Author: Blair Miller
Hickenlooper, governors of other pot-friendly states tell feds to consult them, not change Cole Memo
DENVER – Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper on Monday sent a letter – along with the governors of Alaska, Oregon and Washington – urging the Treasury and Justice Departments to talk with them before enacting any new federal enforcement rules or regulations on the legal marijuana industry.
The letter comes amid much uncertainty in the 28 states that have legalized either recreational or medical marijuana, and how new Attorney General Jeff Sessions and the Treasury Department plan to enforce federal rules in those states. Continue reading
Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet opposes filibuster of Neil Gorsuch, use of ‘nuclear option’
DENVER – Michael Bennet, Colorado’s Democratic U.S. senator, opposes a Democrat filibuster of Judge Neil Gorsuch but still hasn’t definitively said whether he’ll vote for or against the Colorado judge for a Supreme Court seat.
Bennet announced Monday that he would oppose a filibuster that is growing increasingly likely in the Senate, as Bennet becomes just the fourth Democrat to say they would oppose such a move by the Democratic colleagues. Continue reading
Colorado storm chaser killed in crash last week honored with beacon homage
DENVER – Storm chasers and weather spotters across Colorado paid tribute to a storm chaser killed last week in a car crash by spelling his initials across the state with their spotter beacons.
Corbin Lee Jaeger, 25, died last week after he was hit by another storm chasing crew while following a tornado-producing storm in west Texas.
Jaeger grew up outside of Castle Rock, but was most-recently based in Arizona.
On Monday, dozens of storm chasers and spotters used their beacons to spell out “CLJ” across Colorado on spotter maps, a tribute often done for chasers and spotters killed while on duty. It was most-recently done for actor Bill Paxton, who starred in the storm-chasing classic “Twister.”
Jaeger’s mother, Karen Di Piazza, said her son’s ashes will be scattered in Colorado, which he considered home.
“He was a beautiful young man. He was compassionate for all people, had a great sense of humor,” she told Denver7. “He had such a deep passion for weather since he was a young child. He decided that he wanted to get more into chasing and learning more about weather because his goal was to save lives.”
A GoFundMe account has been set up to help with funeral expenses.
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Tennessee man climbed fences to pet tiger at Denver Zoo, police say
DENVER – A Tennessee man apparently on a cross-country trip was cited in March after he allegedly climbed over a fence at the Denver Zoo and was able to get close enough to the tiger exhibit to pet one of the big cats while it was sleeping.
Matthew Swearingen, 34, was cited by the Denver Police Department for criminal trespassing after the incident, in which he is accused of jumping a public barrier fence at the zoo’s new tiger exhibit.
The zoo says the tiger that was touched was sleeping in the overhead catwalk of the newly-opened “The Edge” tiger area, but that Swearingen “never accessed the exhibit and neither he, nor the tiger, were harmed.”
Swearingen’s Facebook profile says he’s from New York and lives in Washington, D.C., but a DPD report says he produced a Tennessee ID when he was taken into custody.
On his page, he says that he is on a cross-country bicycle trip, though at least one picture shows him on an airplane.
On March 26, eight days after he was taken into custody, he wrote on Facebook that he “pet the tiger at the zoo” while recounting his time in Denver.
The zoo says it is “currently evaluating this area to determine if anything additional needs to be done to discourage this illegal behavior from happening again.”
A mugshot for Swearingen was not available because he was cited and not booked.
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Colorado bill would establish new juvenile sexting punishments, keep teens from facing felony
DENVER – Major changes could be coming for Colorado teens caught sexting if a new bill introduced in the Colorado Legislature becomes law.
Rep. Pete Lee, an El Paso County Democrat, introduced House Bill 1302 on Tuesday.
The bill would create two new charges related to sexting involving teens: posting private images by a juvenile and possessing private images by a juvenile.
Posting a private image by a juvenile would be a class 2 misdemeanor, punishable by between 3 and 12 months in jail upon conviction.
But it would become a class 1 misdemeanor, punishable by between 6 and 18 months in jail, if a person posted the image with the intent to harass or distress the depicted person, if they had a history of doing so, or if they distributed photos or videos of three or more juveniles.
