DENVER — A bill to ban plastic pellet spills in Colorado cleared its first legislative hurdle Tuesday and now heads to the State Senate.
The Plastic Pellet-Free Waters Act would prohibit companies from dumping the tiny pellets, require spill-prevention measures, and give state regulators the power to investigate and fine violators.
The pellets, called “nurdles” in manufacturing, are used to make plastic products and are considered a major source of microplastic pollution.
“We are trying to be proactive,” said bill sponsor Sen. Lisa Cutter. “We’re not banning plastic or trying to prevent them from using these materials. We’re just saying: handle them responsibly.”
Danny Katz, executive director of the Colorado Public Interest Research Group (CoPIRG), said more than 4,000 Coloradans have signed a petition supporting the bill.
“This is a beautiful state, and we can’t afford to have small, little plastic pellets polluting our communities or contributing to the microplastic problem that’s building up in our ecosystems and slowly in our bodies as well,” Katz said.
Industry pushes for changes
The American Chemistry Council says it shares the goal of preventing pellet pollution and notes there have been no significant pellet incidents in Colorado.
The group pointed to its Operation Clean Sweep program, which promotes voluntary best practices, and offered several proposed amendments to the bill:
Removing criminal penalties
Adding third-party inspection provisions
Aligning state rules with federal practices
Industry representatives also urged lawmakers to address the bill’s fiscal note, estimating implementation would cost significantly more than indicated.
Allison Chertak of the American Chemistry Council warned that vague, broad language could hurt the state’s $30 billion plastics manufacturing sector.
“This could hinder Colorado’s economic growth if businesses opt to leave the state because of criminal penalties,” Chertak told lawmakers.
Supporters stress enforceability
Backers of the bill say California already has similar legislation and that a “law with teeth” is needed to make sure companies can’t simply obtain a permit and continue polluting.
The amended bill passed the Senate Transportation and Energy Committee in a 5-3 vote and will now go before the full Senate.
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GREENWOOD VILLAGE, Colo. — Cherry Creek Schools Superintendent Chris Smith announced his retirement Wednesday, effective Jan. 30.
A press release from the district states that Smith submitted a letter of resignation to the district’s board of directors, which was accepted during a meeting in executive session on Tuesday.
Multiple sources tell Denver7 Investigates that Smith informed a group of principals and staff on a group call at around 1 p.m. Wednesday.
They said the relationship of Chris Smith and his wife, Chief Human Resource Officer Brenda Smith, left employees with nowhere to turn if there are problems.
A press release from the district included a statement from Smith that read, “This decision is guided by what has always mattered most to me: students and the long-term strength of this district,” Smith said. “I am incredibly proud to have led a district that truly values every student and works every day to ensure opportunity, belonging, and excellence for all.”
It concluded, “I have full confidence in the district’s future and in the leadership that will carry this work forward. Cherry Creek Schools is in excellent hands.”
Deputy Superintendent Jennifer Perry will serve as interim superintendent, the release stated.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
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DENVER — Charges against a Denver man suspected of murdering his neighbor more than six years ago will likely be dropped in the coming days after he was repeatedly found incompetent to stand trial.
Alberto Calcurian
On Wednesday, loved ones of the man shot and killed in the case gathered in court for what is expected to be the final hearing before Alberto Calcurian, 47, is cleared of his charges. Calcurian allegedly shot 59-year-old Mark Berman multiple times in front of his home in October 2019.
Calcurian, who lived down the street from Berman, called 911 to report that “he had just shot a man in self-defense” and that the gun he used was on his living room floor, unloaded, according to arrest documents. He was eventually charged with first-degree murder.
But what the victim’s family thought was an open-and-shut case will not likely end in a conviction.
Under Colorado law, if a defendant is found mentally incompetent to aid in their own defense and is not likely to be restored to competency in the foreseeable future, a judge must dismiss the case.
In court, a defense attorney revealed Calcurian has been evaluated by doctors 19 times since 2020 and was found incompetent each time.
