Crime
Jefferson County Coroner’s Office identifies 2 people found dead in crashed car in Bear Creek
EVERGREEN, Colo. – The two people found dead in a crashed car in Bear Creek in Evergreen have been identified as a 26-year-old man from Conifer and a 20-year-old Evergreen woman.
The Jefferson County Coroner’s Office identified the two as Corry Danks, 26, of Conifer and Kira Blaugher-Wyszomirski, 20, of Evergreen.
Friends of both victims remembered them at Drass Deli on Thursday, a local spot they visited frequently in Evergreen.
“It’s been difficult for everyone; it has really affected the community deeply,” said Lee Kirbert, who grew up with Corry, who friends call CJ, and also knew Kira.
Danks was driving the car when it crashed, and Blaugher-Wyszomirski was riding in the passenger’s seat.
“[CJ] was a confident person, he lived with poise,” Kirbert said. “Kira was just a very exciting person, she lived as a free spirit.”
It’s still unclear when the crash happened, but bystanders noticed the car, a 2015 Volkswagen, upside down in the creek along Highway 74 just after 8 a.m. Wednesday.
“It was tough because we didn’t know what was going on for a long time,” said Kirbert.
Colorado State Patrol officials told Denver7 they believe the car had been in the creek for “several hours” before it was discovered.
Tami Danks, CJ’s mother, said she thought the two were on their way to visit a friend in Kittredge Tuesday night before the crash happened.
Danks went to Conifer High School where he played basketball. His mother said he just recently moved back from Florida and had started doing home renovation work.
Friends said Blaugher-Wyszomirski went to Evergreen High School and had been working at a local restaurant.
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CDOT auditor fired at end of December over possible credit card misuse
DENVER – The Colorado Department of Transportation’s director of audits was fired at the end of December amid an ongoing investigation into his use of a state-owned credit card.
CDOT Communications Director Amy Ford confirmed Chris Wedor was fired Dec. 29. He was hired in April 2016, Ford said.
“We were going through reviews and discovered irregularities,” Ford told Denver7. “When we discovered them, we immediately forwarded the investigation to the Colorado Bureau of Investigations and terminated Chris Wedor.”
Ford said she could not provide further details since the case is still active with CBI.
The Associated Press reports that Wedor’s job paid $112,000 each year.
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Denver man formally charged with arson for allegedly using Molotov cocktail to burn own home
DENVER – A Denver man has been formally charged with arson and use of an incendiary device or explosive for allegedly using a Molotov cocktail to light his home on fire on Jan. 8.
Martin Schenck, 59, faces two counts of use of an explosive or incendiary device, one count of first-degree arson, one count of second-degree arson, four counts of explosive or incendiary device possession, and eight counts of possession of a weapon by a previous offender.
Schenck allegedly intentionally started the fire at his home at 672 S. Irving St. by using a Molotov cocktail.
Police say they allegedly found four weapons and six more Molotov cocktails at Schenck’s home. They had been called out to the home after a shot spotter picked up noises in the area.
Schenck remains in custody at the Denver Detention Center on a $50,000 bond and is next due in court Friday for his second advisement.
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Former child prostitute identified by DPD sergeant in Netflix-hosted film sues production company
DENVER – A victim of child sex trafficking who was named by a Denver Police Department sergeant and whose face was shown in a 2013 film that was hosted on Netflix is suing the company that produced the film for publicly identifying her.
Attorneys for the girl, identified in the suit as “Jane Roe,” originally filed the lawsuit in Denver District Court on Dec. 11. At the time, the production company, Three Generations, Inc., and Netflix, Inc. were both named as defendants.
But Netflix had the case moved to federal court in Denver earlier this month, and attorneys for the girl have since dismissed the claims against Netflix, citing the 1996 Communications Decency Act that has been interpreted to mean that internet service operators are not publishers and are thus not liable for the content of third parties.
The suit centers around Three Generations’ 2013 film, “Tricked.” It claims that the DPD sergeant, Daniel Steele, was interviewed in the film and “disclosed personal details related to [Roe]’s sexual abuse, including [Roe]’s name and photographs.”
