Denver District Attorney's Office

Christopher Padgett accused of racking up nine arson counts in three blocks

Christopher Padgett, eighteen, is accused of being a busy boy. The Denver District Attorney's Office is charging Padget with nine counts of arson related to blazes all set on the same night within three blocks of each other in the Park Hill neighborhood. The Denver Police Department account can be ... More >>

Jacqueline Gallegos's son wants death penalty for killer of his mom

In recent days, members of Colorado's general assembly have been battling over legislation intended to outlaw the death penalty in Colorado. Yesterday, however, the proposal failed in the House Judiciary Committee. This development distressed the Colorado ACLU; see the group's statement below. But ... More >>

Eddie Simon charged with kidnapping and sex assault that happened in 2001

The Denver District Attorney's Office is a big fan of Katie's Law, which allows the state to collect DNA samples from anyone arrested for a felony, in part because of the growing number of times when this evidence links to cases that have long since grown cold. As an example, witness the charges ju ... More >>

Scott Gessler improperly takes piles of Westwords...so he can autograph their covers?

As if Scott Gessler didn't have enough trouble. The Secretary of State is already being investigated by theIndependent Ethics Commission to determine whether he violated the law by using office funds on a trip to Florida. (Gessler has sued the commission; a hearing is set for Thursday). Meanwhile, ... More >>

Marijuana: Boulder DA drops pot, paraphernalia cases due to Amendment 64's passage

Boulder District Attorney Stan Garnett has instructed his prosecutors to drop a handful of cases involving possession of less than an ounce of marijuana, as well as paraphernalia charges, for anyone over the age of 21. The reason: the passage of Amendment 64, which has yet to be signed into law, bu ... More >>

Iesha Paris and Darryl Hunter busted for child abuse after son shot in face

A couple of weeks ago, we shared the terrible story of Ethan Hearty, a toddler who accidentally killed himself at his grandparents' Utah home after finding a gun. Still no report of charges in that case, but accusations have been aimed at Iesha Paris and Darryl Hunter in a similar incident that took ... More >>

Tahca Christensen reportedly attributes bathtub drowning of baby to other child, age two

A number of news items that broke during the just-completed holiday week received less attention than they deserved. One glaring example: the charging of Tahca Chrstensen and Aldo Preza with child abuse resulting in death for the bathtub drowning of a six month old that Christensen partly attributed ... More >>

Jamie Valdiviezo-Perera bust: Pumas, a tiger blanket and murder of El Cholo (9)

Update: The Denver District Attorney's Office has formally charged Jamie Valdiviezo-Perez, 39, and a juvenile (presumably his son) in the murder of a man whose body was found in a South Quieto Way alley. As sketched out by the arrest affidavit on view below, police were led to the alleged shooters ... More >>

Ethan Ruddy, ex-high school cheerleader, indicted for sex assault

Ethan Ruddy's Facebook page features plenty of wholesome photos, including ones showing him with fellow members of a past Conifer High School co-ed cheer squad. But the crime he's been accused of committing is far darker. The Denver District Attorney's Office has charged Ruddy, eighteen, with sexua ... More >>

Justin O'Donnell slaying: Denzel Richardson, Marquise Davis charged with murder one (3, 4)

The Denver District Attorney's Office has formally charged Denzel Richardson and Marquise Davis in the shocking, daylight gundown of four people in Five Points, with Justin O'Donnell and Deon Rudd dying from their wounds. At this point, though, DA's office reps are keeping the info that led to the ... More >>

Taylor Mathis gets deferred sentence for brutal hit and run caught on camera

Like Carmen Tisch, sentenced to mental health probation for rubbing her butt on, and urinating near, a $30 million Clyfford Still painting, Taylor Mathis didn't immediately earn jail time for one of the most notorious offenses in recent months. That's more surprising in Mathis's case, though, since ... More >>

Derrik Holmes busted for home invasion and rape after immediate DNA hit

Last week, we told you about Connie Liphford, who was found guilty of a 2008 rape based on a DNA hit made years later. But the victim of a home invasion-sexual assault didn't have to wait nearly as long for police to zero in on a suspect. Derrik Holmes was busted in the case within days based on the ... More >>

Anthony Escobedo busted for Billy Newson homicide near Colfax-Pearl "drug market" (41)

Update:Denver Police have busted Anthony Escobedo, 31, in the March 18 slaying of Billy Newson in the vicinity of Colfax and Pearl. Escobedo reportedly has at least one major conviction in his past. As for Newson, his arrest history suggests to Denver District Attorney's Office spokeswoman Lynn Kimb ... More >>

Vincent Groves may have slain 24 women: Colorado's most prolific serial killer?

