I’m a proud native of the Western Slope, and when I grew up in Grand Junction, the main substance we had to worry about was uranium. Those were the days. Now, reports about meth busts are the opposite of unusual — although few can compare to the feds’ roundup of…
This week’s feature, “The Forgotten,” explores an option for cutting prison costs that Governor Bill Ritter hasn’t tried — clemency for prisoners who may have received excessively long sentences and pose little risk to public safety. The article explores some of the more obvious kinds of sentencing inequities — nonviolent…
Many observers were shocked by the bargain prosecutors struck with Ricky Lee Harnish, who has confessed to killing teenager Holly Andrews in 1976 — ten to 24 years in exchange for a second-degree murder plea. Even Clear Creek Sheriff Don Krueger admitted to “mixed emotions” about the length of the…
For a certain brand of pervert, working as a coach at a kids gymnastics school would constitute a dream job — and if the Aurora Police Department has 35-year-old James Craig pegged right, that dream is over. Craig, who worked at the Saddle Rock School of Gymnastics, has been arrested…
This week’s Westword feature, “The Quality of Mercy,” looks at an option for cutting prison costs that Governor Bill Ritter hasn’t tried — reducing prison time for inmates who may have received excessively long sentences and are unlikely to pose a risk to public safety. The cases discussed in the…
You remember David McCoy, right? According to the Boulder Police Department, McCoy says he operated a media business called (I’m not making this up) Zeus Pegasus International, and a while back, he advertised for a camera operator — and a man from New Jersey flew to Boulder to apply. Upon…
In February 2008, as detailed in the recent Westword stories “Up in Smoke” and “Tales of the Dragon,” DEA agents and north metro narcotics detectives uncovered an indoor marijuana ring the likes of which Colorado had never seen. As part of “Operation Fortune Cookie,” investigators hauled more than 24,000 high-grade…
View Larger Map At this point, the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office hasn’t officially declared a couple found dead yesterday in unincorporated Jefferson County to have perished amid a murder-suicide. But given the scene on the 11100 block of West Oregon Place, an area captured in the graphic above (if you…
Governor Bill Ritter’s modest proposal to parole hundreds of inmates a few weeks or months before their mandatory release date, thereby cutting millions from the state budget, has become the political whipping boy for his most opportunistic critics, from GOP legislators to Weld County District Attorney (and Senate candidate) Ken…
The man who died of multiple gunshot wounds at the Garden Court apartments, 1150 N. Syracuse Street, on Friday has been identified as Keyru Mustafa Lolo, 24, a recent immigrant from Ethiopia. The Denver Police Department is offering a reward of up to $2,000 to anyone with “information on this…
View Larger Map On Friday evening, shots rang out at 1150 N. Syracuse Street, an area captured in the graphic above (if you have problems seeing the image, click “View Larger Map”). When Denver Police arrived, they discovered a dead man with multiple gunshot wounds. It won’t surprise you to…
Another day, another vile shaken-baby story. Just yesterday, we told you about Denver’s Stephen Dailey, who’s facing an attempted-murder beef related to the grave injuries suffered by his two-month-old son. Now, a first-degree murder accusation has been leveled against Boulder’s Benjamin Koller, who reportedly admits to having shaken, bit and…
At this point, the folks at Aurora Public Schools really, really don’t want to talk about an incident in which a Hinkley High student allegedly attacked a substitute teacher for taking her cell phone — and related subjects are basically off-limits as well. Regarding the assault, media-relations specialist Paula Hans…
Ricky Lee Harnish traded a confession in the 1976 Holly Andrews case for a reduced charge with a potential ten-to-24-year sentence — waaaay too sweet a deal for a guy who admits to raping and murdering a sixteen-year-old girl. Even Clear Creek County Sheriff Don Krueger admits to mixed emotions…
Hard to believe that Stephen Dailey has never seen those public-service announcements warning people to never shake a baby — even once. But if he did, the Denver District Attorney’s Office believes he didn’t take them to heart. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been accused of attempted first-degree murder and sundry…
Face the facts: Texting in cars can be a pain in the ass when it’s done by drivers who pay more attention to remembering how many times to press the “3” button to get the letter “e” than they do to staying in their lane. But in the case of…
The Denver Coroner’s Office has just updated its list of homicides for 2009 to date, and it’s not pretty. Beginning with Michael Thomas, who died on January 9 due to “sharp force injury to abdomen” through Barbara Irish, who succumbed due to “complications of penetrating gunshot wound of head,” all…
Earlier today, I expressed astonishment that Ricky Lee Harnish, who’s admitted to having raped and murdered teenager Holly Andrews in 1976, will likely face a sentence that maxes out at 24 years. Clear Creek Sheriff Don Krueger, in whose jurisdiction Andrews’ body was found, understands this reaction — because he’s…
Yay! You’ve just won some money playing the lottery — and being as you’re a 75-year-old woman, you can definitely use it. So you head to the nearest grocery store to cash out, feeling mighty fine about life in general. If only Leonard Bedon wasn’t watching the whole thing over…
Of course it’s good news that 54-year-old Ricky Lee Harnish, the killer of Holly Andrews, who went missing in December 1976, has belatedly — really belatedly — taken responsibility for the crime. But the price of this confession was a reduced charge of second-degree murder and a likely sentence of…
In the early hours of New Year’s Day in 2002, Denver police arrived at a home in Congress Park after dispatchers received a call about an attempted suicide. But when they arrived, the front door was locked, and the man, Kurt Sonnefeld, either wouldn’t or couldn’t open the front door…
When 20-year-old Leo Beitz visited an old friend in Boulder last weekend, they did what old friends do: Went out. Got drunk. Came home. Played video games. But at some point in the night, Beitz, for reasons that remain unclear, did some things old friends usually don’t do: Grabbed a…
