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Tag: Colorado news

  • Geneva fire contained after spreading from house fire in Golden Gate Canyon

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    A house fire in western Jefferson County started a small wildfire Thursday morning, causing pre-evacuation warnings for people living in Golden Gate Canyon after flames spread to nearby trees and grass.

    The Geneva fire burned less than an acre after it was first reported in the 10600 block of Ralston Creek Road at 11:35 a.m., according to the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office.

    Jefferson and Gilpin county officials sent out pre-evacuation warnings for a 3-mile radius around the fire and for homes in Golden Gate Estates, Braecher Ranchettes and the surrounding area.

    The fire also briefly caused evacuations for the southern part of Golden Gate Canyon State Park and visitor center, Colorado Parks and Wildlife spokesperson Kara Van Hoose said in an email to The Denver Post.

    Fire crews stopped forward progress on the fire by 12:34 p.m., and county officials lifted pre-evacuations for the surrounding area just after 1 p.m.

    The Geneva fire was fully contained as of Thursday afternoon, according to the wildfire dispatch program WildCAD.

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  • Douglas County wildfire sparked by trash truck, sheriff says

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    A wildfire that raced across more than 1,000 acres of dry, grassy land in Douglas County on Tuesday was started by a trash truck, according to the sheriff’s office.

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    Lauren Penington

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  • Trump Administration Ends Protections for Rare Dancing Prairie Bird

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    FORT COLLINS, Colo. (AP) — A ground-dwelling bird known for elaborate mating dances on the southern Great Plains will no longer be federally protected after the Trump administration agreed with arguments by three states and the beef and petroleum industries that the species was listed improperly.

    Thursday’s delisting by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service formalized a recent court ruling that acknowledged the federal agency has now sided with opponents of federal protections for the lesser prairie chicken.

    The ruling by a federal judge in Midland, Texas, in effect ended Endangered Species Act protections for the bird last summer. The protections required the energy industry and ranchers to take steps to avoid disrupting the birds’ habitat and especially their mating areas, called leks.

    The crow-sized birds once numbered in the millions. Habitat loss from energy and agriculture development has shrunk their population to about 30,000 across parts of Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas.

    Wildlife watchers delight in the male birds’ spring dances and their warbling, clucking and stomping ruckus to attract mates. Native American tribes mimic the flamboyant displays — also a behavior of the more common greater prairie chicken — in some of their dances.

    The lesser prairie chicken has been federally protected twice in recent years. In 2015, a federal judge in U.S. District Court in Midland reversed the bird’s listing as a threatened species the year before, siding with petroleum developers who argued that sufficient protections were already in place.

    In 2022, President Joe Biden’s administration listed the lesser prairie chicken as threatened in the northern part of its range in Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas, and as endangered in a “distinct population segment” to the south in New Mexico and Texas.

    The listing prompted a lawsuit filed by Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas and groups including the Permian Basin Petroleum Association and National Cattlemen’s Beef Association.

    After President Donald Trump took office last year, the Fish and Wildlife Service reevaluated the bird and agreed with the states and groups that it lacked justification to classify the lesser prairie chicken into two distinctly different populations.

    Last August, another judge in U.S. District Court in Midland granted a Fish and Wildlife Service motion to reverse its Biden-era listings for the lesser prairie chicken.

    “Fish and Wildlife’s concession points to serious error at the very foundation of its rule,” District Judge David Counts wrote in his Aug. 12 ruling praised by Texas officials.

    Texas oil and gas regulatory officials including Texas Railroad Commission spokesperson Bryce Dubee and Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham welcomed the delisting.

    “It will ensure American oil and gas production in the Permian Basin remains robust and our economy steadfast,” Buckingham said in an emailed statement.

    Environmentalists vowed to fight on in court.

    “It’s shameful that the Trump administration sees fit to sacrifice these magnificent birds for oil and gas industry profit,” Jason Rylander, legal director at the Center for Biological Diversity’s Climate Law Institute, said in a statement. “Lesser prairie chickens may be lost forever without Endangered Species Act protections.”

    Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

    Photos You Should See – Feb. 2026

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    Associated Press

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  • 2nd day of dry, windy weather fuels Colorado wildfires in Thornton, Eastern Plains

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    A second day of powerful, gusty winds hit the Front Range and Eastern Plains on Wednesday, fueling at least two wildfires in metro Denver and northeastern Colorado and snarling travel at Denver International Airport.

