities fraud and series theft are accompanied b ... More >>

Roderick Elias charged with 1980 murder of Kristen Kay Swanson: Another cold case heats up

Roderick Elias and the DNA on Kristen Kay Swanson were a match.​Another day, another cold case belatedly moved forward by DNA. Yesterday, we told you about Kevin LeWayne McKinney, who's been charged in the 1998 murder of Diane Caldwell. Today, it's Roderick Elias, formally accused of murderin ... More >>

Toddler killer gets just sixteen years in plea deal

Steven Burnley will still be a young man when he gets out of stir.​Plea bargains are a necessary evil given how overtaxed our judicial system is these days. But it's still frustrating when someone who seems to deserve a long, long sentence gets a lighter one simply because he made a deal savin ... 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 >>

Stephanie Villafuerte's latest strategy: simulated openness

Stephanie Villafuerte has a new strategy in her quest to become a U.S. Attorney.​The nomination as U.S.Attorney of Stephanie Villafuerte hasn't gone nearly as smoothly as the Obama administration would like, due largely to accusations that she was involved in the political accessing of a feder ... More >>

Mile HIgh Murder, No. 50: Anthony Joseph Romero formally charged in death of Jessica Porter

Anthony Romero: charged.​Two weeks ago today, Anthony Joseph Romero, 29, was arrested following the death of his girlfriend, Jessica Porter, 28, at 1873 S. Clermont Street. Today, the Denver District Attorney's Office settled on a charge: first-degree murder. Formal charges will be delivered ... More >>

Maurice "Ariel Attack" Schwenkler charged with criminal mischief -- and the political kind, too

Maurice Schwenkler, aka Ariel Attack.​The strange case of Maurice Schwenkler has entered a new phase now that the Denver District Attorney's Office has formally charged the far-left trangender activist also known as Ariel Attack with criminal mischief in the smashing of eleven windows at Color ... More >>

Lakewood cop cleared in shooting of Eugene Velarde

View Larger Map When the Denver Coroner's Office identified Eugene Velarde as the man killed in an exchange of gunfire at the intersection of 17th Avenue and West Sheridan Boulevard, an area captured in the graphic above (if you have problems seeing the image, click "View Larger Map"), its press re ... More >>

Denver takes next step to help drug-endangered children

This morning, the Denver District Attorney's Office will release new city protocols for how law enforcement, social services and legal agencies should deal with kids found in drug-endangered households, such as those living in meth labs or indoor marijuana grows. While that may not sound momentous ... More >>

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