Update below: The Denver District Attorney's Office has announced that it's solved four cold cases: the murders of a quartet of women between 1979 and 1988. The slayer: Vincent Groves, who may be the most prolific serial killer in the state's history.

Johnny Hockaday: Vehicular homicide charge in DUI-Wax Trax crash that killed Roland Stith

Big pic below.​Update: On October 18, Johnny Hockaday, 28, will be formally advised of the accusations against him -- and there are plenty of them. He's been charged with four felonies, including vehicular homicide, in relation to the alleged drunk-driving crash that slammed the vehicle driven ... More >>

Kyle Horning busted for indecent exposure and burglary after walking in naked on 10-year-old

Big pic below.​The recent encounter involving a ten-year-old girl and her seven-year-old cousin was wrong in two significant ways. It took place in a house where Horning doesn't live. And he was naked at the time.

Calvin Pitts & Amanda Deleon charged even though coroner doesn't know what killed baby

Big pics below.​Update below: Calvin Pitts and Amanda Deleon were busted on charges of felony child abuse even though the Denver coroner couldn't immediately determine why three-month-old Sanai Pitts died. Now we know why they were taken into custody anyhow. According to arrest affidavits, the ... More >>

Anne Kelly, Denver Sheriff's deputy, charged with 3rd-degree assault for slapping DUI suspect

Flickr​Irony alert: No charges were filed against Denver Sheriff's deputies in the jailhouse death of Marvin Booker last year -- but deputy Anne Kelly faces two counts for slapping a DUI suspect who suffered no apparent injury in the exchange.

Kervin Rogers, lethal drug boss?: 2 hours for jury to return guilty verdicts in 3 murders

Big pic below.​Update: It didn't take long for a jury to decide the fate of Kervin Rogers in not one, not two, but three separate murders over a one-month period in late 2009. Two hours after deliberation began, they returned with a trio of guilty verdicts.

Theresa Laswell charged with pimping child while "bottom bitch" for brother Christian

Big pics below.​When it comes to pimping, the Denver District Attorney's Office believes Theresa and Christian Laswell kept it in the family. Last month, Christian was charged with child prostitution and more in regard to allegedly whoring out a seventeen-year-old. Now, Theresa, his sister and ... More >>

Tracy Lee Ottaway gets probation (but is banned from Cherry Creek) for trying to run down valet

Big pic below.​Did Tracy Lee Ottaway receive the justice he deserved? You be the judge. Ottaway pleaded guilty to two counts of menacing with a deadly weapon after yelling "fucking Arab" at a valet and trying to run him down with his Cadillac Escalade. But Ottaway has been sentenced to probati ... More >>

Frances Woodke & Shakiel Madden-Vaughn: Latest on hooker with AIDS, teen sex assaulter

Big pics below.​The latest high-profile cases to pass through the Denver District Attorney's Office are quite different in terms of their specifics but similar when it comes to shock value. One woman has been accused (again) of prostitution with knowledge she has AIDS, while a teenager was con ... More >>

Mark Scott Albaugh: Alleged pervy idiot took computer loaded with child porn in for repair

Large photo below.​As we all know, Criminal University doesn't require an IQ test or entrance exam, and that's lucky for Mark Scott Albaugh -- because he never would have been admitted otherwise. The alleged offense by Albaugh, a registered sex offender, displays a lack of smarts, not to ment ... More >>

Zona's Tamales: Saalim Muhammed & Renee McKinnon plead guilty to theft by receiving

