What a difference a couple of days make. About this time on Tuesday, we were rocked by news of a shooting at Deer Creek Middle School that left two students wounded, one critically — and the situation could have been far worse if staffers led by Dr. David Benke hadn’t…
File this one under “What the hell?” According to the Fort Collins Police Department, a 27-year-old woman was attacked in her home on December 31. Then she was attacked again on February 1. And she was attacked a third time last night. All by the same guy. Who she says…
Brendan Cook stands accused of a clumsy escape attempt — and his girlfriend allegedly helped him not get away. Earlier this month, according to the Denver District Attorney’s Office, Denver Sheriff’s Department deputies showed up at Cook’s door with an outstanding warrant for a drug charge. What to do? Shimmy…
Yesterday, Kristen Parker, a surgical scrub tech who managed to infect a great many patients with hepatitis-C, was sentenced yesterday to thirty years in prison — a punishment that U.S. Attorney David Gaouette (who recently spoke in this space about the arrest of Highlands Ranch medical marijuana grower Chris Bartkowicz)…
Westword is covering the trial of Willie Clark, accused of murdering Denver Broncos cornerback Darrent Williams early on New Year’s Day 2007. The most recent updates for the day will be at the top; to check out the account chronologically at day’s end, read from the bottom up. And click…
During day one of testimony in the Darrent Williams murder trial, Broncos wide receiver Brandon Marshall was mentioned numerous times by John Sheppard, a Williams friend from Texas who joined BM and other Broncos at a New Year’s Eve club outing that turned fatal. But Sheppard made just as many…
Has the Denver Police Department suddenly turned into wannabe judges on Project Runway? Probably not, despite putting out a clarion call for the public to be on the lookout for a “Well-Dressed Thief.” Unfortunately, the DPD doesn’t go into more detail than that. So we don’t know if the wallet-and-purse…
When big news like yesterday’s shootings at Deer Creek Middle School breaks, a growing number of people turn to social media, even though that medium isn’t always reliable. For every positive online development, like the launch of a Facebook page celebrating hero Dr. David Benke, there were false rumors about…
As I mentioned in my earlier blog about the shootings at Deer Creek Middle School, my daughters, who attended there three short years ago, studied math under the tutelage of Dr. David Benke, who’s credited with tackling gunman Bruco Eastwood, likely preventing much more bloodshed. As such, they eagerly signed…
Journalists can write about many events dispassionately, but not all — and for me, there’s no chance in hell of tackling the topic of the shootings yesterday afternoon at Deer Creek High School with distanced objectivity. All three of my children attended Deer Creek. My twin daughters went through a…
Westword is covering the trial of Willie Clark, accused of murdering Denver Broncos cornerback Darrent Williams early on New Year’s Day 2007. The most recent updates will be at the top; to check out the account chronologically at day’s end, read from the bottom up. 6:19 p.m.: Denver police Detective…
You’ve heard about goons who disguise themselves as police officers to make doing nasty business easier, right? Well, the men and women of the Westminster Fire Department are afraid someone with a taste for high-grade narcotics may try something similar while wearing stolen firefighters duds. The WFD reports that two…
As the Darrent Williams murder trial is getting underway, another high-profile trial has come to an end. A jury has found Francis Hernandez responsible for the deaths of three people in a 2008 crash at a Baskin Robbins. Among the victims: three-year-old Marten Kudlis, whose funeral the Rocky Mountain News…
At around 9 p.m. on Friday night, a former member of the military who uses medical marijuana to deal with pain from a back injury, stopped at the 24/7 Health Care Center, at 3535 Walnut Street. Upon his arrival, he saw an unmarked police car parked in the lot. Nearby…
Earlier this month, we told you about bathroom graffiti at Boulder High School that read “Everyone will die 2/12/10.” Fortunately, this threat proved empty — but hot on its heels comes another one almost identical to it. At Broomfield High School, graffiti found on a bathroom wall declared that everyone…
Update, 7:38 p.m.: Ten men and eight women were chosen today to sit on the jury in the Willie Clark case. Clark, 26, is accused of killing Broncos cornerback Darrent Williams in a drive-by shooting on New Year’s Day 2007. Clark’s trial starts tomorrow at 9 a.m…
Former Family Ties cast member Brian Bonsall’s latest arrest would have made news even if he hadn’t claimed that the marijuana in his system during a positive drug test had been used for medicinal purposes (despite the fact that he doesn’t haven’t the required license). After all, his last booking…
Update, 1:21 p.m.: The Associated Press is reporting that Aurora’s Najibullah Zazi has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction and counts of conspiracy to commit murder in a foreign country and providing material support for a terrorist organization. See our original item below:…
Tomorrow, a jury of eighteen Denver County residents will begin to hear evidence that Willie Clark killed Denver Broncos cornerback Darrent Williams on New Year’s Day 2007. They’ll also hear evidence that he didn’t, in a trial that’s expected to take two weeks and include testimony from convicted gang members,…
Back in December, Family Ties moppet turned accused assaulter Brian Bonsall made our Busted Former Child Star Mug Shot Hall of Fame thanks to the image seen here — and his arrest back then apparently whetted his appetite for even more interactions with law enforcement. On Friday, he was back…
Do Denver police detectives hide evidence in secret folders? Lawyers for accused murderer Willie Clark say they do. Other defense attorneys agree. But prosecutors do not; they say attorneys regularly have access to police files. The issue came up yesterday at a pre-trial hearing in connection with Clark’s case. Clark,…
In an update published just over six hours ago about the murder of sixteen-year-old Nathan Bozonier — the item that concerned the discovery of an aluminum baseball bat covered with graffiti-like markings that may have been used in the crime — Thornton Police Department spokesman Officer Matt Barnes insisted that…
