Author: Blair Miller
Some face police interference charges in protest at Cory Gardner’s office; building manager ID’d
DENVER – The 10 disability advocates arrested Thursday evening at the Denver office of U.S. Sen. Cory Gardner, R-Colo., were all in the process of being released from jail Friday afternoon, save one woman who was not admitted to Denver’s jail because of her medical condition.
The Denver Police Department criminal complaints for those arrested all say that Andrew Merritt, who is Gardner’s state director for Colorado, was the person who advised police that the advocates were to be removed from the building. The reports say police were notified at 6:44 p.m. Continue reading
Louisiana sex offender fugitive caught in Boulder County with 16-year-old runaway
BOULDER COUNTY, Colo. – A wanted sex offender out of Louisiana was found with a 16-year-old runaway Thursday off the Peak to Peak Highway in Boulder County.
Stephen Broussard, 36, was wanted out of Louisiana on two felony warrants for failing to register as a sex offender and contributing to the delinquency of minors.
The FBI, Boulder County Sheriff’s Office and other law enforcement agencies from Colorado and Louisiana had been involved in the search for Broussard, whom agents believed had fled to Boulder County.
By using cellular tracking data, the FBI was able to pinpoint his general location.
Authorities found Broussard and the 16-year-old female runaway, who has not been identified, at a campsite off County Road 116, just off the Peak to Peak Highway in an unincorporated part of the county.
The teenaged girl was put into Boulder County Housing and Human Services, and Broussard was arrested on his outstanding warrants.
The sheriff’s office says that Broussard is expected to be extradited back to Louisiana to face charges.
Denver’s final social marijuana consumption rules released; waiver, ventilation requirements dropped
DENVER – Denver’s licensing department on Friday released the final adopted rules that business wanting to allow the social use of marijuana in their buildings will have to adhere to in order to get a permit.
Denver voters approved Initiative 300 last November, which opens up the possibility for the existence of the clubs. The city, state and local organizations have been hammering out exactly what requirements the businesses have to follow since. Continue reading
Teenager accused of killing 10-year-old Kiaya Campbell due in court Friday
ADAMS COUNTY, Colo. – The teenaged boy accused of killing a 10-year-old Thornton girl earlier this month will be back in an Adams County courtroom Friday.
At the hearing, which is scheduled for 1:30 p.m., a judge will determine what bond will be set for the 15-year-old boy, who faces a first-degree murder charge and a murder of a child charge in connection with Kiaya Campbell’s death.
The District Attorney’s Office is also expected to file a transfer request to try and get the teen charged as an adult. Dave Young, the district attorney for the 17th Judicial District, informed the court earlier this month he would motion to charge the teen as an adult.
Cameras won’t be allowed inside Friday’s hearing.
Campbell left her dad’s home in Thornton with a 15-year-old to walk to a nearby store last Wednesday evening. She never returned home but the boy did. It’s still unclear if the boy was the same one charged with her murder.
But after she went missing, police issued an Amber Alert and searched for hours before the girl’s body was found in Thornton.
Denver7 is not naming the teenaged boy charged with her murder, as he is still facing juvenile charges.
Trump election fraud commission wants personal information from Colorado, US voter rolls
DENVER – The vice chair of President Donald Trump’s controversial Election Integrity Commission wants the full name, address, date of birth, affiliated political party, last four Social Security number digits and voting history since 2006 of every voter not only in Colorado, but in the entire U.S., and wants that information to be made available to the public.
The vice chair of the commission, Kris Kobach, sent a letter requesting that information and more on Wednesday to Colorado Secretary of State Wayne Williams and every other secretary of state for all 50 states. Continue reading
Mountaineer aiding search for Littleton officer missing in Russia heading home; vigil tonight
LITTLETON, Colo. – A vigil will be held Thursday evening for Littleton Police Officer Steven Beare, who remains missing on a Russian mountain as Russian search crews have suspended their efforts for the time being, and the American mountaineer leading the independent search leaves the country Friday.
The American mountaineer, Don Bowie, said Wednesday night that he was leaving Russia Friday to fly back to Denver to meet with Beare’s family to give them details on the 15-day search he and his team have undertaken.
Beare’s wife, Olivia, wrote Thursday morning on a Facebook page dedicated to finding her husband that she would be attending a vigil organized by friends and family scheduled for Thursday night in Littleton.
The vigil will be held at 7:30 p.m. at Roxborough Park in Littleton (7673 N. Rampart Range Road).
Beare went missing on June 16 amid a snowstorm on Mt. Elbrus, which he set out to hike alone as part of a quest to top the world’s seven tallest peaks.
Bowie wrote Wednesday night that the search for Beare has been “extremely challenging” because of bad weather conditions and rough terrain.
“Many people have participated in the search for Steven, including guides, climbers, government rescue services, [search and rescue] volunteers, and individuals from all over the world—but we have been unable to find him,” Bowie said.
He said that the Russian search crews, including the Elbrus Rescue Service, had officially suspended their mission on Wednesday night, but said the Elbrus Rescue Service “will continue to investigate any leads, and they will resume the search when conditions allow.”
Bowie said that he would “continue to remotely manage and map the search area, collect and log search data, initiate periodic helicopter flights, and give search assignments to local guides—so long as Olivia desires.”