    More than 100 firefighters from across the metro area responded to a grass fire that sparked at 11:30 a.m. near Pinnacle Charter High School, 8412 Huron St. in Thornton.

    The fire burned across 10 acres of dry, grassy fields and charred vehicles as it produced billows of black smoke visible across the Denver area. Smoke reduced visibility on Interstate 25 to the point that state transportation officials closed the highway in both directions for more than an hour.

    Four firefighters and one other person were injured by the fire, Thornton Fire Chief Stephen Kelley said at a briefing at City Hall. Their injuries did not appear to be life-threatening, but no further information on the nature or severity of the injuries was available, Kelley said.

    Police officers went door to door Wednesday afternoon to evacuate people after the fire started, and city officials sent out evacuation notices through the statewide Integrated Public Alert and Warning System, Kelley said. Pinnacle Charter High School and several nearby businesses also were evacuated.

    Thornton is in the process of switching to a different city emergency alert system and does not have one in place currently, Kelley said.

    City leaders could not say how many homes were evacuated and did not provide a map of affected neighborhoods, although officials confirmed most evacuations occurred northeast of the fire.

    Flames burned for more than two hours before fire crews gained full containment at 2:07 p.m. Thornton officials lifted evacuations at 3:30 p.m. Kelley said firefighters were to remain in the area overnight to put out hot spots and prevent the fire from rekindling. Continued road closures were likely because of firefighting activity, he said.

    No homes were destroyed by the fire, which started on a greenbelt between a residential neighborhood and businesses, Kelley said. The cause of the fire is under investigation and crews are evaluating fire damage to businesses. Although none of the businesses’ buildings appear to be damaged, rows of cars in nearby lots were burned.

    “It is our intent to get ahead of these fires so we don’t have the spread … experienced during the Marshall fire,” Kelley said. “I think we’re very fortunate today that we did not have an outcome similar.”

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  • Former Cherry Creek teacher arrested for child sex assault

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    A former Cherry Creek School District teacher was arrested Monday on suspicion of child sex assault after a former student came forward, police said.

    Robert Combs, 56, was arrested on investigation of five counts of sexual assault on a child by one in a position of trust and three misdemeanor counts of abusing public trust as an educator, according to Arapahoe County court records.

    Combs was a CTE Engineering and Technology Teacher at Grandview High School, 20500 E. Arapahoe Road, between 2002 and late 2025, according to a letter sent to parents and families by the Cherry Creek School District.

    The school district placed Combs on administrative leave in October 2025, when Grandview Principal Lisa Roberts was first made aware of the sexual assault allegations by the Aurora Police Department, police wrote in his arrest affidavit. Combs was officially “separated” from the school district on Nov. 13, according to the letter sent to parents.

    “The safety and security of our students and staff is our highest priority,” school district officials wrote in the letter. “We appreciate your partnership in these critical efforts. We are committed to keeping you informed about all aspects of your child’s education.”

    Aurora officers responded to Grandview High School on Oct. 30, after a former student reached out to Roberts to apologize for lying to her in 2022 and said they were considering reporting Combs, according to the affidavit.

    The student previously denied having an inappropriate relationship with Combs to Roberts in 2022 after a security guard and other teachers came forward with suspicions about the nature of the two’s relationship, the affidavit stated. At that time, the student said Combs was “like a father.”

    Roberts encouraged the student to report Combs and also contacted the Aurora Police Department in October to report the incident on her own, according to the affidavit.

    The unidentified victim first met Combs in August 2021 when the student joined a high school club the man advised, the Technology Student Association, according to Combs’ arrest affidavit.

    Other teachers at Grandview High School also recommended that the student reach out to Combs for assistance with getting into a military academy, police wrote in the affidavit. Combs helped the student with interview preparation, essay writing and physical training.

    In February 2022, Grandview students and staff attended the association’s state conference in Denver, according to the affidavit. Combs allegedly encouraged the then-underage student to come back to his hotel room, where they kissed and he “expressed romantic feelings” for them.

    The victim told Aurora Police they “felt shocked and unsure how to respond,” according to the affidavit.

    Combs’ interactions with the student after the conference “became more frequent and increasingly inappropriate,” police wrote in the arrest affidavit.

