Crime
Federal judge: DIA must allow emergency 24-hour permits for protests, can’t restrict sign size
DENVER – A federal judge on Wednesday ruled that Denver International Airport and the city of Denver must change some of its rules to accommodate protests at the airport, like the one that happened in late January in response to President Donald Trump’s executive orders on immigration.
Police at DIA drew the ire of many of the protesters, whom were told to leave because they did not have a proper seven-day permit required by the city.
Two of the protesters filed a federal lawsuit in early February saying their civil rights had been violated when they were forced to leave, and that the requirement of the seven-day permit was “ridiculous.”
They sought a preliminary injunction against the seven-day permit rule, calling it “unconstitutional.”
U.S. District Court of Colorado Judge William J. Martinez on Wednesday agreed with parts of their lawsuit, but struck down others.
Judge Martinez ruled that the city and airport will have to issue an “expressive activity permit” sought with 24 hours’ notice if the applicant “seeks a permit for the purpose of communicating topical ideas reasonably relevant to the purposes and mission of the Airport”, so long as the activity could not have been foreseen seven or more days in advance.
This means that protests that come together quickly, as the January one did because of the executive orders, could still receive a permit if they give the airport a day’s notice.
Judge Martinez also ruled that the airport and city must “make all reasonable efforts” to accommodate the requested location of a protest or gathering both inside and outside of the airport’s terminal as long as it’s at a place where “the unticketed public” is normally allowed.
The judge also struck down rules barring picketing inside of the airport’s terminal, as well as a rule that restricted the size of signage used during protests.
However, Judge Martinez ruled that the airport and city will not be required to accommodate a “truly spontaneous” demonstration, though both will be allowed to provide accommodations.
He also ruled that protesters would not be allowed to determine the exact location within the terminal they wish to demonstrate, giving the airport some say as to where the gatherings could be held on airport property.
He also refused to strike down the seven-day permit rules as “unconstitutional,” as the plaintiffs had sought.
This is a developing news story; stay posted to Denver7 for updates.
Sign up for Denver7 email alerts to stay informed about breaking news and daily headlines.
Denver Sheriff: Not releasing Mexican national now accused of murder would’ve violated Constitution
DENVER – The Denver Sheriff’s Department says that it would have violated the Fourth Amendment had it held a Mexican citizen now accused of murder without a warrant following an arrest last year.
Ever Valles, 19, was booked into the Denver jail on aggravated auto theft and vehicular eluding charges last October, and was released Dec. 20 after posting a $5,000 bond. Continue reading
Broncos’ Brandon Marshall honored with inaugural Harvard social justice award
DENVER – Broncos linebacker Brandon Marshall will be honored by the Harvard Graduate School of Education for his social justice work over the past year.
Marshall will receive the school’s inaugural 2017 Alumni of Color Conference (AOCC) Courage Award at a ceremony to be held March 3-4, according to a news release Marshall posted to Twitter Monday.
The school says the award “is given to an individual demonstrating outstanding commitment to the principles of justice, equity, and inclusion.”
Honored to be recognized by Harvard’s Graduate School for taking a stance against social injustice this past year. 1 Corinthians 15:58 pic.twitter.com/WPcdcf7J8V
— Brandon Marshall (@BMarshh54) February 21, 2017
Its winner is picked by the AOCC chairs. The university says the award “reflects the principles of the conference, including depth of character, extraordinary leadership, and engaged activism.”
Marshall drew the praise and ire of many across the country early last season when he started taking a knee in solidarity with former college teammate Colin Kaepernick during the playing of the National Anthem.
He lost several endorsement deals for his stance, which he said was to protest questionable police shootings across the country over the past several years.
But he did not simply make a statement. Marshall met with Denver Police Chief Robert White days after he first took a knee. The two talked extensively about social justice issues and police reform, and Marshall agreed to attend a DPD “shoot or don’t shoot” course and to go on a ride-along with officers.
He eventually stopped kneeling during the National Anthem after the department revised its use-of-force policy.
Marshall also participated in several Denver-area initiatives aimed at supporting students, women and domestic violence victims.
“In addition to his work with reform efforts in Denver, Brandon has also remained active championing the rights of women and is an advocate for survivors of domestic violence,” the press release from the Harvard Graduate School of Education said.
Sign up for Denver7 email alerts to stay informed about breaking news and daily headlines.
Adams Co. marijuana grow leads to uncovering of large grow, distribution operation linked to Neb.
