Back in May 2011, we told about accused procurer Germaine “Jell-O” Wallace, who was arrested along with four women who allegedly helped him run a prostitution ring through high-profile Denver strip clubs. He’s now been convicted on a pair of charges that netted him a fifteen-year sentence in the Big…
It just doesn’t make sense for lawmakers to allow guns on college campuses, where the risks of suicide or shootings tied to mental health illness can be high. At least that’s an argument of Boulder Representative Claire Levy, who is crafting legislation that would add campus buildings to the list…
If the Jefferson County DA’s office is right, some of the sixteen people indicted in a drug ring bust weren’t satisfied with dealing meth and cocaine. They were also allegedly involved with an illegal cockfighting operation featuring seventy roosters plus accoutrements that allowed the birds to slash the hell out…
When we assemble our various mug shot roundups each year, trends emerge. Last year, for example, there were a slew of baby-face booking photos. This year, in contrast, there were an unusual number of mugs featuring guys who would probably (or definitely, in many cases) qualify for the senior discount…
The University of Colorado has released 1,500 e-mails from accused Aurora theater shooter and former student James Holmes’s e-mail accounts. (They didn’t release 1,200 others, deeming them privileged.) Most of the released e-mails are mass messages, though there are a few notes authored by Holmes. CU also released e-mails sent…
Today, we begin our six-part roundup of 2012’s most memorable mug shots, culled from our crime coverage throughout the year. And given what’s happened in these parts over the past almost-twelve months, it’s only appropriate that we’re starting out with the weirdest images — frequently with weird allegations to go…
A colleague of the CU-Boulder history professor hospitalized after pranksters fed her a pot brownie stressed the seriousness of the incident by noting the bad things that could have happened if the prof had driven afterward. But this scenario wasn’t hypothetical in the case of two Boulder cops recently busted…
How did faculty and staff at the University of Colorado, where accused Aurora theater shooter James Holmes was a neuroscience student, react the morning of July 20? We’ve put together a timeline of e-mails culled from the 3,800 released this week by CU. The e-mails, which you can read below,…
On the “About” section of Vincent Chacon’s Facebook page, Steven Hernandez is listed as “Brother (Pending).” Also pending are a series of legal actions prompted by the pair’s arrest for the armed robbery of the Park Meadows Nordstrom, followed by a high-speed chase…
Today, the University of Colorado released about 3,800 e-mails related to accused Aurora theater shooter James Holmes, a neuroscience student at the school who had begun to withdraw more than a month before the July 20 attack. Most of the e-mails we’ve combed through are unremarkable, but some provide a…
Update: Earlier this week, we wondered if the area near the intersection of South Chambers Road and East Ohio Avenue in Aurora was the most dangerous block in the metro area owing to a pair of sexual assaults and one sex-assault attempt there within about a week. The answer now…
Last week, we reported on a lawsuit from the American Civil Liberties Union against Colorado Springs, which is pushing forward with a controversial anti-panhandling law that critics see as violating free-speech rights. The city says it won’t start enforcement for a few weeks, but will begin education around the law…
Frustrated by a decade of legal delays and setbacks, the father of slain state corrections officer Eric Autobee says that he now opposes further efforts to obtain the death penalty for inmate Edward Montour Jr. for the 2002 murder. In a recent interview, Bob Autobee also blasted the leadership of…
The scene at Jugz Sports Tavern should have been celebratory last night. After all, the bar caters to Broncos fans, and earlier in the day, Denver defeated Tampa Bay for the team’s seventh straight victory. But that was before two police officers confronted Marcus Ray Martinez, a 27-year-old car theft…
After the passage of Amendment 64, we reported that Denver District Attorney Mitch Morrissey had called for a review of all pending pot cases that would be legal under the measure, with a bias toward dropping those unaccompanied by additional charges. Now, however, an attorney says a client accused of…
Each year, we collect the most memorable images from the previous twelve months — and when we start rolling out those posts, expect to see shots from November among them. Look below to see the shots that caught our eye over the past few weeks, and be sure to click…
Steve Hogan, mayor of Aurora, the city where Century 16 shooting suspect James Holmes allegedly killed twelve people and injured dozens more, is not joining a nationwide coalition of mayors that supports stricter gun laws. In response, the group, Mayors Against Illegal Guns, argues that Hogan should join fellow city…
In what’s called an effort to support the economic vitality of downtown Colorado Springs and stop panhandling, the city passed an ordinance this week that bans solicitation. But the law is so broad that it violates the First Amendment. At least that’s the interpretation of the American Civil Liberties Union,…
Erik Jensen was seventeen when he got mixed up in the deadly domestic drama of Nate Ybanez, his best buddy. Ybanez is now serving a life sentence for the 1998 murder of his mother, Julie; Jensen is also serving life without parole for helping him — although whether he was…
The news that the Denver Police Department will now be enforcing state drunk cycling laws and giving out DUIs to intoxicated riders has sparked a lot of debate. But as word spread earlier this week, DPD officials said it was unclear how DUIs for cyclists would affect their driving licences…
This week’s feature, “The Old Boys,” explores an emerging quandary in the criminal justice arena. Colorado has 51 state inmates serving life without parole for crimes committed when they were under eighteen — and thanks to a recent Supreme Court decision declaring such sentences unconstitutional, this special population may have…
Jailhouse confessions tend to be treated skeptically by judges and juries, and with good reason; inmates have a bad habit of lying about their crimes, either to brag or to blame someone else. But the confession that inmate Jeff Johnson says he obtained from co-defendant Johnathan Jordan, stating that Jordan…