    The student would meet Combs after school to work on applications, and those meetings often turned intimate, the student told police. Combs also sent the student inappropriate photos and text messages.

    Combs and the student had sex in classrooms, offices and closets at the high school almost every day between March 2022 and May 2022, according to the arrest affidavit. They would also drive to empty parking lots and have sex in cars.

    The student told police that it felt like they “owed” Combs for his help, the affidavit stated.

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  • 3,500-acre grass fire in eastern Colorado ignited by motor vehicle crash

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    Residents in a small town on Colorado’s Eastern Plains were ordered to evacuate Wednesday afternoon after a grass fire sparked from a vehicle crash nearby, fueled by strong winds and dry vegetation, according to fire officials.

    The fire burned between 3,500 to 4,000 acres and drew responses from departments in eastern Colorado and Nebraska.

    The fire ignited at roughly 1:20 p.m. near the intersection of Colorado 113 and Logan County Road 66, according to a news release from the Logan County Office of Emergency Management. Winds at that time were between 25 and 30 mph with gusts up to 50 mph, driving the fire through rough, dry terrain.

    The fire was 80% contained as of 4:26 p.m., the release stated.

    Evacuation orders were lifted as of 4:33 p.m., according to a Facebook post from the Logan County Office of Emergency Management.

    The first orders were issued just before 2 p.m. Wednesday for the town of Padroni, home to roughly two dozen people in northeast Colorado, according to the Sterling Fire Department. The town is about 11 miles north of Sterling.

    By 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, the evacuation zone had expanded to include parts of Peetz and Iliff, according to the Logan Office of Emergency Management. The zone included residents along Colorado 113 between County Road 62 and County Road 67.5, and in the area south to U.S. 138, according to the office.

    Colorado 113 in Logan County reopened between County Road 56 north of Padroni and County Road 74 in Peetz as of 3:59 p.m., according to the Colorado Department of Transportation. The closure, from milemarker 9 to 16, was caused by fire activity, according to the agency.

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  • Bill would ban prop bets on sports apps in Colorado as lawmakers seek to curb gambling addictions

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    Colorado lawmakers who are concerned about rising gambling addiction and betting scandals in professional sports filed a bill Wednesday that would prohibit sports betting apps from offering proposition bets on individual athletes’ performances.

    The bipartisan responsible gaming bill — SB26-131 — would also attempt to slow down gambling habits by eliminating credit card usage on sports betting apps, limiting the number of deposits a person can make into an account, and banning push notifications to gamblers’ cellphones from betting companies such as DraftKings and FanDuel.

    “Frankly, the more I looked into i,t the more I became really, really alarmed by everything that has happened as a consequence of legalized sports betting and, in my view, placing very few restrictions on it,” said Sen. Matt Ball, D-Denver, one of the bill’s sponsors.

    Ball, who is sponsoring the bill with Sen. Byron Pelton, R-Sterling, said the rapid growth of sports betting in Colorado is causing unexpected problems — including financial debts — across the state, and the legislature needs to move to protect people and the integrity of professional and collegiate sports. The bill also has a Democratic and a Republican sponsor in the House.

    He cited studies that show more than half of 18-to-22-year-olds have engaged in some form of sports betting, and surveys of high school students that report that between 60% and 80% have gambled for money within the previous 12 months.

    “We just didn’t know what we didn’t know,” Ball said of Colorado’s quick entry into legalized sports betting. “It’s just exploded and it’s happened very fast. I think we can see the harm that’s happened very clearly.”

    Colorado voters legalized sports betting in 2019 after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned a law that previously had prohibited states from allowing it. It was one of the first states to launch online sports books in May 2020, just after the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the country, including putting a pause on most sports. But the state’s residents quickly took to sports betting apps as the world returned to normal.

    The amount Colorado bettors have wagered has steadily increased each year, with people betting more than $6 billion on sports in 2025. At the same time, the number of people calling the state’s problem gambling hotline has risen, too. The hotline averaged about 350 calls per month in 2025, according to the Problem Gambling Coalition of Colorado.

    Joshua Ewing, executive director of Healthier Colorado, an advocacy group that pushes for better health policies in the state, said new studies are showing a growing rate of addiction among young men and boys who gamble, and addiction is causing financial debt, strained relationships and emotional stress.