DENVER – A Westminster man’s illegal marijuana grow led North Metro Task Force and federal agents to four of his other grow-houses and uncovered a distribution ring that linked to Nebraska.
The bust was described in court documents filed Thursday in the U.S. District Court of Colorado that backed a U.S. attorney’s notice of complaint for forfeiture of around $65,000 in cash seized from the man’s grow-houses.
The task force first found out about Timothy Koch’s alleged grow and distribution operation in May 2016, when they went to a home in the 11000 block of Clay Court in Westminster on a complaint that the house smelled of marijuana.
Inside, they found Koch’s brother, Jason Koch, who eventually agreed to let officers inside to inspect the grow. Jason told officers his brother was renting the house, and that he had recently moved to Colorado from Nebraska and was being paid $20 an hour to trim and package the marijuana for his brother.
After getting a full search warrant, detectives found 278 pounds of marijuana, 2 ½ pounds of marijuana concentrate, $65,119 in cash, a money counting machine and paperwork for other properties Timothy owned or was renting.
Jason told investigators that people in a white pickup from Nebraska would come to Westminster every few weeks to pick up between 60 and 120 pounds of marijuana from the house.
Jason said Timothy would leave shortly after the pickup and head to Nebraska as well. Jason said Timothy would return a few days later each time with between $80,000 and $120,000.
He also told investigators that Timothy was renting or owned four other properties across Colorado, in Thornton, Broomfield, Dacono.
Timothy’s neighbor across the street in Westminster also had a marijuana grow operation that was allegedly part of the distribution ring.
Agents raided those facilities as well, and by the end of the raids, had seized 360 pounds of dry marijuana, 2.67 pounds of marijuana concentrate, 638 plants and the $65,119 that is in DEA custody.
Also found at the houses, according to the complaint, was a rejection letter from the state Medical Marijuana Registry and documents related to the properties and several marijuana-related businesses.
The DEA agent who compiled the report added that Timothy had reported a combined $31,000 in combined income in 2015 and 2016 via Smile Labs, a company registered in his name.
Timothy Koch has been charged in Adams County with marijuana cultivation, marijuana distribution of between 25 and 50 pounds, marijuana possession with intent to distribute between 25 and 50 pounds, manufacturing marijuana concentrate and marijuana conspiracy.
Sign up for Denver7 email alerts to stay informed about breaking news and daily headlines.
Two teens formally charged with murder, robbery for Denver light rail killing
DENVER – Two teenagers arrested in connection with the Tuesday shooting death of a 32-year-old man at a Denver light rail station have been formally charged with murder and other felonies.
Ever Valles and Nathan Valdez, both 19, face varying degrees of murder charges in the death of Tim Cruz, 32.
Valles faces charges of murder in the first degree-robbery, murder in the first degree-kidnapping, second-degree kidnapping, second-degree kidnapping with a gun and four counts of aggravated robbery with a gun.
Valdez is charged with first-degree murder, murder in the first-degree-robbery, murder in the first degree-kidnapping, second-degree kidnapping, second-degree kidnapping-gun and two counts of aggravated robbery with a gun.
The teens allegedly robbed Cruz at the Sheridan Station, at Sheridan Boulevard and 12th Avenue, around 1 a.m. on Feb. 7, then shot and killed him.
The two were arrested after surveillance video of the two was released, and an unidentified person tipped police off to who the men were.
Valles was arrested Feb. 8 on a parole violation and Valdez was captured Feb. 10.
The two are scheduled to appear in court for their first advisement Feb. 21.
Sign up for Denver7 email alerts to stay informed about breaking news and daily headlines.
Project Unsolved: Investigators seek new tips in 2000 murders of two young Columbine students
Frisbees sailed off a Colorado mountainside last weekend – a symbolic gesture to remember two young lovers killed 17 years ago to the day in a Littleton sandwich shop, their murderer never found.
Stephanie Grizzell, 16, and Nick Kunselman, 15, met in middle school and became fast friends. After fellow students Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold entered their high school, Columbine, in April 1999 and killed 12 of their classmates and a teacher, they became even closer, according to Stephanie’s mother, Kelly Grizzell. Continue reading
Another Denver undocumented mother in sanctuary at area church; sanctuary network aims to expand
DENVER – Jeanette Vizguerra made national headlines Wednesday when she sought sanctuary at a Denver church after finding out she’d be deported. But another Denver woman in a similar situation has been in sanctuary at a different area church since last fall.
