Colorado
Colorado State Sen. Vicki Marble blames media, mom of Cub Scout for story hoopla in Post op-ed
DENVER – In a new editorial published Tuesday in the Denver Post, the Colorado state senator whose exchange with a Broomfield Cub Scout led to national headlines about the boy being kicked out of his den blamed the press and the Scout’s mother for causing the hoopla surrounding the incident.
State. Sen. Vicki Marble, R-Fort Collins, said she didn’t blame the boy, 11-year-old Ames Mayfield, for asking her the questions about her 2013 comments about African-Americans, saying, “I believe there was an element of manipulation involved.” Continue reading
Election 2017: Colorado ballots mailed out, should be mailed back by Oct. 31 to ensure delivery
DENVER – It’s election season again in Colorado, and though this year’s election won’t feature any statewide ballot measures or major congressional races, we’re already nearing the final couple weeks of voting.
Ballots were mailed out in Denver last week, as well as in many other larger counties across the state.
View a Denver sample ballot by clicking here.
As of Monday, more than 36,000 people had already returned their ballots, according to the Secretary of State’s Office. The office and U.S. Postal Service are asking anyone who will be mailing their ballot back to their county clerk to do so by Oct. 31.
Overseas and military ballots had to be sent out by Sept. 23.
Colorado Republicans have so far returned the greatest share of those ballots: 14,913. Democrats have returned 11,633 ballots and unaffiliated voters have mailed back 9,383 as of Monday.
As of Oct. 1, there were a total of 3.36 million active registered voters in Colorado. More than 1.2 million were unaffiliated, while approximately 1.04 million were registered as Republicans, and another 1.04 million were registered as Democrats.
Six counties won’t have an election this year – Cheyenne, Dolores, Grand Hinsdale, Mineral and Washington counties – and people in those counties won’t be receiving ballots, as there are no contested races or local bond measures on which to vote.
There will also be no statewide ballot issues this year for the first time since 2009, as odd years are usually used to send TABOR matters to voters.
In Denver, voters will be deciding on four Denver Public Schools directors, an initiative that would force new large buildings to install green rooves (which the mayor opposes), and a $937 million general obligation bond package that centers on transportation and mobility.
Those measures include:
- $431 for transportation and mobility projects
- $116.9 million for city-owned cultural facility improvements
- $75 million for a new outpatient center at Denver Health Medical Center
- $77 million for safety facility projects
- $69.3 million for Denver Public Library improvements
- $151.6 million for parks and recreation
- $16.5 million for city-owned facility improvements
Beyond the Denver Health and Denver Public Library projects, some of the largest proposals on the list include $101 million for deferred road maintenance – repaving, curb and gutter repair, bridge rehabilitation, etc. — $55 million for a bus rapid transit system along Colfax Avenue, $37.5 million for a recreation center in Westwood and $35.5 million to renovate the North Building at the Denver Art Museum.
Douglas County voters will decide on a new school board that is drawing in large amounts of cash from out-of-state because of the district’s voucher program.
Races for the Boulder Valley School District and Boulder City Council are expected to be tight, as an affordable housing measure has brought out significant campaigning from those involved.
In Denver, the Elections Division Voter Service and Polling Center opens Monday, while all polling centers open next Monday, Oct. 30.
The city also has 26 ballot drop-boxes that are open 24 hours a day. Find those and polling centers on a map by clicking here.
If you’re mailing your ballot back in Denver, you can sign up for Ballot Trace to be sure your ballot makes it back to your county clerk in time to be counted.
Colorado voters can register online and at polling centers any day, even on Election Day. You can do so by clicking here. But if you register online or update your registration, you might not get a ballot mailed to you and could have to vote in person.
If you’re mailing your ballot back, it must be in the hands of your county clerk by 7 p.m. on Election Day, which is set for Nov. 7.
You’re advised to have it in the mail before Oct. 31 to ensure it arrives on time.