    “It’s not about rolling back voter-approved betting. It’s about guardrails,” Ewing said of the bill. “The goal is smart policy, not prohibition.”

    The sports betting industry is prepared to push back on the legislation.

    “Colorado should seize this moment to strengthen its state-regulated market — not hand it back to illegal operators or chase bettors to federally regulated platforms,” said Joe Maloney, president of the Sports Betting Alliance. “This proposal undermines the very consumer protections it claims to advance, rewarding actors who openly flout Colorado law and contribute nothing to the state’s communities by way of tax revenues.”

    Maloney said the alliance will continue to engage elected leaders and regulators to reinforce consumer protections and responsible gaming standards that the industry already follows.

    Proposition bets, or prop bets, are the moneymakers for sports betting apps because they come with higher odds. In those bets, a gambler could bet on whether Denver Nuggets star Nicola Jokic will score 30 or more points in a game or whether Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix will throw more than one touchdown.

    Sports betting apps also allow gamblers to make multiple prop bets at one time to form parlays, which further increase odds in favor of the sportsbooks, but are wildly popular with gamblers.

    For example, Bet365 on Wednesday offered a parlay bet called “Joker x Jamal,” where a gambler would win if the Nuggets’ Jokic and Jamal Murray both scored more than 20 points, and if Murray had more than 10 assists and Jokic grabbed more than 10 rebounds. A $10 wager could earn $100 if all four things happened in the Nuggets game against the Celtics.

    Colorado already prohibits prop bets on college athletes, but Ball and the bill’s other sponsors want to prohibit all of these bets because of the temptation among athletes to take bribes to influence outcomes for gamblers.

    The bill also aims to curb the barrage of television advertisements and phone notifications that people see during sporting events.

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    Noelle Phillips

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  • Ethics committee finds probable cause to investigate if Colorado House member broke rules

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    Colorado state Rep. Ron Weinberg will face more scrutiny for allegations of unethical behavior following a vote of his peers Wednesday morning.

    The House Ethics Committee found probable cause to further investigate two out of six allegations filed against Weinberg, a Loveland Republican, by fellow GOP Rep. Brandi Bradley. One surviving claim involves allegations that he copied or otherwise misused a master key that could access any of the offices of his fellow legislators and that he used the key to enter at least one member’s space.

    The other still-active claim by Bradley alleges that Weinberg made sexually suggestive and inappropriate comments to her and others on multiple occasions.

    Weinberg originally faced seven claims, but two of them were combined. The committee, made up of three Democrats and two Republicans, voted unanimously on all counts either to continue with or dismiss them.

    Rep. Javier Mabrey, a Denver Democrat, said it was the pattern of alleged behavior, more than evidence around individual accusations, that warranted further discussion.

    “There’s a pattern and practice of behavior here that suggests maybe some form of sexual harassment that crosses the line has happened,” Mabrey said.

    That logic followed for accusations that Weinberg may have misused a master key to access areas of the building he normally wouldn’t be able to. Rep. Matt Soper, a Delta Republican, noted that legislative leaders had their offices rekeyed following the allegation — proof that suspicion was at least widespread enough to warrant further examination.

    “They took action that they otherwise would not have taken,” Soper said. “And you don’t take action like that if you honestly don’t believe someone had ever had a key or had access to a key.”

    Claims that Weinberg carried a gun in the Capitol and while drunk, both potentially crimes, were found to be unsubstantiated and dropped by the Ethics Committee. Claims that Weinberg accosted Bradley and was beligerent toward Rep. Stephanie Luck, also a Republican, during a 2025 committee meeting were also unsubstantiated as crossing ethical lines.

    “Nothing this body has decided at this point determines one way or the other whether an ethics violation has occurred,” Rep. Steven Woodrow, a Denver Democrat, said. “It has simply found probable cause to proceed forward on those two points, and that’s all anyone should take away from this.”

    Weinberg did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday morning.

    He can request an evidentiary hearing to further investigate the claims against him, which would kick off more proceedings to determine if he breached ethical guidelines. If he does not make that request, the Ethics Committee will recommend to the House which actions, if any, it should consider taking against him, potentially including a reprimand, censure or removal.

