Puffer crackdown coming

AURORA | It's that time of year again. 
Police around the state are cracking down on "puffers" — running and unattended vehicles that police say lead to a spike in car thefts every winter. 
Click below for a release on the crackdown from the Colorado State Patrol.

Report: Sex assault suspect nabbed in Britain

AURORA | The Denver Post is reporting that a man wanted in Jefferson County for sexually assaulting two boys has been arrested in Great Britain.

Authorities said last year that James Craig Bird met the boys at an Aurora church. 

Here is a link to a previous story we wrote about the case. 

I am calling the JeffCo DA’s office now to get more information on this one. 

-Brandon

Feds seize 82 website domains

AURORA | Shoppers looking for a few deals on this Cyber Monday will have 82 fewer places to shop after federal agents shut down that many websites selling counterfeit goods Monday. 

According to a statement from the United States Attorney’s office in Denver, seven of the 82 websites selling fake merchandise were based in Colorado.

The Colorado sites seized in the nationwide bust were: mycollects.com, lv-outletstore.com, lv-outlets.com, lv-outlets.net, timberlandlike.com, realtimberland.com and handbag9.com. 

Visitors to those sites today were greeted with a message from the feds explaining that the domain had been seized. 

The image from mycollects.com is at right, click it to enlarge.

Click below for the release from the US Attorney’s Office. 

Feds say Aurora tax preparer filed bogus claims

AURORA | An Aurora tax preparer’s fraudulent tax returns may have cost the government as much as $4 million, the United States Department of Justice said in a statement Monday. 

Click below for the DOJ release. 

Doug Co. sheriff nabs Aurora man on child porn charge

Robert Ring. Photo courtesy
Douglas County sheriff.

AURORA | Douglas County sheriff’s deputies yesterday arrested an Aurora man on child pornography charges as part of a multi-agency investigation, police there said. 

According to a statement from the Douglas County sheriff’s office, investigators with the Internet Crime Against Children Unit along with Westminster police identified a computer that was sharing several images of child pornography. 

Investigators traced the computer to Robert Ring, 61, and searched his Aurora home with the help of Aurora police. 

As of Wednesday Ring was in custody on two counts of sexual exploitation of children. He is being held in lieu of $50,000.  

Detectives are seeking additional information from the public and asking anyone with information about Ring to call Detective Shawn Cronce at 303-784-7810.  

Body found at city hall

AURORA | Channel 7 in Denver is reporting that police found a dead body outside the east entrance of the Aurora Municipal Center early this morning.

Here is a link to the KMGH story. 

I have a call in to an APD spokesman and hope to have more on this shortly. 

Fire displaces family of five

Crews at the blaze Tuesday.

AURORA | A fire forced a family of five to flee their northeast Aurora trailer home Tuesday morning. 

The blaze started around 10:15 a.m. inside a trailer at 1780 Eisenhower Way, at the Friendly Village mobile home park. 

Capt. Al Robnett, a spokesman for Aurora fire, said nobody was injured and the flames were confined to a bedroom. 

The cause of the blaze is under investigation, Robnett said. 

Fire officials did not have a damage estimate as of Tuesday morning. 


Note: Photo by Heather L. Smith. Click it to enlarge.
-Brandon

Police search for woman after 'suspicious death'

Tiffany Shantay Durst

AURORA | Police are searching for a 21-year-old woman after finding a man dead in the woman’s Aurora apartment Monday.

Tiffany Shantay Durst was last seen Thursday, police said.

Around noon Monday, police found a man dead inside Durst’s apartment in the 12200 block of East Kepner Place. Lt. Sam McGhee, a spokesman for the department, said the man suffered obvious trauma and police are investigating the death as suspicious.

The man, whose name was not released, lived in the apartment with Durst but police have not said what the relationship might be.

McGhee said police were hoping to obtain a search warrant Monday so they could search the apartment.

Police are calling Durst a person of interest in the man’s death.

McGhee said police are anxious to find Durst because they aren’t sure what happened to the man and because they want to make sure she is safe.

“We just don’t know what the circumstances are here,” he said Monday night.

Durst might be driving a 1996 maroon Oldsmobile Cutlass with Colorado license plate number 750-VBW.

Police are asking anyone with information on the case to contact Detective Chuck Mehl at 303-739-6213.


Note: Police said they expect an update on this today, I will update the blog when I hear more. 
-Brandon

DUI crackdown planned

AURORA | Thanksgiving travelers can expect to see extra police on the streets this week as police around the state crackdown on drunk drivers. 