Mother of severely-injured Lakewood toddler arrested for possible child abuse
LAKEWOOD, Colo. – The mother of a 2-year-old girl who was brutally beaten last month witnessed at least one of the beatings allegedly undertaken by her boyfriend, and now faces investigation on child abuse charges, according to prosecutors.
Melissa Nicole Mangeri, 28, faces investigation on one count of child abuse resulting in serious bodily injury related to her daughter’s alleged abuse.
Her boyfriend, 21-year-old Joshua Gonzales, was arrested on Sept. 17 and charged with reckless child abuse resulting in serious bodily injury. He faces between 10 and 32 years in prison if convicted. Continue reading
3 dead in Fort Collins shooting identified, including gunman who took his own life
FORT COLLINS, Colo. – The gunman who killed two people outside a Fort Collins apartment complex early Thursday morning also killed himself, the Larimer County Medical Examiner’s Office said Friday as it identified the three dead in the shooting.
The office identified the second victim in the shooting as Tristian Kemp, 26, of Destin, Florida, and said Kemp died of multiple gunshot wounds. It also formally identified Colorado State student Savannah McNealy, 22, as the other person murdered. Continue reading
Authorities: Juvenile given booze and meth, was raped over 2 weeks at Elbert County home
ELIZABETH, Colo. – A juvenile was kept inside a home in Elbert County for two weeks in September, was given booze and methamphetamine by three people and was sexually assaulted by one of them, according to the county sheriff’s office.
The three people, 46-year-old Cain Kelman, 47-year-old Deanna Weber and 62-year-old Ricky Taggart, face an array of charges after they allegedly brought the minor to a home in the 4800 block of Highway 86 in unincorporated Elizabeth, and kept the juvenile there for around two weeks in September.
Deputies arrested the three after serving a search warrant at the home on Highway 86 on Sept. 27. All three have since posted bond and are scheduled for court appearances over the next two months.
According to the Elbert County Sheriff’s Office, while the three were keeping the victim at the house, the victim was given alcohol, meth and was sexually assaulted by Kelman “multiple times.”
Kelman faces four felonies and one misdemeanor charge in relation to the incident: distribution of a controlled substance to a minor, sexual contact – coercion of a child, contributing to the delinquency of a minor, possession of a controlled substance, and sex assault – 10-year age difference.
Weber and Taggart both face charges of contributing to the delinquency of a minor, and Taggart faces an additional controlled substance possession charge. He pleaded guilty to a similar charge out of Denver earlier this year.
The sheriff’s office has yet to release additional details about the alleged crimes, as the affidavits are suppressed.
Students at Denver Discovery School made list of threats against fellow students
DENVER – Multiple students at Denver Discovery School will be disciplined after a classmate reported they had made a list of threats against several other students.
Denver Public Schools spokesperson Alexandra Renteria said that “at no time were our students and staff in any danger” because of the list, which was discovered Thursday and confirmed to have threats tied to specific students. The school is a charter school within DPS.
Renteria said a “brave” student saw the list and told an adult at the school. After the list was discovered, the district notified the Denver Police Department and Denver Public Schools’ Department of Public Safety.
Renteria told Denver7 Investigates she was unable to give further information about the incident, but said “the students who created the list will face consequences.”
She said the parents of the students who created the list were notified Thursday of the incident, that the parents of the students who were named on the list were called Friday.
Denver Discovery School’s principal Dana Ellis sent a letter to families Friday apologizing for not immediately notifying parents about the discovery of the list. The letter reads:
It is our priority to keep you informed of incidents related to student safety. This letter is to let you know that yesterday we discovered a list created by students with names of other students and threats against them. We are proud of our brave student who saw the note and told a trusted adult.
Denver police and the DPS Department of Safety were called to investigate. At no time were our students or staff in any danger. Not all of the parents of the students involved were notified yesterday when the incident happened. Thus, some parents did not know about what happened until today. This is not acceptable. My sincere apologies to these families. We will continue to learn and grow, and contacting parents about events at school will also be a priority.
We do not take threats lightly. The school will follow our District’s Code of Conduct in addressing this matter.