Possessing a private image by a juvenile would be classified as a petty offense, but it could be classified as a class 2 misdemeanor if the person in possession of the image had pictures of three or more different juveniles.
The new laws would not apply to people who were “coerced, intimidated, or harassed into distributing, displaying, publishing, or possessing a sexual explicit image of a juvenile.”
And the bill leaves open the possibility for courts to allow people convicted of possession to enter into a counseling program, and for district attorney’s offices to establish diversion programs for first-time offenders. Jefferson County already has a similar program.
The focus on teen sexting would also extend to schools under the bill.
It directs districts to have their school safety resource officers and center to have lessons available “regarding the dangers and consequences of sexting for school districts to use” that would include information on how students could avoid being charged under the new laws should they unwittingly become involved in a sexting incident.
Specifically, under the proposed new laws, people would be able to get out of the possession charge if they “took reasonable steps” to destroy or delete the image within 72 hours of receiving it, or notified law enforcement or school officials within that same time period.
Both new laws would apply to people who either posted or possessed the image of a juvenile without their consent.
Under current law, anyone engaged in juvenile sexting without someone’s consent is liable to be charged with sexual exploitation of a child. But it is rare that teens are ever charged with the crime, which carries a mandatory sex offender registry requirement.
A similar bill was introduced in the Legislature last year but failed to reach the governor’s desk.
The new laws would make it so juveniles would not face the sexual exploitation charge if the conditions of either new proposed law is met, or if a person is between 14 and 18 years of age, or less than four years younger than the person.
In December 2015, officials announced no charges would be filed in a sexting case that involved dozens of Canon City Middle and High School students. And in April 2016, prosecutors in the 4th Judicial District said they wouldn’t charge five Pine Creek High and Challenger Middle School students who were caught sharing photos of a partially-nude juvenile.
The bill is set for its first hearing in the House Judiciary Committee on April 11 at 1:30 p.m.
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Trump cozies up to Colo. Rep. Ken Buck while slamming rest of Freedom Caucus over AHCA revival
DENVER – After chiding a conservative group of congressmen for helping upend the House plan to replace Obamacare for the past week, President Donald Trump on Thursday cozied up to one of its members: Colorado’s Republican Rep. Ken Buck.
“Great op-ed from Rep. Ken Buck. Looks like some in the Freedom Caucus are helping me end Obamacare,” Trump tweeted Thursday afternoon, linking out to an op-ed Buck wrote for The Hill Wednesday in which he called for the revival of a new health care bill. Continue reading
A sharp rise in overdose deaths, including in Colorado, led to highest premature death rate in years
DENVER – Premature deaths in the U.S. have risen steadily over the past couple of years, and drug overdoses surpassed injuries as the main reason for the early deaths for the first time since tracking began.
The 2017 County Health Rankings report, compiled by the University of Wisconsin and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, found that premature death rates (people dying before age 75) rose by a full 1 percent – amounting to 39,700 people who died early compared to 2014. Continue reading
Authorities conclude landfill search for missing Charlene Voight after 4 months
LITTLETON, Colo. – After four months of combing through a Commerce City landfill, authorities have concluded the search for evidence in connection with the disappearance of 36-year-old Charlene Voight, Denver7 Investigates learned exclusively Wednesday.
The conclusion of the search comes after the Littleton City Council approved $500,000 in December to continue the search, which started last November.
And though crews didn’t find exactly what they were looking for, they did discover pieces of evidence that could help in the ongoing search for the missing woman.
Case background
Voight was reported missing by her family last July 8 after they hadn’t heard from her since the final days of June. She had moved to Colorado from California just weeks before disappearing in order to live with her boyfriend, Jeffrey Scot Beier.
Voight’s car was found abandoned shortly after she was reported missing, and was linked to a property that Beier had bought days before Voight was last seen.
Denver7 Investigates first reported there was suspicious blood spatter on a headboard inside an apartment police searched in regards to the case; a mattress was missing from the apartment, and a portion of carpet had been cut out and removed from the apartment, according to authorities.
