Those who’d spent weeks searching for, and praying for, twelve-year-old Kayleah Wilson had barely begun to process her death when news broke that Robert Laurencio Montoya, eighteen, had been charged with sexual assault due to an alleged sexual relationship with the girl that began last October. Yesterday, just prior to…
Approximately 400 people said goodbye to Kayleah Wilson at a memorial service in Greeley yesterday — the same day eighteen-year-old Robert Laurencio Montoya, who reportedly had a sexual relationship with the late twelve-year old, was in court on a sexual assault charge. In the meantime, tributes to the girl continue…
After outdoing itself earlier this week by way of its moniker for the Super Freak Bandit, the Rocky Mountain Safe Streets Task Force, the agency charged with nicknaming local bank robbers, has taken on a new beat: fashion policing. Note that its latest alert focuses on a scofflaw dubbed the…
At this writing, a memorial service for Kayleah Wilson, who was twelve at the time of her death, is taking place in Greeley. But earlier today, the focus was on a person whose involvement in the case was little known by the general public until after her body was discovered…
When last we heard from John Mark Karr, the loonbag who managed to convince CU professor Michael Tracy that he’d killed JonBenét Ramsey, he had reportedly undergone a sex change and was now known as Alexis Valoran Reich. This prospect has spawned a Facebook group with the catchy name “STOP!!!…
The Rocky Mountain Safe Streets Task Force has outdone itself this time. The office known for its clever names for at-large bank robbers has previously given us such memorable monikers as the H1N1 Bandit, the Tom Thumb Bandit, the Band-Aid Bandit and the recently charged Portfolio Bandit. But these handles…
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…