Court documents state that Calcurian was diagnosed with a “delusional disorder” in 2018. In court, the defense noted that Calcurian meets the criteria for a short-term, involuntary mental health hold that could temporarily keep him in state-mandated mental health treatment, but it is not guaranteed yet that he will not be released back into the public.
During the hearing, the prosecutor with the Denver District Attorney’s office agreed that Colorado’s law ties the judge’s hands in this case, but stated, “We don’t think that ought to be the law.”
The case is still considered open until Denver District Court Judge Nikea T. Bland files the official written order of dismissal, which she noted should be ready within the next week.
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DENVER — A growing group of advocates, lawmakers, and victims is demanding immediate changes to Colorado’s competency law.
The Colorado Parent Advocacy Network, a nonprofit, announced it has garnered nearly 6,000 signatures from individuals calling on district attorneys across the state to increase pressure on Governor Jared Polis and call a special legislative session. The signatures are expected to be delivered to the Colorado District Attorney’s Council.
Denver7
The outrage comes after state law changed last summer, requiring judges to dismiss cases against criminal defendants who are found incompetent to stand trial and who will likely never be restored to competency.
Since then, several people accused of crimes, including attempted kidnapping and attempted murder, have been released back into the public.
“We were told… that these individuals that committed these horrendous crimes would either be in a correctional facility or that they would be committed to an institution,” State Senator Barbara Kirkmeyer (R) said during a press conference Thursday. “Unfortunately, that is not what’s going on with this law.”
Read our previous coverage below:
Kirkmeyer, who is running for Colorado governor, voted in favor of House Bill 24-1034, which amended the language in the state’s competency law.
“I don’t think anybody foresaw how this law was going to be interpreted and how it was going to be implemented,” Kirkmeyer said when Denver7 Investigates asked if she had concerns about the space available at mental health facilities while the bill was being passed.
Victims who have voiced their frustrations to Denver7 Investigates attended Thursday’s press conference.
The suspect in the crash that killed Bowman’s mother had a lengthy criminal record. Eventually, all charges were dismissed, including multiple counts of vehicular homicide, after he was found incompetent to stand trial.
Still, Bowman does not believe a special session is necessary to address the current law.
“I’m hopeful that this will come about in the upcoming legislative session,” he said
Senator Judy Amabile (D), who was a main sponsor of HB24-1034, agrees.
“I am not convinced that we need that, but I understand why people are asking for that,” said Amabile.
Amabile previously told Denver7 Investigates that she is working on amendments to the law.
“We have a commitment from the executive branch that we are going to put some resources into beds, into funding beds, both mental health beds and beds for the people with intellectual disabilities or neurocognitive disorders,” she said.
At the time HB24-1034 passed, no additional funding was allocated to resources.
When asked about the nearly 6,000 signatures collected by CPAN, Sen. Amabile said, “I think they are sending us a message loud and clear: fix this broken system.”
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LAKEWOOD, Colo. — New body camera video obtained by Denver7 Investigates reveals what Lakewood police officers saw when responding to a problematic house months before it caught fire twice within 48 hours.
Pete David Caranza, 53, was arrested for suspicion of committing fourth-degree arson and possession of a controlled substance in connection with one of the fires. He is being held in the Jefferson County Jail on a $2,500 cash bond and is scheduled to appear in court for a pretrial conference on Monday.
Read our previous coverage below
Following our reporting, Denver7 Investigates received calls from neighbors who said they had complained about the property’s condition long before the fires. They shared videos and photos showing alleged open-air drug use and a man naked in the yard, which is less than one block from a school.
“I wonder if they were cooking dope and something caught on fire,” one neighbor speculated about the fires.
Denver7 Investigates requested data from both the Lakewood Police Department and JeffCom, the emergency services dispatch and communications center, to find out how often police responded to the house before the fires.
