In a matter of days, Commerce City Police Officer Kevin Lord has gone from being an object of sympathy to a professional pariah. Why? His superiors at the Commerce City Police Department say that Lord — an eight-year veteran of the CCPD with more than twenty years of law-enforcement experience…
A search is on in Colorado Springs for a man who allegedly climbed through the bedroom window of a nine-year-old girl and attempted to sexually assault her. The suspect reportedly pulled down the child’s underwear before her screams alerted her parents and caused him to flee. Both the man’s approach to the…
Rachel Aboytes was a relatively obscure rap musician in life. She had performed a few gigs around Denver and was known primarily for having appeared in the music video for “Southsiders,”a Spanglish rap about gang life, that has received a couple million views online. But Rachel, who went by the…
“Dam that’s a cold ass honkey!!! ” a friend posted about a photo shared on Kirk Boyd’s Facebook page. The line was clearly intended in good-natured fashion. But since then, Boyd has been accused of attempted murder and arrested after a police chase that shut down an entire neighborhood. Boyd’s…
Since June 2014, we’ve been reporting about the bizarre and tragic story of Haley Stanfield. The previous month, Stanfield’s baby, Logan Borchik, died — and she was subsequently arrested for allegedly trying to hire Logan’s dad to kill her then-current boyfriend, who she apparently blamed for the child’s passing. Then,…
“The Demon Dog,” our current cover story, focuses on the life and work of author James Ellroy, whose bestselling, high-octane novels evoke a long-vanished Los Angeles of the 1940s and 1950s and present artfully fictionalized treatment of some of that city’s most notorious crimes, including the Black Dahlia case. Ellroy…
The suspect in a Boulder County home invasion is dead. He was killed by authorities approximately twelve hours after they started looking for him — a period that included not one but two separate chases. At approximately 9:33 a.m. yesterday, according to the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office, 911 dispatch received…
There’s no dispute about who killed Phillip Pfleghardt. Broomfield Police Department Officer Joel Waight fired multiple shots at the suspected bank robber, striking him twice. The first bullet entered Pfleghardt’s right forearm, coming to rest near his elbow. The second projectile went through the left side of his head, causing his death,…
Late last night, the Commerce City Police Department released a sketch of a suspect in the shooting of Officer Kevin Lord. Fortunately, Lord survived the shooting, thanks to a ballistic vest he was wearing. But police throughout the metro area are on the lookout for the man, who allegedly shot…
In July, longtime Colorado Rockies all-star Troy Tulowitzki was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays in a transaction that involved the Jays’ shortstop, Jose Reyes. Afterward, Tulowitzki helped Toronto make the playoffs, while Reyes, who was among the best players at his position during his 2003-2009 run with the New York…
Unfortunately, there have been well over 200 school shootings since the attack on Columbine High School, which killed twelve students and one teacher in April 1999. Nonetheless, this event continues to live on in the public imagination — especially in one town in Connecticut. In recent days, reports reveal that…
Early on Saturday, October 31, in Colorado Springs, preparations for Halloween were shattered by an apparently random series of shootings that left three people dead before police killed the gunman, 33-year-old Noah Harpham. The victims of the horrific spree were two young women, Christy Galella and Jennifer Vasquez, as well…
The murder took place on Halloween night. And police accounts of what happened are genuinely horrifying — so much so that we need to issue an advance warning. Some readers (make that most readers) will find the details to be disturbing Richard Darling, 34, is accused of murdering Rey Pesina, described as…
It’s a strange and tragic situation with more questions than answers thus far. Examples: Servando Flores was busted in the wake of a murder at his Thornton apartment, only to be freed, at least temporarily. Meanwhile, brothers Brett and Paul Yamigawa were jailed for burglary and more — and they’re…
The Office of the Independent Monitor has released its 2015 semi-annual report, and it contains plenty of good news — or at least better news — for the Denver Police Department. In the document, on view below, Independent Monitor Nicholas Mitchell praises the DPD for changing its policy toward shooting…
Metro Denver Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted list currently features sixty individuals — most of them men, a few women. But just because they’re on this roster doesn’t mean they’re either famous or infamous. Indeed, the majority of suspects will be unknown to the public as a whole — and not all…
Worried about the possibility of police brutality? There’s an app for that. Yesterday the American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado launched Mobile Justice Colorado, a new police accountability tool that not only details your rights to witness and record police interactions, but also allows you to submit cell-phone videos of civil…
Back in the lock-’em-up frenzy of the 1990s, the Colorado Department of Corrections became increasingly reliant on private prison operators to stash its excess supply of felons. Those private companies tended to build their McPrisons in small towns on the eastern plains, far from the occupants’ families, promising to hire…
Earlier this year, Durango-area prosecutor Reid Stewart noted what he called a “strange dynamic” between Joe Griffith, 44, and his now-twenty-year-old son, Logan. That’s one way of putting it. Both Griffiths have now been sentenced for their roles in the January robbery of a marijuana shop in Durango. But while the…
The photo gallery on the Facebook page of Kenei Unique Love contains numerous shots like the one above, in which she and significant other Melvin Lewis display warmth and a playful camaraderie. This image contrasts sharply with the accounts contained in separate probable cause statements about an incident earlier this…
On September 5, Tiffany Rasnic updated her current Facebook status to read, “Divorced.” But in subsequent posts, she sounded an upbeat tone. In an October 14 reply to a Facebook fan, she wrote, “Finally got back on feet, doing better than ever. Got a new car, an SUV, got a…
Colorado is home to some of the most dangerous and notorious people in America owing to the presence of supermax facilities in the state. Among them are “Unabomber” Ted Kaczynski, “Shoe Bomber” Richard Reid and “Underwear Bomber” Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab. Now, these notorious criminals are reportedly being joined by Gary Ridgway, also…