I would like to assure you that the safety and well-being of our students is our No. 1 priority at Denver Discovery School. Our school works closely with the Department of Safety and the Denver Police Department to report all safety incidents that occur at our school and anything suspicious that may occur in the neighborhood.
Thank you for your support in keeping our students and school safe. As always, feel free to contact us with any questions or concerns.
Sincerely,
Dana Ellis
Principal
‘Underwear Bomber’ sues over alleged mistreatment, force-feedings at Colorado ADX supermax prison
DENVER – The Nigerian man known as the “Underwear Bomber” sued the Federal Bureau of Prisons and Attorney General Jeff Sessions Wednesday in federal court in Denver, alleging his constitutional rights are being violated at the ADX supermax prison in Florence, Colorado.
The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court of Colorado, alleges that Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab has been forced into solitary confinement for an undetermined amount of time, that he’s been chastised by other prisoners and guards for being Muslim, and that he’s been force-fed non-halal food when he went on hunger strikes to protest his alleged mistreatment. Continue reading
Sen. Michael Bennet calls for government accountability office to probe Trump voter fraud commission
DENVER – U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet is doubling down on President Trump’s election integrity commission, and is now calling for the U.S. Government Accountability Office to probe the panel.
Bennet, a Colorado Democrat, along with Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., and Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., sent a letter to the GAO Wednesday requesting the investigation while questioning the motives of the Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity. Continue reading
12 indicted in massive credit card skimming scheme that hit 2K in Colorado, 8K across U.S.
BOULDER COUNTY, Colo. – A Miami-based ring of 12 people was indicted Thursday in a massive credit-card skimming scheme that took advantage of more than 2,300 people from Colorado, and at least 8,000 across the country.
The Boulder County Sheriff’s Office worked with the FBI and U.S. Secret Service offices in Cleveland, Ohio for 16 months on the investigation, which led to the indictment of the 12, most of whom are Cuban nationals based out of Miami, the sheriff’s office said.
According to the sheriff’s office, the group would fly out of Miami to Cleveland, Chicago, Denver and other places and place the card skimmers on various fuel pumps in the area. Afterward, the ring would allegedly use the skimmed data to make credit card clones and wipe out people’s credit accounts.
The Boulder County Sheriff’s Office said it’s estimated that the group would make about $2.5 million in fraudulent transactions each week using the fraudulent credit cards.
More than 8,000 people are said to be victims of the group, including more than 2,300 in Colorado. The sheriff’s office said some of the people indicted are also linked to a multi-million dollar international money laundering ring, which they will also be indicted for.
Nine of the 12 people were in custody as of Thursday morning, and three were still at large.
Those arrested are: Ranset Rodriguez-Martinez; Yaniris Alfonso; Jose Iglesia Edelberto Hernandez; Luis Enrique Jimenez-Gonzalez; Yadian Hernandez; Lester Castaneda De La Torre; Eddy Pimentel-Vila; and Yonasky Rosa.
The three who are still outstanding are Juan Carlos Banos, Alejandro Moises and Carolos Rodriguez-Martinez.
The sheriff’s office says Rodriguez-Martinez has ties to Aurora, and asks anyone with knowledge of his or the other suspects’ whereabouts to contact the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office at 303-441-4763; the FBI-Cleveland Office at 216-622-6733; or the USSS-Cleveland Office at 216-750-2058.
Officers and deputies from Aurora, Arapahoe County, Douglas County, Elbert County, Jefferson County and Parker assisted in the investigation.
Ticket prices for Pence speech in Denver lowered after sluggish sales
DENVER – Tickets to see Vice President Mike Pence speak in Denver later this month are cheaper than they were a week ago, as the state Republican party has had trouble filling the room.
The Colorado Republican Party’s chairman, Jeff Hays, sent out an email Wednesday morning that said, “Due to popular demand, we have made more tickets available at a lower price.” Further down in the email, an RSVP notification says RSVPs are required by Oct. 24 “due to limited space.” Continue reading