News
Colorado pimp sentenced to 472 years in prison, believed to be longest in U.S. for sex trafficking
ARAPAHOE COUNTY, Colo. – The leader of a Colorado sex trafficking ring on Tuesday received a 472-year prison sentence in what prosecutors believe is the longest human trafficking sentence ever handed down by a judge in the United States.
Brock Franklin, 31, received the sentence after a jury found him guilty in March of 30 counts that included violations under Colorado’s Organized Crime Control Act, charges of pimping a child, human trafficking and sex assault. Continue reading
15-year-old boy accused in deadly Longmont stabbing faces first-degree murder charge
BOULDER COUNTY, Colo. – The 15-year-old boy accused in the deadly stabbing of a Longmont woman was charged Wednesday morning with first-degree murder as a juvenile, though prosecutors will try and get the case moved into adult court.
The boy was charged with 11 counts in Boulder County juvenile court. The charges include first-degree murder, three counts of attempted first-degree murder, felony menacing and sentence enhancers that would kick in if the boy is found guilty. Continue reading
Report: Single donor gave $28.5 million to ‘dark money’ group touting Gorsuch for Supreme Court
DENVER – A single person gave $28.5 million to a nonprofit whose “dark money” was eventually used to buy ads touting Colorado’s Neil Gorsuch for the U.S. Supreme Court seat he was eventually confirmed to, according to a new report from MapLight.
According to tax documents obtained from the Wellspring Committee, a Virginia nonprofit, the committee received more than $32 million in donations—much of the money anonymously donated because of the organization’s social welfare 501(c)(4) status. Continue reading
National Park Service extends public comment period for proposed fee hike
DENVER – The U.S. National Park Service has granted an additional 30 days for the public comment period for people to sound off on the proposed fee hike that would triple the amount it costs to visit certain parks, like Rocky Mountain National Park.
NPS said Tuesday it had already received more than 65,000 comments on the proposed hikes ahead of the original Thursday deadline. It said the new deadline, set for Dec. 22, was made “to accommodate interest in this issue from members of Congress and the public.” Continue reading
Oil field worker injured in Weld Co. pipeline fire dies at Greeley hospital
WELD COUNTY, Colo. – One of the three oil field workers injured in a pipeline fire last Thursday near Galeton died Tuesday at a Greeley hospital.
The worker was identified by the county as 61-year-old George Cottingham of Greeley. His manner and cause of death have yet to be determined pending an autopsy, Weld County Communications Director Jennifer Finch said. Continue reading
Colorado’s Hickenlooper grants pardons for 22 he says have improved lives and communities
DENVER – Gov. John Hickenlooper granted clemency to 22 people Monday he says have “taken great strides to improve their lives and communities.”
“The 22 people I am pardoning today serve as an example that redemption is possible. I believe they will use this opportunity to continue improving their lives, raising families, and being productive members of their communities,” Hickenlooper said. “They have earned the opportunity for a second chance.”
The 22 pardons mean Hickenlooper has publicly forgiven those people, and come after each person’s completion of their sentence. Continue reading
Rep. Diana DeGette says ex-congressman tried to force kiss on her, alleges other harassment
DENVER – Congresswoman Diana DeGette, D-Colo., alleged in an interview Monday that a former congressman tried to force a kiss on her in an elevator and that she’d been sexually harassed several other times in her career.
The new allegations from DeGette came in an interview with Katy Tur on MSNBC’s Meet the Press Daily. Continue reading
Boy accused in Longmont deadly stabbing of young woman had ‘death list,’ prosecutors say
LONGMONT, Colo. – The 15-year-old Lakewood boy accused of stabbing a young woman to death in Longmont Saturday evening had a list of people he wanted to hurt and had previously threatened several of his own family members, according to the Boulder County District Attorney’s Office.
The boy waived his first court appearance Monday afternoon, and was denied bond pending his next hearing, which could come Wednesday. Prosecutors are expected to decide by then whether or not to charge the boy in adult court rather than juvenile court. He is being investigated on first-degree murder charges, officials said over the weekend. Continue reading
Uber’s parent company faces $8.9M fine in Colo. over questionable, or incomplete, background checks
DENVER – Uber’s parent company is facing an $8.9 million fine after the Colorado Public Utilities Commission found 57 Uber drivers in the state were driving when they weren’t supposed to be, and the state is questioning whether background checks on those drivers were performed at all.
The parent company, Rasier, LLC, was issued notice of the civil penalty Monday — $2,500 a day for each day one of the 57 disqualified drivers worked, resulting in the penalty of close to $9 million. Uber uses an accredited background check company to screen potential drivers. Continue reading
Missing girl hitched ride in back of family friend’s vehicle without them knowing, authorities say
JEFFERSON COUNTY, Colo. – A 10-year-old girl from Golden who was missing for more than 12 hours overnight hid in the back of a family friend’s car and was inadvertently taken to Aurora, the sheriff’s office said Friday.
Authorities found Madeleine Malloy, 10, safe at an Aurora apartment complex Friday morning 27 miles from where she originally went missing around 5 p.m. Thursday.
Law enforcement officials said Friday morning that Malloy didn’t seem to know where she was when she was found Friday morning after knocking on the door of a different apartment saying she was hungry. Continue reading