Since we were children, we’ve been trained to think of firefighters as heroic figures who earn our trust by putting the welfare of others before their own. But if the information contained in an arrest affidavit on view below is accurate, Denver firefighter Ronald Asciutto broke that trust in a…
When we designated Bridgette Sandoval a Schmuck of the Week back in February, we admitted that we weren’t sure if her excuse for a police chase and failed escape — she claimed she’d been forcibly injected with heroin and meth — was brilliant or crazy. A better word, we now…
Last week, we told you about the manhunt for Steve Pierce, a convicted sex offender wanted for allegedly molesting a nine-year-old family member; see our previous coverage below. Now, Pierce has been captured a long way from home, at a location in Washington state. But even as law enforcers travel…
James Holmes, accused of killing twelve people and wounding seventy at a July 2012 screening of The Dark Knight Rises at an Aurora theater, has been allowed to plead not guilty by reason of insanity. Judge William Sylvester had previously entered a plea of not guilty on Holmes’s behalf. At…
This months roundup of memorable mug shots is an extremely eclectic collection. Those represented include nationally known accused criminals, a celebrity, a collegiate athlete, a law enforcer accused of having gone awry, a man who many hoped would be dead within months, and a slew of others unknown to the…
The Denver Police Department is on the lookout for 25-year-old Christina Santos — not due to anything she’s done, but because of what was done to her. Early this morning, Santos was reportedly grabbed by her boyfriend and forced into his vehicle against her will. Their whereabouts is currently unknown,…
Steve Pierce’s first arrest for a sex crime took place when he was just twelve years old. And the Thornton Police Department feels confident he hasn’t grown out of this abominable habit despite the decades that have passed, not to mention numerous additional run-ins with the law. Pierce is now…
Update: More information is emerging about the tragic murder of Routt County’s Asher Lesyshen-Kirlan, age nine. According to local law-enforcement reports, Asher’s parents, Lisa Marie Lesyshen and Michael Kirlan, were going through a separation at the time Lisa shot Asher multiple times, killing him. Afterward, she told Michael to come…
Tomorrow’s scheduled hearing in the case of accused Aurora theater shooter James Holmes has been postponed until Tuesday, June 4. The purpose of the hearing is so the judge can advise Holmes about “the effect and consequences” of entering an insanity plea. Once the judge has done so, he’ll decide…
The judge in the case of accused Aurora theater shooter James Holmes has ruled that Colorado’s insanity plea laws are constitutional. In doing so, Judge Carlos Samour rejected arguments by Holmes’s attorneys that the laws are unconstitutional partly because they bar a defendant from calling his own experts to testify…
A hearing today in the case of accused Aurora theater shooter James Holmes dealt with one question: If Holmes, who has indicated that he’d like to plead not guilty by reason of insanity, does not cooperate with a court-ordered mental examination, should he be allowed to call his own expert…
When Governor John Hickenlooper announced yesterday that he’s offering a reprieve to Nathan Dunlap, who was convicted in 1996 of killing four people at a Chuck E. Cheese restaurant, he never uttered Dunlap’s name. Instead, he chose to call him “offender number 89148,” reasoning that he’d already gotten enough notoriety…
Yesterday, in announcing a reprieve for quadruple murderer Nathan Dunlap noted that Lisa Clements remains against the death penalty even after what happened to her husband, the late Colorado prison chief Tom Clements. What happened to Clements is that Evan Ebel allegedly murdered him, then took off for Texas, where…
Moments ago, Governor John Hickenlooper announced his decision regarding the scheduled execution of Nathan Dunlap, who was convicted in 1996 of killing four people and seriously wounding a fifth during an assault three years earlier at a Chuck E. Cheese restaurant. Rather than granting clemency, as had been requested by…
There’s a huge disconnect between the images shared online by Orin Fryson and news of his assorted arrests and guilty pleas. The former portray him as a super-hot photographer whose striking images of gorgeous women are undeniably eye-popping. The latter depicts busts for indecent exposure and masturbation at assorted Denver-area…
A note to potential employers of Taylor Powers, 21. When you Google her name, you will come across posts like this one — as well as clips from the New York Daily News and The Smoking Gun — about her being charged following her mushroom-fueled strip and subsequent rescue during…
Update: Yesterday, we told you about the shooting of an employee during what appeared to be a robbery at a Pleasures adult store in Aurora; see our previous coverage below. Now, representatives of the Aurora Police Department have released a surveillance photo of the man who pulled the trigger. See…
For all the good things that come along with more cycling in Denver, there are also some negatives — including bicycle-related crime, which tends to be committed at some locations more often than others. Example: A new 9News report has identified the city’s ten worst bike racks for theft, with…
A Montbello High student who says a schoolmate, nineteen-year-old Paris Bonds, tried to sexually assault her was so traumatized by what took place that she sought therapy before she reported the alleged crime to police. But with the therapist’s encouragement, the young woman contacted the Denver PD weeks after the…
On May 17, 2009, The Latest Word launched the Mile High Murderarchive. Today marks MHM’s fourth anniversary, and as is clear from the following compilation of cases we’ve covered over the previous 365 days, it’s been a very grim year. Example: Last year on this date, the archive’s total was…
On May 17, 2009, The Latest Word launched the Mile High Murder archive. Today marks MHM’s fourth anniversary, and as is clear from the cases we’ve covered over the previous 365 days, it’s been a very grim year. Example: Last year on this date, the archive’s total was 49. This…
Over the weekend in Lyons, Patrick Ward, 69, was arrested on a series of charges, including suspicion of vehicular homicide and driving under the influence of alcohol, in the death of cyclist Michel Van Duym. Now, we’re learning that Ward appeared at a series of public meetings in Lyons circa…
