The current Facebook profile pic for eighteen-year-old Niraj Gautam features him flipping off the camera in the front seat behind the superimposed phrase “Frontseat Freestyles.” Under most circumstances, the image would be unobjectionable. But its timing is unfortunate given the allegations Gautam is facing. He’s been formally charged with vehicular…
On Monday in Trinidad, Ralph Candelario is scheduled to go on trial for the murder of his wife, Pam, more than two years ago in the small town of Walsenburg — and Dateline NBC is among the news operations planning to cover it. Why? Because given the current vogue in true-crime,…
“Thank God for stupid teenage girls and social media.” So said Mason Deal after a jury convicted Steven Paula of punching him out in a road rage incident that we featured in a Schmuck of the Week post in 2014 — and for a very good reason. Turns out the…
How can an obscure prisoner get famous? By attacking a more famous one. That happened for Mark “Slim” Daniels, who assaulted James Holmes in a Colorado prison, then wrote our Alan Prendergast a letter apologizing for not being able to send the Aurora theater shooter to “Satan’s lake of fire.” And…
As we reported last week, the United States government recently agreed to pay $175,000 to settle a lawsuit brought by the family of Robert Knott, a severely mentally ill inmate who committed suicide in 2013 while in solitary confinement at the U.S. Penitentiary Administrative Maximum (ADX), the federal supermax in Florence…
Sex-crime charges against police officers are rare, but not unknown. In 2010, for instance, Denver Police Department Officer Hector Paez was accused of forcing a woman to perform a sex act to avoid going to jail. And in 2014, DPD Detective Michael Ryan was cited for receiving oral sex from…
Tom Flanagan was an avid outdoorsman who loved cycling in Colorado. But a fatal encounter with twenty-year-old Zachary Strnad, a suspected drunk driver, ended his life far too soon. Strnad was arrested on suspicion of numerous charges, including felony homicide. Meanwhile, a fundraising campaign is underway to assist Flanagan’s wife…
The citations against Jesse and Corinna Tamburo offer something to both sides of the marijuana debate. The two were served and released on the misdemeanor charge of child abuse/neglect for allegedly allowing a two-year-child to eat a marijuana edible — the kind of story likely to be seized upon by…
Jessica Holman was a much-loved young mother of a ten-year-old boy. But her life was cut short when she was struck and killed by a stolen truck allegedly driven by Isaac Daigle, age nineteen. Days after the crash, Daigle was arrested. Meanwhile, those who hold Holman close in their hearts…
There is no statute of limitations on murder. This law-enforcement truism is exemplified by the Jefferson County cold cases page. More than thirty homicides are listed, some of them dating back well over half-a-century. But the cases remain open, and that’s as it should be. The victims may be gone,…
Even though St. Patrick’s Day doesn’t officially take place until Thursday, most celebrations in Denver took place over the weekend, including the city’s annual parade, which reportedly attracted as many as 500,000 people on Saturday. But Sunday night at a traditional place for St. Patrick’s Day fun — the Irish Rover…
Last summer, we dubbed Hayden May’s stick-up of a dispensary in Aspen “the dopiest pot shop robbery ever” in part because everyone in the shop reportedly knew who he was — which likely explains why he apologized for his actions during the heist. But there’s nothing funny about the amount of…
At around 6:09 p.m. on Tuesday, March 8, according to the Denver Sheriff Department, a 26-year-old woman being held on a $1,400 bond for aggravated motor-vehicle theft committed suicide in Denver County Jail. She hanged herself with a bed sheet, the DSD reveals. Incidents like these are happening all too…
In March 2015, a slew of gang-related shootings shook the community, ushering in fears of additional bloodshed as the weather warmed. No telling yet if a violent incident last night could be a similar sign of terrible things to come. But early indications suggest that the Park Hill double shooting,…
Last September, we told you about Laurie Teter, whose body was discovered on the side of the road in a remote area after she’d been reported missing. At the time of our post, her death was being investigated as a homicide. More than six months later, an indictment has been…
In recent weeks, we’ve shared two reports about shootings related to marijuana robberies. The first involved Jason Mesaros, who was shot ten times by police following a heist at a home grow that involved gun play and an attack on the residence’s owner. The second pertained to Athina Munoz, just busted…
The United States government is paying $175,000 to settle a lawsuit brought by the family of a severely mentally ill inmate who committed suicide in 2013 while in solitary confinement at the federal supermax in Florence. Although the settlement contains no admission of fault, one of the attorneys in the…
We all know the old saying about how a picture is worth a thousand words. But the juxtaposition of photos, and the back story related to them, can speak in even greater volumes. An example: Compare this image of Jason Mesaros having fun at the beach to his booking photo…
A seventeen-year-old currently living in Grand Junction is being held in a detention center there on a $1 million bond for the 2012 murder of Riverton, Utah’s Anne Kasprzak. She was fifteen at the time of her death, while her alleged killer was fourteen — but there’s already speculation about…
Claude Wilkerson is in plenty of trouble with the law. On Sunday, the resident of Gateway, on Colorado’s Western Slope, was arrested on suspicion of sexual assault, kidnapping, contributing to the delinquency of a minor and more. If he’s found guilty of these crimes, Wilkerson will face a hefty sentence…
In January, we noted that Aurora theater killer James Holmes had been transferred from San Carlos Correctional Facility in Pueblo, where he’d been housed since a transfer from the Colorado State Penitentiary in Canon City. At the time, officials said the move was being made for security reasons — and they…
In addition to making two arrests in a triple murder (with a detective taking part in the second winding up wounded, possibly by friendly fire), members of the Adams County Sheriff’s Office have busted Joshua Bohl in relation to another death: the apparent slaying of young mom Jayme Hosier at…