Large photos below.​In September, 84-year-old Zona's Tamales namesake Zona Moore pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of theft by receiving. And now, her son, Saalim Muhammed, and a third person, Renee McKinnon, have done likewise in relation to charges about trafficking in cigarettes and ot ... More >>

Ron Rocha, Regis coach, part of 20-kilos-a-week cocaine-ring bust: See mug shots & drug photos

Large photos below.​Last month, Ron Rocha, a volunteer baseball coach for Regis University, was on the losing end of an intra-squad matchup dubbed the Fall World Series. But he suffered an even greater defeat yesterday, when he was among 35 people named by the U.S. Attorney's Office in the bus ... More >>

Brandon Mondragon charged in hit-and-run that injured Tim Albo, Heather Kornman

Large photo below.​Update:Brandon Mondragon has been formally charged in the hit-and-run incident that badly injured Tim Albo and Heather Kornman. In addition, an arrest warrant has been released revealing that Mondragon had a passenger at the time of the crash, which took place after the two ... More >>

James Mueller and James Chavez: Fathers daughters guns = Shmucks of the Week

James Mueller​Most dads are protective, especially with their daughters. After all, dads know what thoughts go through the male brain. But most dads are able to channel those protective instincts by NOT arming their juvenile daughters with loaded weapons and then taking their respective kids ... More >>

J.R. Smith: Lawyer David Lane cites allegations "so-called victim" is shaking down J.R., Nugs

J.R. Smith.​As speculation ramps up about where Carmelo Anthony will be traded (not if), ugly reports have surfaced about another Denver Nugget who may not be long for the team: J.R. Smith. But Smith attorney David Lane says assault accusations made against him are without merit and predicts ... More >>

Suicide by cop? Officer-involved shooting at 4950 Morrison Road leaves one man dead

A Flickr photo​Did a suicidal man set into motion a chain of events that led police officers to pull the trigger for him? That's the supposition of the Denver Police Department related to an incident yesterday afternoon at 4950 Morrison Road. According to a DPD release, four cops fired at and ... More >>

Jordan Sankel: Doctor accused of improperly examining his kids' nanny

Jordan Sankel.​Jordan Sankel is a doctor with South Denver Anesthesiologists, and the background spelled out in Sankel's bio is impressive. He's a graduate of the New York University School of Medicine, did residencies at the University of Vermont and a hospital in Santa Barbara, and is a boar ... More >>

Daniel Alderete charged after being shot by cop following justified killing of Jesus Sifuentes Jr.

Daniel Alderete.​You knew this one was coming. Following gunplay on 18th Avenue, Filberto Alderete was arrested for killing Jesus Sifuentes Jr. -- but he was subsequently cleared under the Make My Day law. Likewise, the police shooting of Daniel Alderete at the same location was ruled justifia ... More >>

Filberto Alderete (No. 14): No charges in Jesus Sifuentes Jr. shooting due to Make My Day law

Filberto Alderete.​Lots of twists and turns in the gunplay on West 18th Avenue over the weekend. Daniel Alderete was shot by police, allegedly because he wouldn't drop a weapon, while Filberto Alderete was arrested for investigation into the death of a man later identified as Jesus Sifuentes J ... More >>

Michael Ciacio, No. 90: Man charged with killing his elderly mother, Charlene Ciacio

Michael Ciacio, accused of being a bad son.​Just prior to Mother's Day, members of the Denver Police Department discovered a scene unfit for any greeting card. Charlene "Chuck" Ciacio, 84, was found dead, and her son, 47-year-old Michael Ciacio, was taken into custody in relation to her killin ... More >>

Brandon Smith charged with third-degree assault in pinky-shredding iPad theft

Brandon Smith allegedly took off with more than an iPad.​Most snatch-and-grab crimes don't get nearly as much attention as the one Brandon Smith is accused of committing at the Cherry Creek Shopping Center earlier this month. But he made national news because his alleged attempt to steal a tr ... More >>

Douglass Singleton, Mile High Murder No. 66: Isaiah Shaffer becomes second man charged with killing Denver man in controversial robbery

