After four days of closed-door hearings, Aurora theater shooting defendant James Holmes was back in open court today for a session about whether FBI crime scene analysts who collected data in the theater should be allowed to offer expert testimony at his trial. Brett Mills, an FBI forensic examiner, testified…
Earlier this month, we told you about how local strip club employees banded together to raise awareness about sex trafficking in advance of the Broncos-Chargers playoffs game in Denver. Their reasoning? Sporting events attract forced prostitution. But is this true? That weekend, Denver police reported just one prostitution-related arrest –…
Today marks the start of closed-door hearings in the Aurora theater shooting case, during which the lawyers are expected to discuss suspect James Holmes’s mental health in detail. Holmes has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to killing twelve people and injuring seventy others in July 2012. As part…
Groucho is usually the Peyton Manning of elephants, “a perfect gentleman,” says Denver Zoo large animal curator Dale Leeds. In his view, “Groucho is a mature male with self-confidence,” not unlike the Broncos’s seasoned quarterback. “Peyton Manning doesn’t have to get on TV, scream and shout about how great he…
On January 29, the Colorado Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in a case to determine who will fill the District 4 seat on the Adams 12 school board. As we reported in an earlier blog post, the question before the high court is whether candidate Amy Speers won the…
Last week, we told you about local strip club employees banding together to fight sex trafficking in anticipation of a spike in forced prostitution related to the Broncos-Chargers game on January 12. Their plan was to hand out trading cards made especially for the playoff game, stamped with the message…
Immigrant Jeanette Vizguerra, who has been fighting her deportation case for five years, announced a victory today: Federal immigration authorities have granted her a stay of deportation for six months. The mother of four, who is a vocal activist for immigration reform, will be allowed to remain in the United…
Despite a recent effort to change the rules, it’s still illegal to own a kinkajou as a pet in Colorado. Last week, the state Parks and Wildlife Commission denied a petition from a man named Jared Dryer, who was seeking to legalize the possession of kinkajous. The kinkajou is a…
Major sporting events attract big money and big crowds. But Michael Ocello, who owns several Denver strip clubs and co-founded Club Operators Against Sex Trafficking, says they also attract a specific type of crime: men and women, girls and boys who are brought to Denver and forced to work as…
Ever seen an anteater get an ultrasound? No? The Denver Zoo can change that. Zoo tamandua Rio is pregnant — thanks in no small part to her mate, Quito. Tamanduas are a species of anteater native to South America that sport sixteen-inch tongues that they use to, well, eat ants…
Denver Zoo has posted additional signage warning people to stay out of the elephant exhibit, says zoo spokeswoman Tiffany Barnhart. The move comes in the wake of an incident on December 23 in which an intoxicated 21-year-old woman made her way past the barriers and into the elephant enclosure, apparently…
Update: A proposed ballot initiative that would ban concealed handguns on public college and university campuses was given the go-ahead yesterday by a state board that reviews such measures. But that doesn’t mean the initiative will automatically be on the ballot. Starting in mid-January, the proposal’s backers will have six…
Last week, we told you about two homicides being investigated by the Aurora police, including the murder of a man whose body was found at 11922 East Archer Place, apartment K-23, just before 8 p.m. on December 26. The victim has since been identified as 28-year-old Rodolfo Martinez-Cancin. And today,…
On January 1, 2014, Colorado will become the first state to sell recreational marijuana. As revealed in the following profiles of three local ganjapreneurs, pot is big business — and the (green) rush is on. •••••••••••• Kayvan Khalatbari, Pot Pioneer I’ve always been drawn to creative people who are a…
Tomorrow at 1 p.m., the public will have an opportunity to remember seventeen-year-old Claire Davis, who was fatally wounded in the December 13 Arapahoe High School shooting, at a memorial service at the National Western Events Center. Tickets to the Celebration of the Life of Claire Davis are free and…
On the morning of December 13, eighteen-year-old Karl Pierson gave no indication that anything was amiss, according to Arapahoe County Sheriff Grayson Robinson. He took the time to have a meal and go bowling by himself. Then, at around 12:30 p.m., he entered Arapahoe High School through a door that…
Just before 8 p.m. last night, the Aurora police responded to 11922 Archer Place, apartment K-23, near the Aurora Hills Golf Course to find the body of a deceased male. The man’s identity has not yet been released pending the outcome of an autopsy, but police are treating the death…
Late on Christmas Eve, an altercation in the parking lot of Rack’em Billiards and Sports Bar in Aurora ended with one man fatally shot. The Arapahoe County Coroner’s Office has identified the victim as 35-year-old Damon Weyrough. He was transported to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead a short…
Prosecutors in the Aurora theater shooting case say the mental evaluation conducted on suspect James Holmes contains “numerous deficiencies,” and they allege that the doctor who performed it, Dr. Jeffrey Metzner, had “an unfair bias.” They’d like Holmes to be re-examined by two experts that they’ve chosen. Those are among…
Stefan Moton, who was paralyzed from the chest down in the 2012 Aurora theater shooting, has filed a lawsuit against theater owner Century Theatres, Inc. Like other lawsuits filed by victims, Moton’s claim alleges that the theater was lacking in security, allowing a gunman to prop open an emergency exit,…
Colorado Springs not only won the Regional Tourism Act jackpot this week, but it won more money than the state was recommending. Whereas the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade suggested giving the city about $53 million in tax rebates over thirty years, the state Economic Development Commission…
Accused Aurora theater shooter James Holmes looked unkempt at a court hearing this morning to discuss setting another hearing that, if the public is allowed to attend, could shed some light on his mental health. Holmes sported bushy hair and a beard and sat stoically as he listened to Judge…