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    Nick Coltrain

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  • Douglas County adopts law requiring stores to report theft — but drops fines for failing to do so

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    Douglas County commissioners passed a measure Tuesday that requires hundreds of retail stores in unincorporated parts of the county to file a report with law enforcement when thieves rip them off.

    But unlike an initial version of the law that was made public in December, the county will levy no fines on retailers for failing to do so — instead leaving any decision about punishment to a local court.

    The first version of the law called for fines of $50, and all the way up to $1,000, for businesses that failed to report a crime. That caused some unease in the business community that Douglas County was overreaching.

    Commissioner Abe Laydon said during the business meeting Tuesday that the ordinance was not meant to punish retailers but to keep the community safe.

    “This is the most prosperous county in the state of Colorado — we don’t want us to become a target for organized crime,” he said. “When we tolerate organized retail theft, we normalize lawlessness.”

    The latest rendition of the ordinance increased the time — from 24 hours to 96 hours — that businesses will have to report a theft. It also allows a retailer to report a crime via an online form rather than have police called to the scene.

    That was enough to allay concerns from Chris Howes, the president of the Colorado Retail Council. In an attempt to make the measure more palatable to local businesses, he said his organization had some “fruitful discussions” with the county after the law was first unveiled.

    “We don’t feel it punishes retail,” he said. “The focus on retail crime is overall going to be a benefit to us.”

    District Attorney George Brauchler said he wants to get the message across that “we do not tolerate thieves.”

    “If you come here to steal from us, plan on staying,” he said in a statement Tuesday. “Business owners and citizens alike should know that we will continue to protect their property rights.”

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  • Man arrested for murder in fatal Denver Valentine’s Day shooting

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    A man accused of shooting and killing another man in Denver on Valentine’s Day and fleeing Colorado was arrested Friday in Kansas on suspicion of murder, police said.

    As of Tuesday afternoon, 20-year-old Yeanbraiker Yriarte-Valera was being held at the Wyandotte County Detention Center in Kansas on a Denver homicide warrant, according to jail records. He was booked into the jail on Friday.

    Yriarte-Valera is under investigation for first-degree murder, four counts of attempted first-degree murder, four counts of first-degree assault and a violent crime sentence enhancer, according to Denver court records.

    Denver police responded to the shooting in the 1500 block of West Maple Avenue at about 5:15 a.m. on Feb. 14. When officers arrived, they found a woman who had been shot in the ankle and a man who died from his injuries at the scene.

    Paramedics took the woman to the hospital, police said. The Denver Office of the Medical Examiner will identify the man killed in the shooting.

    Investigators believe a fight started at a party in the area that escalated into the shooting, according to a news release from the Denver Police Department. At least two people fired off shots, hitting the two victims, but the second suspect had not been publicly identified as of Tuesday.

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  • Douglas County wildfire chars more than 1,000 acres south of Franktown

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    A wildfire scorched more than 1,000 acres of dry, grassy terrain south of Franktown on Tuesday, forcing evacuations as gusty winds pushed flames toward nearby homes.

    The Dahlberg fire was first reported near Dahlberg and Lake Gulch roads at 12:39 p.m., Douglas County sheriff’s officials said. The area is roughly 8 miles south of Franktown and 8 miles east of Larkspur.

    Tinder-dry fuels, drought and winds up to 20 mph allowed the fire to grow quickly, county Emergency Management Director Mike Alexander said at a briefing.

    Douglas County sheriff’s deputies began evacuating nearby homes immediately, Patrol Division Chief Joel White said. Deputies contacted 20 homes threatened by the fire, and 17 of those evacuated, he said.

    The nearby Cherry Valley Elementary School was ordered to hold students in place and released them from school early so parents and guardians could pick up their children, White said. The school was fully evacuated as of 4 p.m.

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  • Colorado park ranger gets 3 years probation in Staunton State Park stabbing hoax

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    The Colorado park ranger accused of stabbing himself in a hoax that sparked a large-scale manhunt at Staunton State Park last August took a plea deal Monday.

    Callum Heskett pleaded guilty to attempting to influence a public servant, a felony, and false reporting of an emergency, a misdemeanor, according to a news release from the First Judicial District Attorney’s Office.

    The plea deal dropped additional charges of attempting to influence a public servant, tampering with evidence, reckless endangerment, obstructing government operations and official misconduct from his case, according to Jefferson County court records.