The Colorado State Patrol said Wednesday that State Troopers and officers from 71 law enforcement agencies around the state will participate in DUI crackdown starting Tuesday at 6 p.m. and ending Monday at 3 a.m.

“The goal of increased DUI enforcement is not to spoil Thanksgiving dinner.  It’s to protect families from losing a loved one to a crime that is completely preventable,” Colonel James Wolfinbarger, chief of CSP, said in a statement.  “Thousands of additional vehicles will be traveling our roadways this week and we want everyone in them to make it to their destination safely.  Designate a sober driver and please remember to buckle up.”

This year marks the second time Colorado law enforcement agencies have operated increased DUI patrols over the Thanksgiving week, state patrol said.  

Last year, police around the state arrested 587 drivers for DUI during the seven-day period.

Since 2007, 23 people have been killed on Colorado roadways during the Thanksgiving week and one-third of those deaths were due to an impaired driver, the statement said. 

Click below for the CSP release. 

ICE announces 85 arrests

AURORA | Federal agents arrested 85 convicted criminal aliens and immigration fugitives during a four-day sweep that ended Friday, immigration officials said in a statement Monday. 

At least one of the arrests occurred in Aurora, according to a statement from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency.

Names of the arrestees were not released Monday, as per ICE policy. 

Click below for the statement from ICE. 

Sisters ID'd in gun range shooting

AURORA | After four days investigating, sheriff’s deputies said Friday they have positively identified Australian twin sisters who shot themselves Monday at a local gun range. 

The sisters are Kristin A. Hermeler and Candice K. Hermeler, both 29. 

Kristin Hermeler died after the shooting at the Family Shooting Center at Cherry Creek State Park. Candice Hermeler survived and told investigators yesterday that she and her sister shot themselves as part of a suicide pact.

Investigators weren’t certain until today which sister survived and which sister died because the pair are almost identical. 

Sheriff: Gun range shootings were suicide attempts

AURORA | The Australian twin sisters shot Monday at a local shooting range shot themselves as part of a suicide pact, the surviving sister told investigators Thursday. 

According to a statement from the Arapahoe County sheriff’s office, investigators were finally able to interview the surviving sister Thursday, three days after she shot herself along with her sister at the Family Shooting Center at Cherry Creek State Park. 

The sister, who sustained a head wound that required surgery, told investigators she and her sister planned to commit suicide together. 

Names of the women haven’t been released. 

An official at the Arapahoe County coroner’s office said investigators there are still trying to determine which twin sister is which. 

Click below for the release from the sheriff's office.

Figueroa gets life plus 98 for Jan. killing

Ishmael Figueroa

AURORA | A judge Wednesday sentenced an Aurora man to life in prison plus 98 years for gunning a man down near an Aurora grocery store early this year. 

Ishmael Edward Figueroa, 24, was convicted Sept. 30 following a trial in Arapahoe County District Court that lasted about a week and a half.

The first-degree murder conviction carried a mandatory sentence in life in prison without the possibility of parole and at Wednesday’s sentencing hearing, Judge Valeria Spencer tacked on an addition 98 years for four counts of attempted murder and nine counts of reckless endangerment

“Mr. Figueroa, you have removed yourself from this community,” Spencer said at the hearing. “Because of your actions you will spend the rest of your natural life in prison.”

Prosecutors say that on Jan. 18, Figueroa was in a dispute with a group of people because he had been calling and sending sexual text messages to a teenage girl.

Name released in Joliet shooting

AURORA | Police identified a man shot to death Monday at a home on South Joliet Street as Michael L. Thompson, 43, of Aurora. 

According to the Arapahoe County coroner’s office, Thompson died of a gunshot wound to the head. 

The shooting happened around 8 p.m. Monday near the front door of a home in the 900 block of South Joliet. 

Police have not released information about a possible suspect. Investigators believe Thompson was involved in an altercation shortly before the shooting. 

Police are offering a $5,000 reward for information on the case. 

That reward is in addition to $2,000 being offered by Denver Crimestoppers. 

Police are asking anyone with information to call Detective Tom Wilson at 303-739-6711 or remain anonymous by calling Crime Stoppers at 720-913-STOP.

Hightower convicted of murder

AURORA | An Aurora man who stabbed his ex-girlfriend 60 times and shot her four times in 2007 was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison Wednesday. 

Marcus Ariel Hightower, 26, was accused of killing Abigail Robertson in December 2007 at Robertson’s apartment in Glendale. 

According to Arapahoe County prosecutors, the three-week trial ended Tuesday and jurors deliberated for just three hours before reaching their verdict. The verdict was read in court Wednesday morning.

