What happens in a public trial becomes public record. Except when the government says it doesn’t. That little hitch in the law fuels the ongoing battle between Prison Legal News and the U.S. Justice Department over a graphic video shot inside the U.S. Penitentiary Florence in the aftermath of a…
Walking alone in any city — even one as seemingly safe as Boulder — during the early morning hours can lead to bad things. The latest evidence: a sexual assault on an eighteen-year-old woman making a fast-food run early Saturday morning. Page down to see a sketch of the suspect…
Robert Walters, the subject of this week’s cover story, “Dead End,” was persistent, prosecutors say. After one man declined Walters’s request to kill his wife, he turned to Rodrick Williams, a career criminal who accepted the job but then ratted Walters out to the police. So who was the first…
This morning, Detra Farries pleaded not guilty to manslaughter and several other charges in relation to one of the most gruesome incidents in recent memory. The victim: Colorado Springs tow-truck driver Allen Rose, who was dragged over a mile to his death…
In June 2010, Stephanie Rochester was accused of smothering her infant son, allegedly because she feared he was autistic. A year later, a state psychiatric evaluation still hadn’t taken place due to systemic delays. But the report’s finally in — and Rochester’s been determined to have been legally insane at…
Who is the man prosecutors say Robert Walters, accused of murdering his girlfriend, hired to kill his wife in order to keep her from telling his secrets on the witness stand? As explained in this week’s cover story, “Dead End,” his name is Rodrick Williams, and he’s a forty-year-old career…
Here’s proof that self-defense training really pays off: A woman schooled in martial arts reportedly managed to fend off an attacker who’d gotten into her home. Now, the Aurora Police Department is circulating a computer composite of the man, who’s suspected of burglary and attempted sexual assault…
The new status report from Independent Monitor and Westword profile subject Richard Rosenthal contains a real whopper: He says off-duty Denver officers caught driving drunk in Denver may be scoring get-out-of-jail free cards. Since 2005, ten off-duty Denver officers have been busted for drunk driving outside of Denver, but within…
Charged with murdering his girlfriend, Robert Walters decided to take his fate into his own hands. Figuring that the only real witness the cops had was his wife, who told police that Walters confessed everything to her, prosecutors say Walters hatched a plan to get rid of her, too –…
Louis Hampers, the former Children’s Hospital ER doctor charged with writing 654 phony prescriptions (in addition to harassing women he met on adult websites), won’t be doctoring or online dating any time soon. He pleaded guilty today to fourteen counts of prescription drug fraud, each of which carries potential prison…
Update: The arrest of Travis Forbes for attempted murder, sexual assault and arson in the horrible case of Lydia Tillman has brought fresh attention to an equally troubling matter — the April 1 disappearance of Kenia Monge, in which Forbes has described himself as a suspect. Now, Monge’s parents are…
According to Charles Irwin, executive director of Colorado Springs Pride Center, two of the five gay people recently attacked at a fast-food restaurant in the city were soldiers. Nonetheless, neither the mayor nor the city council will sign a hate-crime-denouncing resolution prompted by the assault, and neither will they issue…
By all accounts, a teenager busted by Adams County deputy David Morrow was plenty drunk. But Morrow’s the one in trouble — after allegedly punching the teen in the face, breaking his jaw in the process. Among the charges he’s facing: child abuse and second-degree assault…
The Brighton Police Department is under fire for allegedly giving special treatment to firefighter Randy Cleveland, who’s been charged with six domestic-violence-related felonies. But the BPD, which denies the claims about Cleveland, apparently has a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to stupid pranks, as indicated by its arrest of six…
Brighton firefighter and former deputy sheriff Randy Cleveland is facing six felony counts, including assault and sex-assault charges, related to an alleged campaign of violence aimed at his wife and kids. But also under fire is the Brighton Police Department, which accusers say looked the other way — or offered…
As a town prosecutor, Castle Rock’s Christy Ausmus is tasked with trying to earn convictions against suspects. Now, however, she’s on the other side of a criminal charge. Ausmus and another couple are looking at assault and disorderly conduct allegations in a knock-down, drag-out fight at a youth baseball game…
As fire protection chief for Hygiene, William Nelson is called upon to ensure the safety and well-being of people in his community. But on Saturday night, at least one local allegedly needed protection from him. Nelson, 57, has been arrested on a potpourri of charges, including impersonating a police officer,…
The number of shocking hit-and-runs in the Denver area continue to mount. Now, hot on the peeled rubber of cases involving Brittany Gonzales, who allegedly struck a child but only stopped for her hubcap, and Lisa Norton, the so-called hit-and-swim driver, comes word of an incident in which a driver…
The heat on convicted child molester Richard Carl Heeringa has been turned up. In April, he wound up in the number four slot on Denver’s list of the top 25 most violent fugitives. Now, he’s been added to the U.S. Marshals Service’s 15 most wanted list for the entire country…
Lizardo Monje has pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiring to rob the bank where he worked. What are his odds of success? Well, police say they recorded him and an associate discussing the robbery — while they were sitting in the back of a cop car…
Last month, we shared reports that ex-Denver Players/Denver Sugar owner Brenda Stewart would cop a plea — and at a hearing yesterday, the agreement was formalized. In exchange for her pleading guilty to a single count of tax evasion, prosecutors dropped an appropriate number of other charges against the alleged…
Update below: Did a cat named Muffin die from a bad reaction to heroin? A toxicology post-mortem should answer that question — and determine whether or not Danielle Blankenship, 21, should be charged with felony animal cruelty after allegedly blowing heroin smoke in Muffin’s face…