Isaiah Shaffer: Was he after medical marijuana? And does it matter?​In early January, right after Douglass Singleton was shot and killed, the Denver Police Department characterized the slaying as a medical marijuana transaction gone awry -- leading to speculation that the weed element was bein ... More >>

Jennifer Carter, mouth-taping secretary, pleads guilty to misdemeanor child abuse

Jennifer Carter's weapon: masking tape.​In October, Jennifer Carter, a secretary at Palmer Elementary, was charged with two misdemeanors for the way she dealt with a misbehaving six-year-old student -- by taping his hands together and his mouth shut. Today, Carter pleaded guilty to one of tho ... More >>

Erik Osborn found guilty, faces up to 24 years in prison

Here's looking at you, Erik Osborn.​We've chronicled the story of disgraced One Lincoln Park developer Erik Osborn, who was accused of stealing from partners such as "Dealing Doug" Moreland and talk-show host Tom "Lou from Littleton" Manoogian, in a May feature article and a series of blogs ac ... More >>

Medical marijuana among the booty in home invasion

​Reports about medical marijuana-related crime are on the rise. Note our interview with Lt. Jerry Schiager, commander of the Northern Colorado Drug Task Force, who cited "at least five armed robberies, seven burglaries and one kidnapping" related to marijuana in the Fort Collins area over the ... More >>

Dick Wadhams calls Bill Ritter, Stephanie Villafuerte and the Denver DA's office "liars"

Dick Wadhams has a big stick, and he's not afraid to stir with it.​The pressure on Stephanie Villafuerte's nomination for U.S. Attorney shows no signs of diminishing. The release of a letter to Senator Mark Udall in which Villafuerte attempted to squash accusations that she'd accessed a crimi ... More >>

First charges in racially motivated attacks include juveniles getting adult treatment

Ashley Celestine: Your charge ticket has just been punched.​A couple of new photos join our gallery of men and women accused in a series of what the Denver Police Department describes as racially motivated attacks that have taken place in the city in recent months. That's because two juvenile ... More >>

What a deal: Prostitute allegedly offered a bonus with sex -- a possible case of AIDS

Darren Garcia reportedly had a three-letter secret he didn't share with his customers.​It's my understanding, reached via careful research conducted in the name of journalism, that some prostitutes have specialties beyond the old in-n-out. But if the Denver District Attorney's Office is correc ... More >>

Bitch!: Alleged mother from hell charged with pimping her own daughter

Mark Mathias may have watched "Taxi Driver" a few dozen times too many.​Talk about burying the lead. A just-issued release from the Denver District Attorney's Office is entitled "Man Charged With Sexual Assault on a Child" -- and indeed, Mark Mathias, 48, has indeed been formally accused of th ... More >>

Shoulda watched those never-shake-a-baby PSAs a little closer, Stephen Dailey

Get an eyeful of Stephen Dailey, accused baby shaker.​Hard to believe that Stephen Dailey has never seen those public-service announcements warning people to never shake a baby -- even once. But if he did, the Denver District Attorney's Office believes he didn't take them to heart. Otherwise, ... More >>

Colorado Crimes: Daniel Lujan gets thirty years for shooting eight-year old

Daniel Lujan.​Reminder: Doing a really idiotic thing can have a lifetime's worth of repercussions. Exhibit A: Daniel Lujan, who received a thirty-year sentence yesterday for responding to an argument over a bicycle sale last year by firing a shot that perforated an eight-year-old girl (she rec ... More >>

Mile High Murder, No. 25: Jaime Moore charged with killing Jimmy Harmon

Jamie Moore.​ Playing some catch-up on violence that took place over the past couple of weeks.... A July 20 blog noted that a murder had taken place 3602 Leyden Street -- but it didn't note the name of the victim or the identity of the individual accused of the crime. The dead man was Jimmy ... More >>

Jel Was Here

Two former Denver taggers are arrested in L.A.

Mary Starkey Got Served

Police arrest Mary Louise Starkey, head of Denver's famous butler school, as the case against her proceeds.

Hickenlooper Speaks Up at DIA

Denver's mayor tells us where to get off.

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Why is the city giving 9News more than $500,000?

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