After the verdict, a judge immediately sentenced Hightower to life in prison without the possibility of parole, the mandatory sentence for first-degree murder in Colorado. 

Hightower’s lawyers argued he was not guilty by reason of insanity. 

According to a statement from prosecutors, Hightower and Robertson broke up in June 2007. 

On Dec. 11, 2007, Hightower broke into Robertson’s apartment while she was on the phone talking to her new boyfriend. 

The boyfriend testified that he heard Hightower tell Robertson he “didn’t want it to come to this” before the attack. 

After the slaying, Hightower called police and, posing as a neighbor, asked for help. 

Then he drove to Aurora police headquarters and told police there “I think I did something wrong.  I think I may have hurt my girlfriend.”

Police later found a gun, cell phone and knife discarded in a trash can outside of the Aurora police station. Inside the mini van Hightower was driving investigators found binoculars and ammunition in a backpack, items prosecutors say indicated Hightower planned the murder and had been stalking Robertson.

“This is a case about rejection, and revenge,” Deputy District Attorney Jacob Edson told the jury during closing arguments.  “Marcus Hightower knew exactly what he was doing when he murdered Abigail Robertson.”

Robertson’s mother addressed Hightower before the sentencing. 

“If you would’ve let time pass you would’ve gotten over the pain of the end of your relationship with Abigail,” Kathy Robertson said.  “Abigail was not yours to take Marcus.  She did not belong to you.  She belonged to me and her father.”

Hightower trial wraps up

AURORA | The trial of an Aurora man accused of killing his ex-girlfriend in 2007 at her Glendale apartment is now in a jury’s hands. 

A spokeswoman for the Arapahoe County District Attorney’s Office said Tuesday that the trial of Marcus Hightower wrapped up Tuesday in Arapahoe County District Court. 

The trial started Nov. 3.

Hightower is accused of killing Abigail Robertson in December 2007. 

According to court records Hightower, who was 23 at the time of the killing, is charged with murder, burglary, robbery and weapons possession by a previous offender.

Hightower turned himself in to Aurora police minutes after Glendale police say he stabbed his ex-girlfriend at her apartment on South Dahlia Circle.

He has been held without bond in the Arapahoe County Jail since his arrest in December 2007.

Few answers Tuesday in gun range shootings ***UPDATE***

AURORA |  Circumstances surrounding a double shooting Monday at the Cherry Creek State Park shooting range remained murky Tuesday, investigators said. 

Arapahoe County sheriff’s office Capt. Louie Perea said investigators are hoping to interview the surviving victim of the shooting but have not been able to because she remains hospitalized in critical condition. 

The woman, who is the twin sister of the 29-year-old woman killed in the shooting, underwent surgery yesterday for a gunshot wound to the head, Perea said. 

Until investigators can talk to her, they likely won’t know what happened inside the shooting stall at the Family Shooting Center in the park near Parker Road and Interstate 225, he said. 

“Everything is still on the table,” he said. 

The two women, who were from Australia, were inside a stall when the shootings happened, he said. 

Perea said investigators aren’t sure who fired the gun or guns, or whether the same bullet hit both sisters, who were in the same shooting lane. The sisters had taken a taxi to the range and had been there for more than an hour when they were shot.

Surveillance video shows that the two women were the only people involved in the shooting, but because the camera didn’t look directly into the stall, Perea said it isn’t clear exactly what happened. 

He said it isn’t even clear yet if a crime occurred or if the shooting was accidental. 

The surviving woman could shed some light on what happened, Perea said, but investigators aren’t sure yet when or if she will recover to the point that investigators can interview her. 

“It all depends on how quickly she improves,” he said. 

Investigators will not release the names of either woman until next of kin has been notified, he said. 

Updated around 4:15 with information from the Associated Press. 

-Brandon

Updates coming on busy Monday night

AURORA | We are working on updates for a handful of local crime cases today. 

In the gun range death, the circumstances remained murky today surrounding the shooting that left one woman dead and another injured at the shooting range inside Cherry Creek State Park on Monday. 

We covered the shooting in today’s paper and have a call in to the Arapahoe County sheriff’s office today looking for an update. 

The Denver Post is reporting that the two women were twin sisters, but we haven’t been able to confirm that. 

I hope to have some more updates on this later today. 

As for the shooting death on South Joliet Street in Aurora last night, police said this morning they expect to have some update later today. 

Still waiting to hear if this one happened in a house or town home. A police spokesman said today that the shooting happened near the front door of a building, but it wasn’t clear what that building was. 

