Aurora is finally a household name…for the wrong reason

The City of Aurora and its booster group, Visit Aurora, have been working hard to advance the city’s profile, pushing the upstart suburb just east of Denver out from under the shadow of its older, bigger sibling and making it a household name across the country. Today it is. But…

Videos: Aurora Century 16 shootings at The Dark Knight Rises

Overnight, a gunman opened fire during a midnight showing of The Dark Knight Rises at the Aurora Town Center Century 16 movie complex. At this writing (and these numbers could well change, and change soon), fourteen people are confirmed dead, with an estimated fifty wounded, some said to be in…

Bizarre Colorado crimes inspiring copycats?

Luke Irvin Chrisco, who became known last summer as the Boulder porta-potty peeper, has been found competent to stand trial — even if it seems like no person in his right mind would choose such a venue to get his creep on. But strange as that was, someone else pulled…

ACLU, Arapahoe County Sheriff debate mysterious “Gypsy scams” warning

Within the past month, with the explanation that “spring and summer are very active times for Gypsy-related criminal activities,” a letter has circulated under the auspices of the Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office warning area residents against “Gypsy Scams.” When the warning reached attorneys at the Colorado ACLU, the civil rights…

Eric Cech delivers urine bath for no-smoking demand?

When a guy’s got to smoke, a guy’s got to smoke. But what if he’s told he can’t smoke, no matter how badly he needs to suck a soothing cloud of tar and nicotine into his lungs? The answer for Eric Cech, according to a Boulder Police report on view…

Crappy cars lure Colorado Springs crooks?

Here at the Criminal Affairs Desk, we’ve remarked before that malfeasance in Colorado Springs often takes strange twists. Not that crime waves are any more severe or more violent in El Paso County than they are in the Denver area; they’re just…different. Like the rock-wielding bandit who recently terrorized Springs…

Photos: Twenty faces of accused child-porn fans

Yesterday, we told you about Jesse Evans, an alleged child pornographer — and unfortunately, he’s got plenty of apparent peers. The Colorado Internet Crimes Against Children website assembles photos and descriptions of accused creepazoids from across the state — most of them white men, with only a few exceptions (there’s…

Denver police misconduct allegations: A Westword update

In this week’s cover story, “Back on the Beat,” Westword explores recent changes within the Denver Police Department’s oversight system and its investigation of Alex Landau’s January 2009 beating. For a while, there won’t be any changes: While the Department of Justice analyzes the Landau, the DPD has delayed its…