How “Free” Marijuana May Cost Thirteen People Their Freedom

Thirteen people associated with Hoppz’ Cropz stores in Colorado Springs, including co-owners Joseph Hooper, also known as “Joey Hops,” and Dara Wheatley, nicknamed “Boss Lady,” have been indicted on charges that they illegally distributed nearly 200 pounds of marijuana in a variation on the sort of “free” pot giveaway schemes that date back to the days before and just after the launch of legal recreational cannabis sales.

Why Mark Redwine Was Finally Busted for Son Dylan’s Murder After Nearly Five Years

For years, the tragic 2012 murder of Dylan Redwine shared one major element in common with the JonBenét Ramsey case. In both slayings, a parent or parents were under suspicion, yet law enforcers never brought criminal charges. But that changed on Saturday, July 22, when Mark Redwine, Dylan’s father, was arrested in Bellingham, Washington, on suspicion of killing his son. And a grand jury indictment released in the wake of the bust and accessible below reveals why in greater detail than has been previously shared with the public.

Online Fundraiser Defends Alleged Capitol Hill White Supremacist Will Planer

As we’ve reported, alleged Capitol Hill white supremacist William Scott Planer was recently arrested in Colorado Springs on a charge that he put an anti-Semitic sticker on a synagogue, after which authorities discovered that he’s wanted in California on an assault charge. Now, the Traditionalist Worker Party, which has been described as an extremist group, is conducting an online fundraiser for Planer’s defense in which it claims he was merely defending himself and is being victimized because of political pressure from leftists.

Pot Security Guard Travis Mason’s Murder Unsolved After Year-Plus, Reward Upped

The reward being offered for information about the person or persons who killed Travis Mason, a former Marine who was fatally shot while working as a security guard at a marijuana dispensary in June 2016, has been increased to $55,000, more than triple the original amount. Authorities hope the increase will help break the case that’s remained unsolved for more than a year.

William Anderson’s Jail Death Leads to ICE/Denver Sheriff Pissing Match

The July 10 death of William Anderson, a forty-year-old inmate at Denver’s main jail, has led to a war of words between the Denver Sheriff Department and Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Anderson died during a fight with fellow detainee Ricardo Lopez-Vera, nineteen. But while the Denver District Attorney’s Office declined to charge Lopez-Vera in the incident, his undocumented status led to detention by ICE, which claims the DSD released him without properly informing the federal agency even though there was an immigration hold on him.

Inside the Arrest of Alleged Capitol Hill White Supremacist William Scott Planer

William Scott Planer, who was accused online of violent activity and affiliation with white supremacist and neo-Nazi groups in the Capitol Hill neighborhood late last year, has been arrested in Colorado Springs. He was initially charged with a misdemeanor for placing an anti-Semitic sticker on the door of a synagogue, but he is currently being held on a $500,000 bond related to a felony charge in California, where he allegedly attacked a protester during a white supremacist rally in California last year.

Denver Neighborhoods With the Most Violent Crimes So Far in 2017

Violent crime has gone up in Denver during the first half of 2017 as compared to the same period last year. But there’s a wide variation in the number of these offenses from area to area. Denver Police Department statistics for all 78 officially designated city neighborhoods, as shared below, show that two of them didn’t register a single violent crime through the initial six months of this year, while one was the setting for more than 150 offenses in this category.

Inmate Killed at Denver Jail Before Call to Investigate Marvin Booker’s Death There

Earlier today, on the morning of July 10, an inmate was killed at Denver’s main downtown jail. The incident, which a source says involved inmate-on-inmate violence, took place mere hours before speakers at a press conference scheduled to take place outside the facility are expected to demand an investigation into the death of Marvin Booker, who died at the jail on July 9, 2010, nearly seven years ago to the day.

Angie Zapata Tragedy Goes National on Investigation Discovery’s Murder Calls

The 2008 murder of Angie Zapata, a transgender teen from Greeley, stands as both a horrifying example of violence targeting the LGBTQ community and a precedent-setting case for federal hate crime laws. Now, Angie’s story, which we’ve told in a shattering Westword feature and numerous followup posts, is going national by way of “Lost Angel,” an episode of the Investigation Discovery series Murder Calls that debuts tonight, July 10.

Why Jamaal Edwards Got No Extra Time for Second “Sh*t Happened” Killing

Jamaal Edwards, who had previously been found guilty of second-degree murder for killing John Shoeboot in January 2015, has now confessed to culpability in the death of James Clyde Brown during the same incident. But his plea in the Brown case was to manslaughter, not murder, and the admission doesn’t add one day to his sentence for actions that he summed up to investigators by using the two-word phrase, “Shit happened.”

Two Women Shot by Police in Santa Fe Carjacking: One Dead, One Critical

At a press conference that ended moments ago, a Denver Police Department commander confirmed that the two people shot by Englewood or Littleton officers on Santa Fe Drive after a suspected carjacking and chase early this morning were both women. One is dead, while the other is in critical condition at this writing. In addition, a spokesperson said it’s unknown at this point if the suspects shot at police before cops on the scene opened fire or if a weapon was found in or near the stolen vehicle.

Marking Ten Years Since Unsolved Murder of Denver 420 Rally Founder Ken Gorman

More than a decade has passed since the still-unsolved murder of Denver 420 Rally founder and groundbreaking Colorado marijuana activist Ken Gorman. But he hasn’t been forgotten. Indeed, current rally organizers meeting to talk about appealing the City of Denver’s three-year ban of the event brought along Gorman’s ashes, treating them like the equivalent of holy relics. And the mere mention of Gorman triggered both deep emotion over his loss and anger that his killer or killers have yet to be held responsible for their actions.

Jury Finds Meth-Induced Psychosis, Not Insanity, Led Roman Morales to Kill Child

Roman Morales originally claimed to have been insane when he fatally strangled two-year-old cousin Donnie Ro’Mello Romero Jr. at a Lakewood apartment in September 2015. But the jury hearing the case ultimately found Morales guilty of first-degree murder under the theory that his bizarre behavior, including claims that he’d somehow been ordered to kill the child, was actually a symptom of psychosis spurred by meth use.