    Heskett was sentenced to three years of supervised probation and ordered to pay more than $16,000 in restitution, according to the district attorney’s office. That amount, which may be updated in the coming days, accounts for the costs incurred by all the agencies that responded to his fake distress call.

    The former park ranger’s misdemeanor conviction is permanent, but he was granted a deferred sentence on his felony charge, court records show. If Heskett fulfills the terms of his probation, that charge will be removed from his record.

    However, if Heskett violates the probation agreement, he will be sentenced to the Colorado Department of Corrections for a period of between two and six years.

    The investigating officers’ main concern when considering a plea deal was ensuring that Heskett would not be allowed to work as law enforcement again, Deputy District Attorney Michael Rex said during the Monday morning hearing, according to the news release.

    The stabbing hoax convictions will revoke Heskett’s POST certification and bar any future recertification, according to the district attorney’s office.

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  • Why are flags flying at half-staff in Denver this week?

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    Flags will fly at half-staff this week in Denver in honor of a civil rights leader and two-time presidential candidate who died last week, Mayor Mike Johnston announced Sunday.

    Rev. Jesse Jackson, who died last Tuesday at the age of 84, led the Civil Rights Movement for decades after Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination. He died at home in Chicago, surrounded by family, Jackson’s daughter confirmed.

    “Our father was a servant leader — not only to our family, but to the oppressed, the voiceless, and the overlooked around the world,” the Jackson family said in a statement posted online. “We shared him with the world, and in return, the world became part of our extended family.”

    The Rev. Jesse Jackson, who led the Civil Rights Movement for decades after King, has died at 84

    Flags will be lowered in Denver through Saturday to honor Jackson, according to a news release from Johnston’s office.

    “Jesse Jackson was a titan of the Civil Rights Movement, a ferocious advocate, and a fearless trailblazer whose ‘Rainbow Coalition’ changed our nation forever,” Johnston said in a statement. “He reminded us that progress is possible when we stand together. Today we stand together in honoring his incredible life and work.”

    Colorado Gov. Jared Polis also ordered all flags on public buildings to fly at half-staff from sunrise on March 6 to sunset on March 7 to honor Jackson’s “life and legacy.”

    Jackson’s public celebration of life ceremony at the 10,000-seat House of Hope church in Chicago will be held on March 6, followed by a private memorial on March 7.

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    Lauren Penington

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  • Adams County jury convicts man of murder in Aurora apartment shooting

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    A man who shot two women in an Aurora apartment in 2024, killing one of them, was convicted this month of murder, according to court records.

    Kelynn Lewis, 34, was arrested and charged in February 2024 with first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, witness tampering and four counts of child abuse in Adams County District Court.

    On Feb. 13, after a five-day trial, an Adams County jury convicted Lewis on lesser charges of second-degree murder and attempted second-degree murder, court records show.

    Lewis was also convicted on all four counts of child abuse and of tampering with a witness, according to a copy of the jury verdict sheet.

    Aurora police officers responded to reports of a shooting inside an apartment in the 1700 block of Paris Street, near the University of Colorado Hospital, at about 8:20 p.m. on Feb. 9, 2024.

    The person who called 911 told dispatchers that a woman, identified by police as 35-year-old Vatrice Lashae Little, had been shot in the face by a man, according to Lewis’ arrest affidavit. Little was taken to the hospital, where she was declared dead.

    Little was inside her cousin’s apartment on Paris Street when Lewis, the cousin’s ex-husband, entered with a gun, police wrote in the affidavit.

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    Lauren Penington

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  • Tren de Aragua members get 20 years prison for robbing Denver jewelry store

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    Two members of the Venezuelan prison gang Tren de Aragua who pleaded guilty to robbing a Denver jewelry store at gunpoint were sentenced to 20 years in federal prison, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado said.

    Jean Torres-Ramon, 22, and Newman Castillo Delgado, 23, pleaded guilty to robbery and brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, federal officials said Thursday.

    Torres-Ramon and Delgado are two of at least seven suspects facing charges in the June 2024 robbery of Joyeria El Ruby jewelry store at 5108 W. 38th Ave. in Denver’s West Highland neighborhood.

    The group is accused of entering the store, aiming guns at employees, beating employees with weapons and stealing nearly $4 million in gold and jewelry, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a news release.

