Crime Down in LoDo in January as Notorious Cases Head to Court

Even as some of LoDo’s most notorious criminal cases head to court, the Denver Police Department has good news: Crime was down 33 percent year over year from 2022 to 2023 across the city. And during the first month of 2024, crime was still trending low in LoDo and near Coors Field, with no murders and few major incidents reported in January.

“Increased police presence has brought renewed safety and security, and I’m now here to say LoDo is back,” said Lissa Druss, government relations director for Riot Hospitality Group, which hosted an event thanking the Denver Police Department on February 1. RHG has helped to operate Dierks Bentley’s Whiskey Row with Montfort Companies since the venue opened on New Year’s Eve 2021 at 1946 Market Street; the partners opened a Riot House down the block to kick off 2024.

There are changes across the street, too. The northwest side of Market is now occupied by ventures run by Handsome Boys Hospitality, which Monfort Companies approached early last year about taking over buildings that had run into legal and liquor problems with the city. Since then, the block has definitely seen less trouble – but there have been a few well-publicized incidents.

Riot Gives Back, the nonprofit arm of RHG, hosted an event February 1 to show its appreciation for the officers who handled an incident on September 16, when seventeen-year-old Keanna Rosenburgh shot and injured five people after being denied entry to Dierks Bentley’s because she had a fake ID.

At the gathering, Druss described how officers immediately took action, triaging victims before paramedics arrived and canvassing the neighborhood to find a person who’d been with the shooter. After identifying Rosenburgh through that person and video footage, the department sent undercover officers to California to apprehend the teen, where she’d fled. As thanks for the officers’ actions, Riot donated $5,000 to the Denver Police Orphans’ Fund.

“I am not surprised at the response immediately after that incident occurred, but I am certainly proud of every officer who took action to deploy life-saving measures,” Denver Police Chief Ron Thomas said.

The block has been much quieter since then. The DPD’s crime map, which tracks National Incident-Based Reporting System data, reports that only three crimes occurred near Dierks Bentley’s in January, and those crimes fell in the “all other crimes” category. That means they weren’t related to aggravated assault, arson, auto theft, burglary, drugs or alcohol, larceny, murder, other crimes against persons, public disorder, robbery, theft from motor vehicles or white-collar crime – all specific crimes the database notes.

While the DPD continues to work to keep crime low in the area, Rosenburgh’s case has passed to the Denver District Attorney’s Office; she was charged as an adult for attempted murder, assault, possession of a handgun by a juvenile and illegal discharge of a firearm. Rosenburgh is currently in custody, with her bond set at $500,000; she has a status conference scheduled for February 26.

And DA Beth McCann’s office is working to prosecute those involved in other LoDo crimes, too.

Raoul Jones – one of those allegedly involved in the shooting that injured ten people after the Denver Nuggets’ championship win on June 14, 2023 – was arraigned on charges of possession of a weapon by a previous offender on February 1. Ricardo Vazquez, who’s been charged with four counts of attempted murder in addition to drug charges in connection with the shootings, is scheduled to be arraigned on February 8. Kenneth Blakely is also being held on attempted-murder charges; he has a disposition hearing March 21. Investigators suspect Blakely and Vazquez are the two who fired their weapons that night.

On January 30, Jordan Waddy – whose actions kickstarted a July 2022 police shooting on the 2000 block of Larimer Street – was supposed to be sentenced after pleading guilty to one count of possession of a weapon by a previous offender, which is a felony. But on January 30, Waddy’s defense requested his sentencing be postponed until February 8.

Officer Brandon Ramos, who was indicted by a grand jury for shooting unsafely into the crowd leaving bars after last call that night, injuring seven people including Waddy, has already been sentenced to eighteen months’ probation after accepting a guilty plea for third-degree assault, which is a misdemeanor.

“Given the fact that Officer Ramos clearly did not intend to shoot innocent bystanders, I believe a conviction for third-degree assault, for recklessly causing the victims’ injuries, is the appropriate resolution in this case,” McCann said in a statement. “Of course, none of this would have happened had Jordan Waddy not been carrying an illegal weapon, and for that reason, I am pleased that Mr. Waddy has pleaded guilty to a felony charge and will be held accountable for his role in the events of that night.”

Crime isn’t just down in the area around Dierks Bentley’s. It’s low across downtown, according to the DPD crime map.

In the Ballpark neighborhood, measured from 20th Street to Broadway between Blake and Arapahoe streets, there were just 48 crimes reported this January, mainly drug- and alcohol-related, along with five thefts from motor vehicles and five aggravated assaults.

Last month, there was a cluster of 21 crimes committed around 22nd and Arapahoe streets, near several shelters. Generally, crimes there involved drugs and alcohol or fell in the “other” category. There was also a small cluster of crimes at 22nd and Lawrence streets, where one of the aggravated assaults occurred.

In LoDo itself – which runs from Cherry Creek to 20th Street, between Wynkoop Street and the alley between Market and Larimer streets – only 44 crimes were reported last month. Most fell into the “other” category, though a white-collar crime was reported at 1822 Blake Street, where Status Ultra Lounge is located.

Union Station was the site of a fifteen-crime cluster in January; there was a ten-crime cluster at 17th and Wewatta streets, behind Union Station. Between the two locations, there were six public-disorder reports, six larceny reports, two aggravated-assault reports and one robbery.

“Typically, DPD has increased staffing on Friday and Saturday evenings downtown; this includes on-duty and off-duty resources,” the department says of its push to deter crime in the area. “These efforts have remained the same throughout this winter in hopes that extra visibility serves as a deterrent for downtown crime.”

Deterring crime is just part of the city’s push to bring people back downtown.

“When we set out and decided to develop in this neighborhood, it wasn’t about building buildings,” says Kenneth Monfort, son of Rockies owner Dick Monfort and partner in Dierks Bentley’s Whiskey Row and other projects on the block. “It was about creating and adding to a very vibrant neighborhood, which I think we’ve done, and we’re well on our way to creating something that’s extremely special here.”

Update: After a delay requested by Jordan Waddy’s defense attorney, he was sentenced to thirty months in prison on February 8.