In “Tricked,” Sgt. Steele, who works in DPD’s Special Investigations Division, is noted as being an expert in prostitution and human trafficking crimes, and repeatedly talked about the girl and her history. The film also included her full name in the credits
Roe’s attorneys argue that since Roe is a victim of a sexual crime, she is protected from having her identity disclosed in Colorado under the Criminal Justice Records Act, and that her name and identity “were not available for any other public source” aside from the film.
Her attorneys argue the film has been seen “thousands” of times in Colorado, and that thus, Three Generations have violated state law.
They say Roe suffered “humiliation, anxiety, embarrassment, and social stigma” because of the film, and asks for actual damages, emotional distress damages, injunctive relief against the production company, pre- and post-judgment interest on damages and court and attorney’s fees.
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Denver woman, 18, confirmed among those killed in Mexican nightclub shooting
DENVER – A Denver woman is the one U.S. citizen killed in a nightclub shooting in Mexico early Monday morning, ABC News has confirmed.
Alejandra Villanueva, 18, died in the shooting at the club in Playa del Carmen, which killed at least four others and injured at least 12.
The shooting happened during an electronic music festival, The BPM Festival, that had brought people from across the world to the beach resort.
Organizers for the festival said a lone gunman opened fire at the Blue Parrot club, killing at least three security team members.
Villanueva’s brother, Robert Aaron Martinez, confirmed his sister had died in the shooting.
“She was very lovable. Very artistic. She loved art,” Martinez said, adding that his sister was excited about the trip.
“The night before she left she was at my house, and we were having dinner and we were talking about how she was going to come back and she was going to tell me about her trip and everything she did over there,” her brother said. “I didn’t know it was going to be the last time I would see her.”
Villanueva’s friend called her family from the resort town worried because she couldn’t find Villanueva after the shooting.
After their worst fears were confirmed, Villanueva’s family has a new worry.
“She was the one that lived with my mom and three younger brothers. She was working to sustain that house,” said Martinez.
A GoFundMe page Martinez started said Villanueva was in college and working, and that she helped provide for her ill mother and younger siblings.
“If there’s any way that anybody can help us, we’re just trying to figure out how we’re going to bring my sister back. We just want to say the last goodbye and see her for the last time,” said Martinez.
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Man shot by Colorado Springs police in gunfire exchange at fast food restaurant
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – A man was hospitalized Thursday night after being shot by at least two Colorado Springs Police Department officers when he allegedly opened fire on them at a fast food restaurant on the city’s northwest side.
The shooting happened around 9:15 p.m. Thursday in the parking lot of the Arby’s restaurant in the 600 block of W. Garden of the Gods Road.
The El Paso County Sheriff’s Office, which is investigating the shooting, said only that officers “made contact with a suspicious individual” in the restaurant’s parking lot, and that the suspect shot at officers, who returned fire.
The suspect, identified as Shawn Michael Oliver, 39, was hit and taken to an area hospital with unspecified injuries. The sheriff’s office says the Colorado Springs officers were all uninjured and have been put on standard administrative leave.
Oliver was wanted on two felony arrest warrants out of Adams County.
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2 different Republican-backed bills aim to expand concealed-carry handgun rights on Colo. campuses
DENVER – Two Republican-backed bills in the Colorado Legislature aim to expand concealed-carry handgun rights at schools across the state.
One bill, House Bill 1036, would completely strip from state statute that currently forbids people from carrying concealed handguns on public school grounds – even if the holder has a permit.
It strikes most of the language in Colorado Revised Statute 18-12-214, but upholds language in 18-12-105.5 that says it “shall not be an offense” if a person with a valid permit to carry a concealed handgun brings it on campus.
The bill also has language that says the enactment of the bill “is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health and safety.”
The bill in sponsored by Rep. Patrick Neville, Rep. Kim Ransom and Sen. Tim Neville – all Republicans.
The other bill filed relating to concealed-carry weapons in schools is also sponsored by Rep. Patrick Neville, along with Sen. Chris Holbert.
Senate Bill 5 also allows some school employees to carry concealed handguns on campus, but carries more stringent requirements than HB 1036.
