Park County

Horse cruelty trial: Was toxic weed responsible for sickening animals?

Update: This morning I spoke by phone with Randall Hatlee, one of the two ranchers found not guilty on misdemeanor animal neglect charges in the much-scrutinized Park County case involving several ailing horses, described in my original post below. While Hatlee expressed some frustration with the i ... More >>

Jesse Paul Speer's alleged kidnapping victim saw photos of other naked girls before assault

Update:Yesterday afternoon, Jesse Paul Speer, a photographer with Colorado ties who's accused of kidnapping and assaulting an eleven-year-old Cody, Wyoming, girl, waived his right to fight extradition during a brief court hearing in Montana yesterday. Meanwhile, new information about the crime is ac ... More >>

Blue state v. red state: Which Colorado do you live in?

Colorado is a key swing state in the upcoming presidential election. In polls, Colorado looks like a toss-up between Mitt Romney and Barack Obama, with leads shifting back and forth by the day -- and which way the vote ultimately goes here could decide the national outcome. By the numbers, though, t ... More >>

Joanne Richardson: Voters won't get to choose Summit County coroner's successor

Some government jobs are too important to be left up to the whims of voters. That, at least, seems to be the thinking behind the exit strategy of Summit County Coroner Joanne Richardson, who announced her upcoming resignation this week -- just after the deadline passed for scheduling an election to ... More >>

Photos: Twenty faces of accused child-porn fans

Yesterday, we told you about Jesse Evans, an alleged child pornographer -- and unfortunately, he's got plenty of apparent peers. The Colorado Internet Crimes Against Children website assembles photos and descriptions of accused creepazoids from across the state -- most of them white men, with only a ... More >>

Video: Tiny documents big dreams in mini-house movement

For a lesson in living large, look no further than Peyton Manning's new Cherry Hills Village digs, a modest 16,000-square-feet pied-à-terre, snapped up for a mere $4.57 million. But a new documentary from a Colorado couple, charting their quest to build their dream home -- all 125 square feet of it ... More >>

Photos: Twenty Colorado sex offenders who failed to register

The Colorado Bureau of Investigation maintains a website focused on convicted sex offenders in the state -- including those whose current whereabouts are unknown, because they've failed to register with authorities. We've collected photos and identifying information for twenty such creeps. If you re ... More >>

Jeffrey Wells, parole officer, accused of forgery to keep arrestees in jail longer

Jeffrey Wells, a Department of Corrections parole officer based in Grand Junction, is well regarded by his fellow employees, who recently named him top employee of the quarter. But he's less venerated by John Morgan and three other parolees, who are currently suing him for allegedly forging document ... More >>

A judge orders six horses returned to the same owners who were accused of neglect

Ron Swift and Randall Hatlee -- the Echo Valley Ranch owners being charged with three counts of animal cruelty -- will have their six horses returned to them as the prosecution continues. In a probable cause hearing on April 10, Park County Judge Brian Green found that the horses wouldn't be in subs ... More >>

Photos: Horses seized after alleged neglect ordered back to original owners

On Saturday, Evergreen-based horse rescuer Monika Courtney organized a benefit concert for six emaciated horses seized by the Park County Sheriff's Office from owners Ron Swift and Randall Hatlee of Bailey. The event was a success, raising $7,800, and participants assumed the horses (including one n ... More >>

Medical marijuana: Boulder Meds owner says license denied because of state error

​Boulder Meds owner Jay Epstein says his business application with the city of Boulder was denied because of a false charge on his Colorado Bureau of Investigations report.

Kurt Riggin: Complaints in Park County medical marijuana case dismissed after long legal fight

Kurt Riggin.​"It's finally over," says Kurt Riggin about his twisted legal odyssey. He'd originally been accused of attempting to influence a public servant and criminal impersonation in Park County stemming from advocacy on behalf of a medical marijuana patient who claimed law enforcement was ... More >>

Kurt Riggin: Supreme Court rejects contempt charge in Park County medical marijuana case

Kurt Riggin.​For almost a year, Kurt Riggin has been fighting accusations that he illegally acted as an attorney back in October 2009 while trying to aid a medical marijuana-using cancer patient allegedly being harassed by the Park County Sheriff's Office. And while the Supreme Court has now r ... More >>

Road to nowhere: The men who are caught transporting illegal immigrants rarely pay the price

Medical marijuana persecution vs. improper law practice: CO Supreme Court slaps Kurt Riggin

Kurt Riggin.​A fresh development in the bizarre case of Kurt Riggin, a self-proclaimed tribal chief and attorney accused of the improper practice of law plus a string of charges related to his defense of a medical marijuana patient in Park County. A judge has recommended that Riggin's claim of ... More >>

Coroner race in Park County gets messy: Who's dead wrong for the job?

