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Tag: callum heskett

  • Former CPW seasonal ranger pleads guilty to ‘elaborate hoax’ stabbing at Staunton State Park

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    JEFFERSON COUNTY, Colo. — The former Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) ranger accused of an “elaborate hoax,” claiming he was stabbed in August at Staunton State Park, pleaded guilty Monday to two counts.

    The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office arrested Callum Heskett, 26, on several felony and misdemeanor charges on Aug. 21, 2025. He faced charges of attempting to influence a public servant, tampering with evidence — which are both felonies — false reporting to authorities, reckless endangerment, obstructing government operations and second-degree official misconduct, the sheriff’s office said.

    On Monday, Heskett pleaded guilty to attempt to influence a public servant and the false report of an emergency. The remaining counts were dismissed as part of his plea deal Monday.

    Heskett was sentenced to three years of probation under supervision and to pay restitution of approximately $16,000. The district attorney’s office has 21 days to finalize an exact amount.

    As part of the plea agreement, Heskett’s certification for law enforcement in the State of Colorado is revoked and he is barred from future certification to prevent him from working in law enforcement in the future.

    Heskett admitted to using his radio on Aug. 19 to report that he was involved in a “physical confrontation with a subject” when he was working as a CPW seasonal ranger at Staunton State Park.

    When authorities arrived, they found Heskett kneeling in a grassy area along the service road. A deputy saw that Heskett was holding a 3- to 4-inch pocket knife, which appeared to have been stabbed into his lower left abdomen, as Denver7 previously reported from Heskett’s arrest affidavit read.

    At the scene, Heskett told the first responders that he had been traveling up the service road in a CPW Jeep when he saw a man hunched over near a tree, so he stopped to check on him. He claimed that the man stood up, cursed about “the police,” charged at him, grabbed his pocketknife and stabbed him, the affidavit read. Heskett told deputies he was able to deploy pepper spray, and after that the man fled into the woods. At some point during the altercation, Heskett said the suspect punched him in the back of his head and “took him to the ground,” the affidavit read.

    He provided a description of the man to authorities, and then Heskett was brought to an AirLife helicopter, which transported him to a nearby hospital for surgery. At the hospital, a crime scene analyst collected DNA swabs from Heskett. After this, Heskett told authorities he remembered the suspect was wearing a glove, according to his arrest affidavit.

    Meanwhile at the park, the search for the alleged “suspect” had started, with crews on the ground and in the air. A Lookout Alert was sent to 8,600 homes in the area, and multiple schools were put on “lockout” status.

    Prior coverage:

    During the investigation, authorities noticed inconsistencies in Heskett’s story.

    Investigators reviewed the body-worn camera footage from deputies at the scene and noted that Heskett did not appear to have any grass or dirt stains on his back — something they found unusual since he had said the suspect tackled him to the ground. He did have a dirt stain on his knee, and had been kneeling when authorities first arrived. They also did not notice any wounds to his head. The footage did show him appearing to send texts and possibly taking a photo or a video with his phone, Heskett’s arrest affidavit read.

    An analysis of his phone records showed that he had made several searches online regarding how deep arteries are in the lower abdomen and abdominal anatomy. One search read, “$1mil for each time you get stabbed,” according to Heskett’s arrest affidavit.

    Prior to CPW, the City of Lafayette confirmed to Denver7 that Heskett worked at the police department from Oct. 2, 2023, to July 2, 2024. Lafayette Police Chief Rick Bashor sent a termination letter to Heskett after the 26-year-old failed to pass field training. The termination notice was rescinded, though, because Heskett resigned in lieu of termination. Heskett’s resignation letter shows he resigned from his position on July 3, 2024, which is the same day he received the termination letter from the chief.

    *Denver7’s Stephanie Butzer contributed to the background information in this report.

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  • CPW seasonal park ranger accused of stabbing hoax did not pass training at previous police department

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    JEFFERSON COUNTY, Colo. — The Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) seasonal park ranger, accused of stabbing himself in an “elaborate hoax,” worked briefly as a police officer in Lafayette before the police department moved to terminate him.

    Callum Heskett is facing several felony and misdemeanor charges. The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office said he stabbed himself in the abdomen with his pocket knife at Staunton State Park, then created a false story about how he got his injuries. Court documents say Heskett told authorities a man at the park attacked him after the man cursed about “the police.” CPW said Heskett was working as a seasonal park ranger.

    Denver7 obtained records from the City of Lafayette, showing Heskett briefly worked as an officer for the Lafayette Police Department. Heskett applied to the department in June 2023, according to his employment application Denver7 obtained through a public records request to the City of Lafayette. However, Lafayette Police Chief Rick Bashor made steps to terminate his employment after Heskett failed to pass field training, according to a termination letter.

    New officers typically go through several months of field training after they graduate from a police academy. The hands-on training period happens under the guidance of field training officers.

    In the termination notice dated July 3, 2024, Chief Bashor said Heskett’s training officers decided he did not demonstrate “sufficient proficiency in critical areas needed to be a police officer.” The notice said despite extensive training, guidance and support during orientation and training, the department determined Heskett did not meet the required standards for the field training, evaluation program and the police department’s standards of conduct.

    The City of Lafayette said the termination notice was rescinded because Heskett resigned in lieu of termination. Heskett’s resignation letter shows he resigned from his position on July 3, 2024, which is the same day he received the termination letter from the chief.

    Denver7 spoke with Chief Rafael Gutierrez with the Louisville Police Department, a neighboring agency that’s similar in size to Lafayette, about why law enforcement agencies may agree to give officers the chance to resign instead of being terminated.

    “If there’s a resignation in lieu of termination, then typically that kind of flags it as maybe that employer is providing that new officer or that new employee with an opportunity to separate, but not necessarily, like lose their certification, or things of that nature,” Louisville Police Chief Gutierrez said.

    Park ranger accused of stabbing hoax didn’t pass training at prior police dept.

    For Gutierrez, it can be concerning to see a job candidate who has resigned in lieu of termination from a previous department.

    “I think anytime that there is somebody separating as a result of a termination, whether it’s for performance… or disciplinary action, certainly that does give me pause, and I would want to do some additional investigation into why that would have occurred,” Gutierrez said.

    For his department, there are many reasons new officers may not pass field training. Gutierrez said it doesn’t happen often, but it happens.

    “There’s a wide variety of criteria that we evaluate a new trainee on when they’re coming into our field training program. So it’s, you know, certainly their ability to manage calls for service, to do things safely, to handle the call load, to obviously, deliver good customer service,” he said.

    The Colorado Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) public database shows an officer named Callum Heskett is still certified as a peace officer in Colorado. A POST certification is given after someone completes at least 558 hours of training through a POST-approved basic academy, passes a POST certification exam and a background check, according to updated 2025 standards.

    Denver7 reached out to the City of Lafayette for more information about why the department made the move to terminate Heskett’s employment and if his resignation, in lieu of termination, was reported to Colorado Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST), the government office that oversees the certification and training of all peace officers in Colorado. We will update this article when we hear back.

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