    An indictment in a different federal case alleges the robbery was approved by Tren de Aragua leaders to enrich the gang.

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  • Unsolved murder of Colorado teen Maggie Long still being investigated, officials say

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    Colorado Bureau of Investigation officials this week said they are still actively investigating the murder of 17-year-old Maggie Long, contrary to “unauthorized flyers being circulated… containing false information” about the case.

    Maggie was found dead in the charred remains of her family’s home in Bailey in December 2017, and law enforcement later confirmed she had been burned alive and her death was a homicide.

    While law enforcement has released composite sketches of several suspects, no one has been arrested in the case.

    Courtesy Park County Sheriff via Denver7

    Authorities said at a Monday news conference that they believe Bailey teenager Maggie Long was burned alive inside her family’s home in December 2017 and that there are three suspects in her murder who remain outstanding.

    State officials released a statement on Friday addressing misinformation being circulated about the case, centered on a website for the investigation task force being deactivated.

    “The CBI wishes to state unequivocally that the Maggie Long Task Force remains active and is aggressively pursuing justice,” agency officials said.

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  • Denver boy, 13, missing from West Colfax neighborhood

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    A 13-year-old boy is missing after he was last seen in Denver’s West Colfax neighborhood on Friday afternoon, according to the Colorado Bureau of Investigation.

    Elias Olivas was last seen near at 4:15 p.m. Friday near West 13th Avenue and Lowell Boulevard, state officials said in a Missing Indigenous Person Alert.

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    Katie Langford

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  • Brighton man charged with vehicular homicide in DUI crash on I-76 that killed his daughter

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    A Brighton man has been charged with vehicular homicide and child abuse resulting in death in a Commerce City crash that killed his daughter last week, according to a news release from the Adams County District Attorney’s Office.

    Aaron Aguirre-Garay, 40, was driving his truck on Interstate 76 on Feb. 12 when he crashed into a fence, injuring himself and killing his daughter, according to an arrest affidavit from the Commerce City Police Department.

    Aguirre-Garay was charged with child abuse causing death, vehicular homicide – reckless and vehicular homicide – DUI in the crash, according to the district attorney’s office release. The affidavit and the release do not specify how old the girl was.

    Multiple witnesses saw Aguirre-Garay driving on a dirt shoulder off the road before his truck veered toward a fence, possibly because of a popped tire, according to the report. One witness saw the white truck swerve several times before the crash. Another person who went over to the vehicle after the crash spoke to Aguirre-Garay and said he smelled like alcohol. Witnesses found the girl lying on the ground outside the truck.

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  • Parker police sergeant resigns while under investigation, but officials won’t say what he’s accused of

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    A Parker police sergeant resigned last week while under investigation, but department officials declined to specify what he’s accused of doing.

    Parker Police Department officials would not detail the allegations against former Sgt. Troy Brienzo, but described them in a news release Thursday as running “counter to this department’s mission and values and tarnish the very badge we wear.”

    Brienzo resigned Feb. 13 while on administrative leave for an “alleged incident” that department officials learned about Jan. 7.

    “To avoid the perception of a conflict, the matter was turned over to an outside law enforcement agency to conduct the investigation,” agency officials said in the release.

    In response to questions about the nature of the allegations and which agency is conducting the investigation, Parker police spokesperson Josh Hans said the department was “unable to share any additional information at this time.”

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    Katie Langford

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  • Owners of blighted Edge of Lowry apartments settle Aurora lawsuit, agree to sell

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    The owners of Aurora’s blighted Edge of Lowry apartment complex, where multiple violent criminal incidents connected to Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua catapulted the city into the national spotlight, will sell the properties and pay the city $300,000.

    In a Feb. 10 settlement agreement, Five Dallas Partners — an affiliate of CBZ Management — and Aurora city officials agreed to settle the civil lawsuit brought by the city to avoid “the uncertainty and expense of the lawsuit.”

    In exchange for paying the city $300,000 and selling the property, Aurora officials will cancel all liens or summons against Five Dallas Partners, according to the filing.

    The company will also hire private security to monitor the properties at 1218, 1238, 1248, 1258 and 1268 North Dallas St. until they are sold or “returned to a commercially viable habitable use” to limit police response to the buildings.

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