Crime

Ex sought for Aurora 18-year-old’s murder freed from jail 9 days earlier, had 4 prior DV cases

AURORA, Colo. – The 20-year-old man sought by police in the July 1 murder of his ex-girlfriend had been released from jail just nine days before he allegedly killed her, and she broke a permanent civil protection order against him to go visit him the night she was killed.

Those details, and a series of police reports showing that Arturo Garcia, 20, and his ex-girlfriend, Alexandrea “Ally” Raber, had been involved in several domestic violence incidents over the past year were released to Denver7 in police reports and arrest affidavits on Thursday. Continue reading

Arrest affidavit details grotesque chats involving Pueblo parents who allegedly assaulted kids

PUEBLO, Colo. – Arrest affidavits for the two Pueblo parents arrested last week on charges they sexually assaulted their own children show the grotesque chatroom messages one of them sent to another person in Florida, which depict the father coercing at least one of his children into performing sexual acts on him.

David Caple, 37, and Kimberly Caple, 31, were arrested last week on sexual assault on a child by one in a position of trust charges. David Caple also faces a sexual exploitation of a child charge. Continue reading

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.

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.

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.

Federal prosecutors appeal Uzbek terror suspect’s imminent release in Colorado

DENVER – U.S. Justice Department prosecutors on Monday appealed the granting of bail to Uzbek terrorism suspect Jamshid Muhtorov, and his release was postponed Monday to later this week in order to give the court more time to be sure that his home is an acceptable place for him to stay while he awaits trial on a terrorism charge.

U.S. District Court of Colorado Judge John Kane on Friday ordered Muhtorov released from custody while he awaits trial, and set a hearing for today to determine what Muhtorov’s terms and conditions of release would be. Continue reading

Undocumented Denver-area woman with 3 kids deported to Mexico

DENVER – The Denver-area mother of several children arrested by federal immigration agents last Wednesday during a routine check-in was deported to Mexico on Friday, a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) spokesman said Sunday.

Ilse Cristina Rodriguez-Sagarnaga, 30, (also known as Isle Christina by ICE) was removed to Juarez, Mexico via El Paso, Texas on Friday, said ICE spokesman Carl Rusnok.

Rodriguez-Sagarnaga had told Denver7 earlier that day that she had been taken from ICE custody in Denver to Arizona, where her deportation was imminent.

Her attorneys and supporters have said that she has lived in the U.S. since she first entered illegally when she was 5 years old, though ICE has not been able to confirm when she came to the U.S.

She has three misdemeanor convictions in Colorado, including a guilty plea for false reporting and harassment.

Rodriguez-Sagarnaga’s attorney had claimed that the false reporting plea came after she claimed she was a victim of domestic violence at the hands an ex-husband.

Rusnok says ICE granted Rodriguez-Sagarnaga a one-year stay of removal in June 2016, and that she had requested another stay of removal, which was denied on Tuesday.

Her attorney and supporters had said she was awaiting the approval of a U-Visa, which are given to victims of domestic violence living in the country illegally who aid law enforcement during some investigations.

Her attorney had also argued that she should have been eligible for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program because she was brought to the U.S. as a child.

Her case is the latest in a host of cases involving ICE agents arresting people in the Denver area and deporting them for minor convictions, even if they have children who are U.S. citizens.

ICE and the Department of Homeland Security have said that they will prosecute people living in the country illegally no matter their criminal record.

Undocumented mother of 3 U.S. citizens in process of being deported

UPDATE: Rodriguez-Sagarnaga has been transported to Arizona where she is expected to be immediately deported to Mexico, according to her attorney.

DENVER – Another undocumented woman, who is the mother of three U.S.-citizen children, was arrested Wednesday by immigration agents in Denver and faces immediate deportation.

Ilse Cristina Rodriguez-Sagarnaga, 30, was arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents when she went to check in with the local ICE field office Wednesday.

ICE spokesman Carl Rusnok says that Rodriguez-Sagarnaga, a Mexican national, has three misdemeanor convictions in Colorado.

Colorado court records show she pleaded guilty to false reporting in 2010, and harassment.

He says it’s unclear when she first illegally entered the United States, but a federal immigration judge granted her a voluntary departure, and then a final order of removal, in October 2012.

Rusnok says ICE granted Rodriguez-Sagarnaga a one-year stay of removal in June 2016, and that she had requested another stay of removal, which was denied on Tuesday.

Jennifer Piper, with the American Friends Service Committee, which advocates for people living in the U.S. illegally and targeted for removal by ICE, says that Rodriguez-Sagarnaga has been in the U.S. since she was 5 years old.

She and her husband, Alberto, have three young daughters, aged 9 months, 22 months and 3 years, according to Piper.

Piper says that one of Rodriguez-Sagarnaga’s convictions came when she was “trying to leave an abusive ex-husband,” and that she wasn’t able to apply for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) because of the charge.

The DACA programs allows children of undocumented parents to work or study in the U.S. without being targeted for deportation.

It’s one of the Obama-era programs the Trump administration said late last week would stay intact, though the Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents (DAPA), which was held up in federal court before it could be fully rolled out, will go away.

Since Rodriguez-Sagarnaga is the parent of children who are citizens, the program could have theoretically applied to her. Piper and Rodriguez-Sagarnaga’s attorney argue that Rodriguez-Sagarnaga could have been eligible for DACA had she not been convicted of a crime because she was brought to the U.S. as a child.

“Cristina has virtually no memory of Mexico, but could be deported without her children very soon, possibly as early as this Friday,” said her attorney James Lamb. “In all relevant respects, she is 100% as American as a native born citizen. I have known Cristina, and her family, for many years. She is the mother of three U.S. citizen children, and she has lived in the United States since the age of five, when her parents arranged for her to travel here. She is a survivor of severe domestic abuse, both as a child and in her first relationship. Since escaping the abusive relationships, she found new life and opportunities.”

Lamb and Piper say they fear Rodriguez-Sagarnaga could be deported as soon as Friday. Her supporters say she has a pending visa application as well.

Rusnok said Rodriguez-Sagarnaga remains in ICE custody in Denver pending her removal to Mexico.

Her case is the latest in a host of cases involving ICE agents arresting people in the Denver area and deporting them for minor convictions, even if they have children who are U.S. citizens.

In a video posted by American Friends Service Committee, before Cristina went to her ICE check-in she stated “For years, the immigration system has been broken and this new administration does not understand that separating families causes so much hurt, so much harm.”

Uzbek terrorism suspect Jamshid Muhtorov ordered to be released from Colorado custody after 5+ years

DENVER – A federal judge in Denver on Friday ordered the release of a refugee from Uzbekistan first jailed in 2012 on suspicions he was providing support to an Islamic jihadist group overseas, and who has yet to face a trial on the charges.

Jamshid Muhtorov will remain in U.S. Marshals custody until U.S. District Court of Colorado Judge John Kane determines at a Monday afternoon hearing what his conditions and terms of release will be. Continue reading