Live blog: The Angie Zapata trial, April 21

Editor’s note: Melanie Asmar is live blogging the Greeley trial of Allen Andrade, the man charged with murdering Angie Zapata, a transgender teen. Look for updates here — and click these links to catch up on Asmar’s coverage of the proceedings on April 16, April 17 and April 20, as…

At Denver’s 4/20 Rally, the message goes up in smoke

Elsewhere: See a video from Denver’s 4/20 rally and read a dispatch from the Boulder version. When I left Denver’s 4/20 Rally in Civic Center Park yesterday, I was confused — and not for the reasons you would suspect. I spent five hours of a gorgeous Mile High day meandering…

Live blog: The Angie Zapata trial, April 20

Editor’s note: Melanie Asmar is live blogging the Greeley trial of Allen Andrade, the man charged with murdering Angie Zapata, a transgender teen. Look for updates here — and click these links to catch up on Asmar’s coverage of the proceedings on day one, April 16, and day two, April…

The Angie Zapata trial: A summary of the evidence so far

The trial of Allen Andrade, who’s accused of killing transgender Greeley teen Angie Zapata last summer, continues today at 8:30 a.m. So far, as noted in live blogs filed during the April 16 and April 17 proceedings, the fourteen jurors have heard opening statements from both sides, as well as…

Live blog: The Angie Zapata trial, April 17

Editor’s note: Melanie Asmar is live blogging the Greeley trial of Allen Andrade, the man charged with murdering Angie Zapata, a transgender teen. Look for updates here — and click this link to catch up on Asmar’s coverage of the proceedings on day one, April 16. To catch up with…

Forgiving my Columbine High School friend, Dylan Klebold

The last time Chad Laughlin saw his buddy Dylan Klebold, the two almost smashed into each other in the parking lot of Columbine High School. Laughlin was driving his Mistubishi Galant, headed off-campus with a friend for lunch. Klebold, wearing his black duster, was barreling into the lot in his…

Live blog: The Angie Zapata trial, April 16

Editor’s note: Melanie Asmar is live blogging the Greeley trial of Allen Andrade, the man charged with murdering Angie Zapata, a transgender teen. Look for updates here. 4:50 p.m.: Court is recessed for the day. Judge Kopcow is telling the jury not to discuss the case with their family or…

Opening arguments in transgender murder trial expected today

Jury selection continues this morning in the trial of the man accused of killing Angie Zapata, a transgender teenager who was beaten to death last year in her Greeley apartment. Opening arguments are expected to begin this afternoon. Westword will be blogging throughout the trial. Check back for updates. Yesterday,…

Jury selection underway in Angie Zapata transgender murder case

Jury selection is underway in the trial of the man accused of killing Angie Zapata, a transgender teenager. Allen Andrade, 32, is accused of beating Zapata to death in her Greeley apartment after finding out that she was biologically male. According to Weld County court spokeswoman Karen Salaz, about 150…

Denver Blogs: All eyes on Greeley

What’s happening around the local blogosphere: Court is in session: Jury selection starts in the Zapata slaying case. (Colorado Independent) The Colorado Legislature went black, but is it now going back? (5280) Eat this, recession! Buildings keep flying up in Denver (w/pics). (Denver Infill)…

Transgender murder trial starts next week in Greeley

Jury selection in the trial of the man accused of killing Angie Zapata, a transgender teenager beaten to death last summer in Greeley, starts Tuesday in Weld County. State anti-violence and gay-rights groups are using the occasion to raise awareness about hate crimes and spread the word about Zapata, an…

Convict advice for Joe Nacchio

Now that former Qwest CEO and convicted inside trader Joe Nacchio has been ordered to report to prison on April 14 — and presumably has to file his income tax return a day early — we want to make sure his stay goes smoothly, pending the outcome of his never-ending…

From Supermax to a Family of Four

A mere sixteen months ago, Casey Holden’s life was neatly stored within seventy square feet of cell space in the Colorado State Penitentiary. Released in January 2007 directly to the street after four years of 23-hour-a-day lockdown and a decade spent mostly behind bars, the 26-year-old seemed to be facing…

Busting Out of the Revolving Door

When Casey Holden hit the streets last January, fresh from four years of solitary confinement and an adult life spent almost entirely behind bars, the odds of him going anywhere but right back to the Colorado prison system were extra-heavy. Sam-Adams-before-NFL-training-camp kind of heavy. How’s a 26-year-old ex-con with an…

Casey’s Making Moves

When we last checked in with Casey Holden, he was scraping by as a wage slave at a pizza joint in Grand Junction. This was a better life than being locked down in the Colorado state pen, mind you, but a bit short of Holden’s dreams of getting an education,…

Searching for His Identity

Casey Holden has a job, a bank account and an identification card issued by the State of Colorado. But in the eyes of many government agencies and private employers, he doesn’t quite exist. He lacks the essential paper trail. Holden, 26, lost track of his vital personal records — birth…

A Little Confidence

Locked down for years, Casey Holden hardly ever talked to anyone. He lived inside his head because there was no one around but the guards, and they were, well, guards. His social skills, never elaborate to begin with, devolved into a series of grunts and cold stares. Now Holden is…

The Authority Thing

Casey Holden and his parole officer seem to be getting along just fine so far. She approves of his decision to go to school, to try to make something of himself after spending most of the last decade behind bars. He appreciates that she treats him like a human being,…