On May 17, 2009, Westword launched Mile High Murder, a blog category tracking homicide in the seven county Denver/Boulder area. We thought the tragedies during year one had ended at ninety, with the death of elderly Charlene Ciacio, allegedly at the hands of her son, Michael Ciacio. But one more…
The confirmation of twelve-year-old Greeley resident Kayleah Wilson’s death transformed a Facebook page focusing on her safe return from a beacon of hope to a loving memorial. And that’s remained the case despite the unsettling news that Robert Laurencio Montoya, eighteen, has been arrested and charged with sex abuse, for…
The feds aren’t messing around when it comes to Eric Dodd, the accused Portfolio Bandit, who was arrested last week. An FBI alert issued on May 10 suggested that the criminal in question was suspected of knocking over a dozen banks — and now, Dodd has been formally charged with…
As we pointed out about this time yesterday morning, the friends and family posting on the Prayers For Kayleah Wilson’s Safe Return Facebook page were trying to maintain hope even as they were preparing for the worst. Unfortunately, the worst is what they got: Greeley officials confirm that a body…
Can any conclusions be drawn from the plea deals accepted by two associates of Willie Clark, who’s been sentenced to more time than he could possibly serve for murdering Broncos cornerback Darrent Williams in 2007? Maybe — but prosecutor Tim Twining says doing so may require reading between the lines…
Westminster police are still looking for Eddie Archer, 22, who yesterday was involved in an incident that may or may not have been a kidnapping — but most definitely wasn’t an advertisement for a happy relationship. As proof, check out an extended 911 recording featuring a woman who said Archer…
Two alleged associates of Willie Clark, who’s currently serving a life sentence plus 1,152 years for murdering Broncos cornerback Darrent Williams in 2007, admitted in court yesterday that they were in contempt when they refused to testify at Clark’s trial earlier this year. Kataina “Markie” Jackson-Keeling, 21, and Mario Anderson,…
Back in March, we shared a photo gallery of criminals with Colorado connections who landed on the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted List during the roster’s sixty-year history. But the FBI’s Denver branch has a most wanted list of its own — four murderers and one attempted murderer whose capture remain…
Usually, the FBI doesn’t highlight bank robbers until after the Rocky Mountain Safe Streets Task Force has given them a nickname — like the H1N1 bandit, the Tom Thumb Bandit, the Band-Aid Bandit or the alleged (and just-captured) Portfolio Bandit. But in the case of the three men who robbed…
Jarrad McKay, 21, and Matthew Baker, twenty, haven’t been accused of committing the perfect crime. Instead, they’ve been charged with taking part in a really stupid one — and then making it jaw-droppingly easy for the cops to bust them for it. Early this morning, officers from the Boulder Police…
On May 17, 2009, Westword launched Mile High Murder, a blog category tracking homicide in the seven-county Denver/Boulder metro area. Over the next year, we wrote about ninety different murders — all of them shocking in their own way. On May 17, 2010, year two of this project began with…
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 killing. Michael Ciacio has now been formally charged with first-degree…
The three bodies found yesterday at Boulder Stove & Flooring have now been identified as co-owners Sean and Staci Griffin and Rob Montgomery. According to the Denver Post, Montgomery was the store’s health-products specialist; he’d worked as a software specialist for two decades. In an interview yesterday for the post…
Update, 2:27 p.m.: Gilpin County Sheriff’s Office public-information officer Cherokee Blake has rounded up more information about this crime. Check it out below following the original item, which was published at 12:21 p.m. Yesterday morning, a medical marijuana dispensary in Gilpin County was robbed by two unknown men. And at…
Today was supposed to be former Boulder Police Department public-information officer Sarah Huntley’s first day as spokeswoman for the City of Boulder as a whole — but she was called back to her old job because of a very grim discovery: three dead bodies found inside a local business, Boulder…
He wooed women and got away with pricey sports cars by fooling people into believing he was a Broncos player. Eventually he’d get locked up, but he started the scam all over again as soon as he was free. Amadeus Harlan, aka Johnny Harlan, spent years stealing money, vehicles and…
On Monday, we told you about an FBI alert pertaining to the so-called Portfolio Bandit, the latest scofflaw to wind up with a Rocky Mountain Safe Streets Task Force-approved nickname, following in the footsteps of such luminaries as the H1N1 Bandit, the Tom Thumb Bandit and the Band-Aid Bandit. Henceforth,…
Update, July 19:Ty Gregorak has been de-Shmuckified following the dropping of all charges against him. Read more about this turn of events by clicking here The original item is below. There are certain of rules of engagement involved in visiting strip clubs, and they are for the most part simple…
Last month, we told you about a Channel 31 report about Travis Masse, which quoted the Broomfield Police Department as confirming that an investigation into the former Broomfield High School teacher and wrestling coach was underway. Problem is, a BPD spokesman told Westword the department hadn’t specifically announced that Masse…
According to the Lafayette Police Department, Nancy Marks has got your number — or at least wanted it. Although Marks worked as a psychic, she reportedly also used her mental powers to separate customers from their cash “by convincing them that ‘money is evil’ and that she needed to know…
As Denver City Councilman Chris Nevitt noted yesterday in support of a proclamation demanding comprehensive immigration reform, “I think the two sides of this debate have demonized each other. The immigration-rights folks look at the people who pursued the Arizona measure as being motivated by racism and anti-immigrant sentiment, and…
A Boulder family got an eyeful recently when, during a routine drive to the bank, they saw a man making an unauthorized withdrawal. From his pants. Are you following? The man, whose name I’ll leave out on the off chance I ever get hammered and end up cranking it in…