Tammy Davis​Who wants to be a coroner? More people than you think, now that CSI and its ilk have made death investigation seem like a hip and even lively career choice. In Colorado practically anyone can apply for the job, which has made for some intriguing races this year. Especially in Par ... More >>

Medical marijuana persecution vs. improper law practice: More charges against Kurt Riggin

Photo by Timothy TiptonRiggin goes to court in 2007.​Last month, we told you the bizarre story of Kurt Riggin, who's been charged before the Colorado Supreme Court with illegally practicing law -- although supposedly not for advocating on behalf of a medical marijuana patient in Park County, w ... More >>

Summer Guide 2010

Medical marijuana persecution or improper practice of law?: The strange case of Kurt Riggin

Photo by Timothy TiptonKurt Riggin heads to the Supreme Court.​The Colorado Supreme Court has played host to some odd hearings over its history -- but few have been more unusual than the May 14 proceeding involving Kurt Riggin. Riggin, who identifies himself as a tribal chief and judge of the ... More >>

Immigrant hot potato one reason for ongoing protests at Aurora detention center

A photo of an ICE bust in progress, from the organization's 2008 annual report.​Since May, an interfaith group has staged a vigil the first Monday of each month at the Aurora Contract Detention Facility, 11901 East 30th Avenue -- and they'll be there again tonight at 6 p.m. Among the many rea ... More >>

See this bobcat? A Colorado couple has been charged with wanting to kill and skin it

A Flickr photo"If I ever see that Jeffrey Bodnar, I'm gonna rip him a new one."​ Hey, Jeffrey Bodnar and Veronica Anderson-Bodnar. If you're guilty of what a federal grand jury in Denver indicted you for earlier this week, you won't win a popularity contest among nature and animal lovers. The ... More >>

Colorado's most hazardous roads - for wildlife

For Colorado's largest power co-op, going green will mean taking down the King of Coal

Souvenirs of South Park

Shmuckalo Bill

Souvenirs of South Park

The Price of One Leg: $1.5 Million

Rail Roaded

Finding a solution to I-70 traffic has been one long, strange trip. But the end could be in sight.

Safety First

Turnabout Is Fairplay

Footloose and fancy free, South Park proved to be a gay old time.

The Beatdown

The mountains win again at the South Park Music Fest.

Welcome to America

He came looking for work. A week in the Park County Jail changed everything.

The 2002 Hall of Shame

Let the blame game begin!

Excessive Force

Citizen complaints and a brutal arrest heat up the sheriff's race in Park County.

Letters to the Editor

From the week of August 29, 2002

Hot Spots

The media play catch-up on the state's largest-ever blaze.

Time Piece

A sad relic of Colorado's anti-Chinese past appears in a Denver antiques shop.

The Siege

The new sheriff vowed to clean up the town of San Luis. For many locals, the price was too high.

Call Me Crazy

When the accused reject a not-guilty plea, Colorado's insanity law breaks down.

Sporting Chance

There's no safety in numbers for SUVs.

Dynasty: The Lost Episode!

Did the recently concluded fight over the Magness fortune have an oddly familiar ring to it? Here's why.

Hate State Sets New Record: 365 Days of Rage!

Off Limits

Off Limits

Party Crasher

Back from the abyss, Sam Zakhem campaigns for the forgotten man: himself

Aurora Sucks

The thirsty suburb's plan to pump water from a big aquifer rouses Park Countians to action.

Lame Excuses

A disgruntled horse buyer snags a lemon and goes public--sort of.

FACING THE MONSTER

LETTERS

FRONTIER INJUSTICE

A BUNCH OF PARK COUNTIANS ARE MIGHTY UPSET ABOUT THEIR SHERIFF.