Ingrid Encalada LaTorre, 33, has been living at the Mountain View Quaker meeting house in Denver since the end of November.
She sought sanctuary at the church after learning she could be deported last fall. The mother of two, from Peru, used false papers to work at an area nursing home.
LaTorre requested a deportation stay Nov. 24 with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) but still hasn’t received one.
“I am doing this to not only stop my own deportation, but also to raise awareness that there are thousands of others like me – people whose only offense was to work and pay into the social safety net, and whose only desire is to live safely with our families,” LaTorre told Denver7 last year.
Like Vizguerra, LaTorre has children who were born in the U.S. and are American citizens.
And Mountain View is one of nine churches statewide currently participating in a sanctuary network, though officials hope to eventually increase that number to about 60.
“We’re mostly feeling to respond to the human situations of families being broken up, parents with citizen children, and are in general a recognition of the very positive role that immigration plays in our nation’s history,” said Eric Wright, an activist working to expand the sanctuary network.
The Washington Post reports that the nationwide sanctuary network has expanded to about 800 participating churches and community centers over the past year.
Since President Donald Trump issued an executive order aiming to deport some of the millions of undocumented immigrants living in the U.S. illegally last month, ICE agents have arrested hundreds of people nationwide — some of whom have committed minor offenses, like Vizguerra and LaTorre, but others without criminal records.
LaTorre says she is staying in sanctuary for her family’s sake.
“We cannot stand idly by and let our government threaten the integrity of families,” a spokesman for Mountain View, David Poundstone, told Denver7. “We feel called upon to engage in civil initiative to invoke the tradition of sanctuary to protect those under threat of harm.”
Vizguerra’s attorney, Hans Meyer, and staffers from Rep. Diana DeGette’s office visited with her at First Unitarian Thursday.
Sign up for Denver7 email alerts to stay informed about breaking news and daily headlines.
Bill extending concealed-carry rights to all Colorado gun owners passes committee vote
DENVER – A bill that would extend concealed-carry rights to gun owners in Colorado without a permit cleared its first hurdle in a Senate committee Wednesday.
Senate Bill 116 passed the Senate State, Veterans, & Military Affairs Committee by a 3-2 partisan vote, with the committee’s three Republicans voting to pass the bill to the Senate Finance Committee.
Though Colorado law prohibits gun registration in the state, local sheriff’s offices are currently in charge of issuing concealed weapons permits. A concealed-carry permit is not necessary when a person is in a private car.
In Denver, the sheriff’s department requires people to complete an information packet and several other forms, and must show deputies a handgun training certificate showing they are trained in proper gun usage.
People must also have a valid Colorado ID and must pay a $152 fee for the permit in Denver, which has to be approved by the sheriff’s department.
Under the proposed law, anyone aged 21 and over with a legal gun would be able to conceal their gun in public without having taken a training class or obtained a permit.
However, the same rules that concealed-carry permit holders have to operate under would apply to everyone under the law, meaning unless they are permitted to do so, people would not be able to carry the concealed weapon on K-12 campuses.
The bill now heads to the Senate Finance Committee.
Sign up for Denver7 email alerts to stay informed about breaking news and daily headlines.
Undocumented Colorado mother of 3 U.S. citizens on deportation fight: ‘It will not end today’
DENVER — The fight of one undocumented mother living in Colorado escalated Wednesday after she fled to a Denver church to avoid immigration officials who are now seeking to deport her.
“It will not end today,” Jeanette Vizguerra proudly said to the applause of her supporters. She spoke in her native tongue of Spanish to explain why she is fighting to remain in the U.S., despite efforts to deport her. Continue reading
Adams County inmate accused of beating cellmate to death
ADAMS COUNTY, Colo. – An inmate at the Adams County Detention Facility faces first-degree murder charges for allegedly beating his cellmate to death last week.
Deputies found Kyle Yoemans, 26, unconscious on the floor of his maximum-security cell around 12:30 a.m. on Feb. 8 with blood pooling around his head.
Che Jason Bachicha, his 28-year-old cellmate, was allegedly sitting on the floor of their cell with blood on his hands. Yoemans was revived and taken to an area hospital, but was pronounced dead.
Bachicha is scheduled for his preliminary hearing on the first-degree murder charge on April 14.
Sign up for Denver7 email alerts to stay informed about breaking news and daily headlines.