If passed and signed by the governor, the bill would allow school districts to work with county sheriffs to establish a training course and curriculum that would be taught to teachers with concealed-carry permits who would then be able to carry the weapons on campus, with some restrictions and parameters.
The bill would also apply not only to public schools, but also to charter schools and institute charter schools.
The first step in the process the bill creates would require the district board of education or charter board to work with the sheriff’s office to establish a handgun safety training course that includes any of the district’s or charter school’s existing emergency response methods. The teacher would already have to have a concealed-carry handgun permit.
Then, that person would have to meet a series of thresholds in order to be able to carry the gun while it is concealed while they are on campus.
The board of education or charter institute would first have to approve the curriculum for the training; the employee would have to complete the training; the employee would have to get permission from the board or charter institute to carry the concealed handgun on campus and would then have to notify said board or charter institute.
Also, the bill would allow each school board or charter institute to establish a maximum number of employees allowed to carry concealed handguns on campus and allow them to deny permission to an employee if that would put the school over the limit.
Concealed-carry handguns are allowed on many of Colorado’s college campuses.
Last month, the Hanover School District, southeast of Colorado Springs, voted to allow “qualified teachers’ to carry guns while on campus. District board members who supported the measure cited mass shootings and illegal marijuana grows nearby as reasons for enacting the policy. The district also cited its few school resource officers as reasons for allowing the program.
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Colorado GOP pushes bill to repeal state health care exchange, but governor will fight
DENVER – Two of the first bills filed in the Republican-controlled Colorado Senate aim to make huge changes in state health care – one that would repeal the state’s health exchange and one that would require state Medicaid recipients to enter into a written agreement if they use a non-enrolled provider.
Both bills are being pushed by new Senate President Kevin Grantham, R-Canon City. Senate Republican Leader Chris Holbert, R-Parker, affirmed the party’s opposition to the state exchange Thursday. Continue reading
Declassified intel report finds Putin, Russia meddled in US election to undermine faith, help Trump
WASHINGTON, D.C. – A declassified version of a report by the three top U.S. intelligence agencies on possible Russian meddling into the 2016 General Election says Russia and President Vladimir Putin aimed specifically to undermine faith in the American electoral process and discredit Hillary Clinton in favor of Donald Trump.
The report (click to read in full) from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and national Security Agency (NSA) “is a declassified version of a highly classified assessment,” according to the document, but its findings are “identical” to the classified version. Continue reading
Snowboarder who crashed into woman at Keystone Monday, severely injuring her leg, sought by deputies
SUMMIT COUNTY, Colo. – Authorities are looking for a snowboarder accused of running into a skier Monday at Keystone Ski Resort, leaving her with severe leg injuries that required a five-hour surgery.
The collision happened around 3 p.m. Monday on the Haywood Trail at Keystone. The Summit County Sheriff’s Office says the unidentified snowboarder collided with the skier, identified as Jenny Elma by her boyfriend, Stu Press. The skier eventually left the scene.
Elma’s boyfriend says the snowboarder was “airborne at a high rate of speed” when he collided with Elma’s leg. She slid about 30 feet with the snowboarder on top of her. Press says the man stayed at the crash scene for about five minutes, then left without providing his contact information.
Elma was transported to Keystone Clinic, where she was diagnosed with multiple fractures in her left Tibia, an injured meniscus and a broken Fibula bone. She was then taken to Vail Valley Hospital, where she underwent a five-hour surgery and had 13 screws put in her leg.
She is expected to be hospitalized through the weekend, and her recovery could take up to a year. She works in product sales at the Keystone Ski School.
The Skier Safety Act requires all skiers and snowboarders involved in a crash to stop, exchange information and summon ski patrol to render aid to the injured parties. Often times, ski collisions are settled in civil lawsuits. But the sheriff’s office does have an open and ongoing criminal investigation.
The snowboarder was wearing light brown pants and a distinct, full-face black and red Ruroc Inferno helmet (pictured above) at the time. He was described as being about 5-foot-9 and about 160 pounds.
Anyone with information on the collision or snowboarder is asked to contact Summit County Sheriff’s Office Detective Scott Wagner at 970-423-8913.
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