And a spokeswoman for the Arapahoe County DA’s office said closing arguments in the Marcus Hightower trial are underway. That means the jury will likely get the case later today. 

One dead in Joliet Street shooting

AURORA | Police are investigating a shooting that left one man dead Monday night on South Joliet Street.

The shooting happened about 8 p.m. in the 900 block of Joliet.

Police said in a statement that when officers arrived on the scene, they found a man with a gunshot wound to his upper body.

The man, whose name has not been released, was taken to an area hospital and pronounced dead about 8:40 p.m.

Police said there was an altercation between the man and someone else shortly before the shooting.

Hightower trial could wrap today

AURORA | The trial of an Aurora man accused of killing his ex-girlfriend in 2007 at her Glendale apartment could end today or tomorrow. 

A spokeswoman for the Arapahoe County District Attorney's Office said today that prosecutors in the trial of Marcus Hightwoer expected to finish their case today. After that, Hightower's defense, which was expected to call two witnesses, was to start. 

Closing arguments were set for Monday afternoon or Tuesday morning in Arapahoe County District Court in Centennial. 

Hightower is accused of killing Abigail Robertson in December 2007. 

According to court records Hightower, who was 23 at the time of the killing, is charged with murder, burglary, robbery and weapons possession by a previous offender.

Hightower turned himself in to Aurora police minutes after Glendale police say he stabbed his ex-girlfriend at her apartment on South Dahlia Circle.

He has been held without bond in the Arapahoe County Jail since his arrest in December 2007. 

Shooting at Cherry Creek State Park range

Channel 7 in Denver is reporting that a woman was killed Monday at the shooting range at Cherry Creek State Park. 


The park near Interstate 225 and Parker Road is under the Arapahoe County sheriff's jurisdiction and I just left a message with them. 


I will update this story when I hear back. 


-Brandon

Denver shooting victim from Aurora

AURORA | A man shot to death in west Denver late Tuesday night was from Aurora, the Denver medical examiner said Friday.

The man, Ronald B. Sanchez, 45, was shot around about 11:45 p.m. near West Sixth Avenue and Lowell Boulevard in Denver.

According to a statement from Denver police, officers responded to 520 Lowell on a report of a shooting. 

There, officers and emergency crews found Sanchez seated in a vehicle. 

He had been shot multiple times and was pronounced dead at the scene, police said. 

The medical examiner’s office said Sanchez died from multiple gunshot wounds and ruled his death a homicide.

Police said Sanchez may have been in an altercation with several people before he was shot. 

Police are asking anyone with information about the shooting to contact Denver police at 720-913-2000 or call Crime Stoppers at 720-913-STOP (7867). 

A cash reward of up to $2,000 is being offered for information about the case. 

Questions remain in Pinkus slaying

Bailey

Bassett

Harper

AURORA | Even with the arrest of two more people in connection with the slaying last month of a 51-year-old man at the Crestwood Suites Hotel, the bizarre case remains rife with unanswered questions. 

Police said yesterday that they have arrested Robert Harper, 18, of Denver, and Maliek Bailey, 35, of Denver, and both have both been charged with first-degree murder and robbery.

The charges stem from the Oct. 15 slaying of Michael Pinkus, 51, who was found dead at the Crestwood Suites Hotel.

Police arrested Steven Wayne Bassett, 27, of Denver, the night of Pinkus’ death. 

All three are being held without bond at the Arapahoe County Jail. 

Two more arrested in hotel murder

AURORA | Police have charged two more people with murder in connection with the slaying last month of a man at an Aurora hotel. 

Robert Harper, 18, of Denver, and Maliek Bailey, 35, of Denver, have both been charged with first-degree murder and robbery, police said this afternoon. 

The charges stem from the Oct. 15 slaying of Michael Pinkus, 51. 

Police arrested Steven Wayne Bassett, 27, of Denver, the night of Pinkus’ death. 

All three are being held without bond at the Arapahoe County Jail. 

We should have more to come on this shortly. 

-Brandon

City to dedicate bench to Morales

Rodney Morales

AURORA | City officials will dedicate a bench tomorrow in memory of slain Code Enforcement Officer Rodney Morales. 

The ceremony is scheduled for 10 a.m. at the Xeriscape Garden on the eastside of the Aurora Municipal Center, 15151 E. Alameda Parkway. 

A city spokeswoman said Morales’ family is expected to attend. 

Morales was gunned down Nov. 13, 2008, seconds after he walked into a north Aurora apartment building for a routine inspection. 

Harry Williams, the man convicted of killing Morales, is currently serving a life sentence. 

Here is a link to a story I wrote about Williams’ trial.