Last July, Gary Sheats was more than three times over the legal limit for intoxication when he plowed into a vehicle driven by Heather Surovik, a pregnant 27 year old only days away from delivery. She survived the crash, as did her mom and a five year old also in…
In November 2008, Elijah Archuleta, age two, died due in large part to burns covering 75 percent of his body — and his mother, Isela Reyes-Talamantes, received a twenty-year sentence for her role in his death circa March 2010. Why, then, did it take until the past few days for…
Update below: James Holmes, the suspect in the July 20 shooting at an Aurora movie theater that killed twelve people and wounded seventy others, was widely expected to plead not guilty by reason of insanity at an arraignment hearing today. Instead, Judge William Sylvester entered a not-guilty plea for Holmes…
If police are right, Nebraska’s Adam Manlove is an extremely efficient criminal. Whereas many scofflaws may only commit one offense in a whole day, he’s accused of having stolen four vehicles and caused eight accidents in several different parts of the metro area in fewer than four hours. Even law…
The judge in the Aurora theater shooting case has settled on the advisement that he will read to James Holmes should the suspect plead not guilty by reason of insanity at tomorrow’s arraignment. It includes warnings that if Holmes enters such a plea, he’ll be subject to a court-ordered psychiatric…
A plea deal in the case of Rollin Oliver, the 22-year-old charged with murder in the shooting death of Denver police officer Celena Hollis last June, may be in the works, according to a court document. “There is a possible disposition in this matter,” notes the register of actions, which…
Last month, we reported about the proliferation of free-marijuana giveaways on Craigslist, with respondents getting weed at no charge if they offered a donation or bought something else. Participants insisted that such offers were authorized under Amendment 64, which allows Colorado adults 21 and over to possess small amounts of…
Colorado’s insanity defense laws are constitutional and any court-ordered mental evaluation that Aurora theater shooting suspect James Holmes might undergo would not violate his right against self-incrimination, prosecutors argue in motions made public Wednesday. The arguments are in response to five motions filed by Holmes’s attorneys last week in which…
The Denver Police Department has dubbed a serial flasher said to be haunting the area near Sloan’s Lake the “Thong Bandit,” even though he’s not accused of stealing anything — except a sense of security for those who’ve been unfortunate enough to lay eyes on his undergarments of choice, and…
Update: On March 6, the family of 21-year-old Zachary Gonzales will be gathering for the sort of event they probably never could have imagined just a week ago — his memorial service, followed by a funeral the next day. Gonzales was killed on February 28. But while his loved ones…
Update: The brutal hit-and-run that took place during the wee hours of Sunday, March 3, near Pho 96, located close to the intersection of Federal and Mississippi, was originally said to have injured three people, two critically. But in the wake of our previous coverage, on view below in its…
Back in October 2010, Denver police officer Hector Paez was charged with sex assault after allegedly coercing an arrestee into orally pleasuring him in order to avoid going to jail. After a mistrial, numerous delays, a civil lawsuit and a media blitz by the accuser in the case, Paez has…
Aurora theater shooting suspect James Holmes “is considering entering” a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity, according to motions filed by his attorneys. The motions — which are on view below — ask the court to clarify certain aspects of the state’s insanity defense laws, including the terms…
On a snowy morning last week, a significant slice of downtown Denver was shut down as a result of a gunfire-filled standoff near 12th and Grant; our original coverage is on view below. Shaun Tobelmann, 34, has now been formally accused in the incident, and there are charges aplenty, including…
In August, when David DeWild pleaded guilty in the 2003 murder of Heather DeWild, wife of his twin brother, Daniel DeWild, we speculated that David had agreed to testify against his sibling in exchange for a lesser sentence. Turns out, though, that he did more than that. Much more. David…
Update: As soon as we got a look at Erin Jackson, the thirty-year-old woman arrested for this week’s brutal hit-and-run that critically injured an East High School student — see our original coverage below — it was clear she didn’t fit the a typical criminal stereotype. Turns out, though, that…
Update: At a news conference that ended moments ago, the Denver Police Department identified the woman arrested for a brutal hit-and-run that critically injured an East High School student yesterday as Erin Jackson, 31. Jackson reportedly turned herself in amid waves of publicity generated by the crime, which was captured…
It’s been a rough patch for Wheat Ridge-based Gunsmoke Guns. First, American Guns, the Discovery Channel show set at the business, was cancelled in what some have interpreted as fallout from the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. And now, the arms-heavy shop has been burglarized, with…
The creepy school janitor is as much a stock character as the bitchy cheerleader or the obnoxious jock — and according to the Elbert County Sheriff’s Office, Michael Petramala fits the stereotype perfectly. Petramala, 53, has been formally accused of online luring aimed at underage girls he hoped would participate…
UPDATE 2: Gwen Devilbiss married Clifford Galley, who is currently serving a 169-year sentence, in November 2013. “This is the most hansome, amazing, sweet, loving and caring man in the entire world. And I am lucky enough to be his wife, through better or worse till death do us part,”…
Last week, we told you about a fatal assault on Darwin Brown outside a lovely boutique in the Santa Fe arts district; see our previous coverage below. Now, 48-year-old Martin Trusty has been arrested in relation to the crime, which has prompted a debate about the safety of the area…
Update: Last week, we told you about the sweeping search for Matthew Caulk, a sex offender who’d previously been the subject of a nationwide manhunt; see our previous coverage below. Yesterday, he was recaptured in Aurora. But the way he was being monitored when he walked away from a halfway…