Making the case even more complicated, Beier was arrested July 12 for an alleged sexual assault that happened July 1, allegedly against a different woman.
But those charges were later dropped on Sept. 2, when prosecutors said they had to do so in order to avoid giving evidence about the ongoing search for Voight to Beier’s defense team.
And Beier had a history of domestic violence involving an ex-wife and Voight. He pleaded guilty in 2007 to threatening to kill his ex-wife, then served time in a domestic violence case involving Voight in 2013.
In November, authorities started searching the Tower Landfill in Commerce City for either Voight’s body or the missing mattress. Beier, who ran a dumpster business, had been placed at the landfill around the time that Voight disappeared, Denver7 Investigates first reported at the time.
New developments in case
On Wednesday, law enforcement sources confirmed to Denver7 Investigates that the landfill search concluded March 10 after four months.
It was funded by $500,000 the Littleton City Council appropriated in December – another facet of the case that has not been previously reported.
And though the search did not turn up Voight’s body or the missing mattress, law enforcement sources tell Denver7 Investigates that they did find some of her clothes.
That clothing is now undergoing forensic DNA testing to see if authorities can find anything that might link a suspect to her disappearance.
Littleton police continue to work with multiple local and state agencies to try and find Voight. Anyone with information on her disappearance is asked to call the department at 303-794-1551.
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Boulder Valley Schools Superintendent Bruce Messinger placed on leave amid investigation
BOULDER COUNTY, Colo. – Boulder Valley School District Superintendent Dr. Bruce Messinger has been placed on paid administrative leave by the district’s school board amid an ongoing investigation.
An email sent to Boulder Valley School District staff by its school board Wednesday morning said that Messinger was put on leave “pending the outcome of an investigation of a personnel matter.” It said it expected the investigation into Messinger would take around 30 days.
“Please keep in mind that the leave is being made to help facilitate the integrity of our investigation,” the email said. “It does not indicate any determination of misconduct upon the employee involved.”
Messinger confirmed the investigation to Denver7 and that he was put on leave. He said he couldn’t talk about the nature of the investigation, citing its confidentiality.
But he said he hoped for a “speedy” investigation and that he was cooperating fully, adding that he is “confident he will return to work.”
The school board says it has reached a deal with former district Assistant Superintendent for Operations Joe Sleeper to act as interim superintendent during the investigation and for “as long as may be necessary,” according to the email.
“Each of us on the board appreciates that this news may be unsettling,” the board’s email to staff says. “However, we are confident that you will continue to make the well being [sic] and learning of all students your first priority as you have always done.”
Messinger took over as superintendent of the district on July 1, 2011 after 14 years as superintendent of the school district in Helena, Montana. Prior to that, he worked in Weld County School District 6 for 11 years.
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2 more people sought in connection to murder of 2 Colorado Springs teens
EL PASO COUNTY, Colo. – Law enforcement authorities are looking for two more men wanted in connection with the murder of two teenagers found dead south of Fountain March 12.
The El Paso County Sheriff’s Office says it is looking for Carlos Daniel Meza, who also goes by “Tink,” on weapons charges in relation to the murders of Derek Greer, 15, and Natalie Partida, 16, both of Colorado Springs.
It said later Tuesday that it was also looking for 17-year-old Endo Velarde, also known as “Sleepy,” on felony charges relating to the two teens’ murders.
Velarde is a Hispanic man described as 5-foot-8 and 135 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes.
Gustavo Antonio Marquez, 19, was arrested March 19 and charged with two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of kidnapping, two counts of aggravated robbery and one count of child abuse resulting in death in the case.
And last Saturday, the sheriff’s office arrested four others on various charges relating to the teens’ deaths, including murder, kidnapping, robbery and child abuse. On Tuesday, another man was arrested in connection to the murder, bringing the total number of arrests so far to six, with Velarde and Meza still outstanding.
The sheriff’s office says Meza and Velarde are both known previous offenders and that anyone who sees them should call 911 and not approach either.
Meza is described as a Hispanic man who is 5-foot-9 and approximately 140 pounds. He has black hair and brown eyes.
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