“I am deeply saddened that we have not been able to find him,” Bowie added.
Olivia Beare said Thursday morning that anyone on the ground in Russia wishing to help is asked to contact Bowie.
“It is vital to the search that people are not just going out on [their] own searching as they feel fit,” she said.
She also said that efforts were already underway with Russian mobile phone host MegaFon to try and track her husband’s phone, and offered more thanks for all the support from the community, friends and family she’s received.
“I cannot say it enough, I am so incredibly thankful and appreciative of all the prayers, donations, support, people reaching out, people being proactive and trying to do things to help me find my husband,” Olivia wrote. “I will never have the words for Don to describe what he has done has meant to me, ever. Please continue all you are doing and do not give up on my husband. Thank you.”
Man arrested on murder charge in death of Fort Collins woman found in lake
FORT COLLINS, Colo. – Police arrested a man Wednesday on murder charges for the death of a young woman whose body was found floating in Sheldon Lake at Fort Collins City Park last week.
Heather “Helena” Hoffmann’s body was found in the lake last Wednesday, and police said at the time that they were treating her death as suspicious.
The 23-year-old woman had left work at a nearby McDonald’s around 1 a.m. that morning, but never made it home. A passerby at the park discovered her body floating in the lake later that day.
Fort Collins police announced Thursday morning they had arrested Jeffrey Scott Etheridge, 27, on a first-degree murder charge, and said sexual assault charges against Etheridge are also pending.
The Larimer County Coroner’s Office said that Hoffmann’s body showed signs that foul play may have been involved in her death, and Fort Collins police discovered through further investigation evidence that linked Etheridge to Hoffmann’s death.
The Coloradoan reports that Etheridge is an area transient.
The department is asking anyone with further details about the crime to contact Detective Tessa Jakobsson at either tjakobsson@fcgov.com or 970-221-6575.
Anadarko Petroleum oil tank leak reported near Erie Commons
ERIE, Colo. – An Anadarko Petroleum oil tank started leaking near an Erie Commons well site south of Maxwell Street on Wednesday, the town of Erie reports.
Erie authorities say the leaking oil is being released into a containment area, but have not released further details.
The town said the company would be providing further information in a release report with the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission.
Anadarko is the same operator behind a leaking flow line that released methane into the basement of a home in Firestone, causing an explosion that killed two earlier this year.
It is also the parent company of Kerr-McGee, which operates an oil tank battery that exploded about a month later in Weld County, also killing one person.
After the Firestone explosion, the company shut-in 3,000 of its vertical wells for inspection. The company has also been participating in the state-mandated reviews ordered after the Firestone explosion and has so far been in compliance with all the deadlines, even over-reporting in some cases, the COGCC said.
Disability advocates continue sit-in at Cory Gardner’s office over healthcare bill, won’t be removed
DENVER – A group of advocates, many of whom who are disabled, continue to protest at U.S. Sen. Cory Gardner’s office nearly 24 hours after they took up residency to demand the Republican senator from Colorado vote against the Senate health care bill.
Many of the protesters are from ADAPT/Atlantis Community, Inc., a Denver-based group whose efforts are usually focused on increasing accessibility for disabled people on public transit systems. Continue reading
Search for Littleton Officer Steven Beare, missing on Russian mountain, officially suspended
LITTLETON, Colo. – The Littleton Police Department and the family of Officer Steven Beare thanked the community for their support Wednesday as the department announced the search for the officer, who went missing on a solo climbing expedition in Russia, has been suspended.
“On behalf of the loved ones of Littleton Police Officer Steven Beare and his LPD family, Chief Doug Stephens thanks those from the Littleton community and everyone around the world for their physical, financial, and emotion support during the search for Steven on Mount Elbrus,” the department wrote in a news release.
Beare’s wife, Olivia, hinted Tuesday that the search might be called off shortly.
“There is just too much snow and harsh weather conditions to continue,” she wrote on Facebook Tuesday. “Life itself as I know it is looking extremely bleak.”
Steven Beare, who is also a member of the National Guard, set out to summit Mount Elbrus earlier this month, but was reported missing June 16 in the midst of a severe snow storm in the area.
Mount Elbrus is Europe’s tallest mountain. Beare had set out to climb the seven highest peaks in the world, and had already climbed Mount Kilimanjaro.
The Beare family had enlisted a top mountaineer, Don Bowie, to aid in search efforts, and Rep. Mike Coffman, a Colorado Republican, met with the Russian ambassador to the U.S. late last week to secure more Russian help.
Bowie’s crew and Russian teams have searched for days for Beare without luck.
The Littleton Police Department said Wednesday that search operations are being scaled back this week and there is no new information about Beare’s whereabouts.
“Olivia, Steven’s parents, and extended family ask that you keep them in your prayers. The LPD and city family will continue to help them in any way possible,” the department said, adding that the family is requesting privacy for the time being.
“They will provide updates when there is new information, but still hope to bring Steven home to Colorado,” the department said.
Olivia Beare and her husband have a 20-month-old child and she is pregnant with their second child.
“I want to express my gratitude for the many ways my family has been helped and encouraged,” Olivia said in a statement via the police department. “These difficult times have been eased by so many acts of kindness.”
