I first encountered Josh Beckius, subject of “Redemption,” this week’s cover story, as a photograph in the Boulder newspaper. I’d read that some teenagers had been arrested in connection with a two-year-old murder at Basemar Cinema Savers, and here he was, a dark-haired kid posing with a baseball bat, beside…
Update below: It’s a temptation pretty much every student has felt — the urge to make a bomb threat because of an impending test or an awful assignment or the feeling that there was something more important to do than go to school. Of course, most of us are able…
Society seems to have a different viewpoint about sex assaults involving an older woman and an underage male than if an older man and a teen girl are paired — but the former can certainly have tragic consequences. Case in point: the relationship between a fifteen-year-old boy who committed suicide…
A judge sentenced 25-year-old Robert Walters to life in prison without parole today for the murder of his former girlfriend, Brittney Brashers. Though the sentence was mandatory, Judge Anne Mansfield also called it “fitting” after listening to heart rending statements from Brashers’s sister and brother. “Please be patient,” her sister…
This week’s cover story, “The Victim Lobby,” delves into the growing power of the victim rights movement and the sometimes clashing agendas of groups within that movement. But there’s one issue crime victim advocates strongly agree about: The pile-up of unsolved homicides over the past few decades is alarming –…
Amanda Joliff and Richard Smith have now been formally charged with child abuse, false imprisonment and more in connection with the horrific treatment of a fourteen-year-old developmentally delayed boy. An arrest affidavit on view below recounts off-the-charts neglect in a home that comes across as an unkempt, uncleaned zoo…
Update: Early this month, Azura Lakin, 21, killed her former boyfriend, Shaun Cassidy, 23, with a beer bottle. That fact was never in dispute. But the question of whether Lakin was acting in self-defense was, until a hearing yesterday, when officials decided against filing charges — a determination that left…
This week’s cover story, “The Victim Lobby,” examines the victim rights movement in Colorado — its remarkable growth and accomplishments, as well as the controversy over who truly “speaks” for victims in court or in the legislature. But few in high places speak as powerfully, or as knowledgeably, about the…
Jo Scott is the truest of believers when it comes the fight against abortion rights — so much so that she’s repeatedly violated both state and federal laws designed to protect clinic visitors. But the level of harassment will presumably be modified now that a settlement with the Justice Department…
Lucky Stefanie Dickinson: The former Ellicott school board member has gotten to pose for two mug shots in the span of a month. The first time, Dickinson was busted for allegedly sexting a teen. And the latest? She’s being accused of sexually assaulting a teen three years ago…
Long Island-resident Varoujan Khodjamirian’s flight home from the Denver area was presumably uneventful — maybe because a judge ordered him to forego alcohol on the way back. Why this edict? Because Khodjamirian’s previous time in the air devolved into a drunken, death-threat-filled tirade that required the jet that carried him…
Update: The Denver coroner’s office has now positively identified the man killed by police following a robbery attempt at a cell-phone store as Mark Sepulveda — the suspect in the September murder of Juan Carlos in Lakewood. Likewise, the Denver Police Department has confirmed that a suspect currently in custody…
Back in September, Myrl Serra, district attorney for the 7th Judicial District, was busted on suspicion of unlawful sexual contact and other charges. Suspicion confirmed: Today, the Colorado Attorney’ General’s Office has announced that Serra has pleaded guilty to two counts, including criminal extortion…
Is a need to use the restroom a good excuse for leaving a baby alone in a car? Most people would answer “no.” But it’s a marginally better reason than a desperate need to gamble in a casino — which is presumably why Louiesa West claimed the call of nature…
In May 2010, we told you about Lafayette psychic Nancy Marks, who allegedly told clients that “money is evil” before taking around $300,000 of it from them. Yesterday, she was finally slated to go to trial over the charges against her. But — what a coincidence! — she checked herself…
If you had virtually unlimited access to merchandise via counterfeit credit cards, would you go to… Arby’s? Carl Hughes, Tyrea Taylor and Larry Coates did, according to an indictment on view below — and they’re accused of making plenty of other stops as well. Total estimated bill: $200,000-plus…
Update: On October 18, Johnny Hockaday, 28, will be formally advised of the accusations against him — and there are plenty of them. He’s been charged with four felonies, including vehicular homicide, in relation to the alleged drunk-driving crash that slammed the vehicle driven by Roland Stith into Wax Trax,…
The legal maneuverings continue in the case of Joshua Carrier, a former Colorado Springs cop who’s charged with nearly 200 incidents of sexual assault on children. He had easy access to kids, given that he was a school resource officer and volunteer wrestling coach…
Update: Here’s an interesting twist on the story of alleged mother-daughter bank robbers busted in Westminster yesterday. Mom Norma Sisneros was portrayed as the getaway driver for her daughter, Tina Guerrero. But Sisneros now says she didn’t realize what the hell Guerrero was doing…
If police are right, 31-year-old Kathy Johnson’s imagination is not only active, but filled with hidden (read: invisible) dangers. Johnson is accused of a series of false reports about ominous threats — all of which appear to have been directed at her by her…
Kids grow up so fast these days — but that doesn’t mean they’re ready to hit the road in the family car. Which explains why police have charged Lori Rogers for letting her nine-year-old daughter drive passengers that included a ten-month-old…
Rose Ann Santistevan hardly fits the profile of a drug kingpin. She’s 71 years old and suffers from emphysema. So when police burst into her home as part of a narcotics investigation dubbed Operation Jeez Luis, she did what anyone in her position would do: She had a heart attack…