Records show that between Nov. 2, 2024, and May 13, 2025, there were 55 calls for service to the property. The majority of those calls were for extra patrols and ordinance violations, but included reports of trespassing, menacing and threats. Officers also contacted people at the property who had outstanding warrants, according to the documents.
Denver7 Investigates
Pictured: A still captured from Lakewood Police Department body-camera video during a response to a home at 8000 W. 10th Avenue on April 29, 2025.
Denver7 Investigates used case numbers to request body camera video from two police responses to the house.
Video from Dec. 25, 2024, shows Lakewood police officers responding to a reported overdose. Officers found a woman in the bathroom, according to a police report, and could be seen on their body-worn cameras resuscitating her.
Bodycam video shows an officer questioning several people in the yard about the woman and what drugs she may have taken. One woman there told the officer, “We stay here for now,” referring to the house.
“Until we don’t, I guess. We’re basically homeless, you know?” she said to the officer.
Denver7 Investigates
Pictured: A still captured from Lakewood Police Department body-camera video during a response to a home at 8000 W. 10th Avenue on April 29, 2025.
During another response in April, a man called police after someone at the property reportedly threatened him with a gun after he watched what he thought was a drug deal happening in the yard. The man told responding officers he had been in touch with Lakewood’s code enforcement for months, asking that police look into the property.
“What can I do, big picture, about two known drug-dealing houses in our neighborhood?” he asked the responding officer. “Who am I supposed to talk to? If it’s not code enforcement and it’s not the police, then who is it?”
Officers’ bodycam video captured the conditions on the property. The yard was covered in cars, an RV, and trash.
Denver7 Investigates
Pictured: A still captured from Lakewood Police Department body-camera video during a response to a home at 8000 W. 10th Avenue on April 29, 2025.
Denver7 Investigates requested multiple interviews with members of Lakewood’s code enforcement team through the Lakewood Police Department and spoke with the lead code enforcement officer, Chris Barnes, over the phone. Barnes said he would be willing to interview with Denver7 Investigates, but needed permission from the department’s media team.
However, Denver7 was told Barnes would not be doing an interview. A member of Lakewood PD provided the following statement:
We agree that neighbors were notifying us months before the fires. In fact, we started working on the issues at the property in October of 2024. In that case, we responded to reports of junk/outdoor storage and inoperable vehicles. Our code enforcement officer confirmed violations on site and posted a Title 9 Notice on the Property for the Unlawful Junk/Outdoor Storage and the Inoperable Vehicles. The property owner was also mailed a copy of the notice. The code officer returned to the property once in November and twice in December finding positive progress being made based on their notice.
In January, the code officer returned to find deteriorating outdoor storage conditions. He learned from a tenant they were being evicted and shortly after confirming with the property manager he was seeking an eviction in the court, but the tenants were being uncooperative. It is important to note that seeking an eviction is solely the responsibility and capability of a property owner and we can only encourage such proactive matters by owners when tenants are causing ongoing problems in a neighborhood.
In February, the code officer returned to the site and observed an increase in outdoor junk and storage violations. In March he returned to find an increase in junk and storage violations and connected with the property manager who said they were still working through the eviction process. Our code enforcement officer reminded him the property still needed to get cleaned up despite how long the process was taking and left a voicemail for the property owner. Later in March we received a call that the tenants would be going to court for the eviction process on March 19.
In the beginning of April our code enforcement officer returned to find further violations and spoke to the property owner again. The property owner said he was aware of the issues, embarrassed by them, but due to the difficulty of getting the tenants evicted he was having difficulty cleaning the property. He was awaiting another court date on April 17th. On April 18th, the property owner advised the eviction order had been approved and they would work with the Jeffco Sheriff’s Office to get the tenants removed. Our code enforcement officer reinspected the property on April 28th finding no change. On May 1st we spoke to the property manager for a status update on the eviction. The property manager advised the tenants were told to vacate by May 15th.
The property then had two reported fires on May 10th and May 11th. The Lakewood Building Official responded to the scene on both dates – the first date posting the damaged structure as “Caution Restricted Access” and on May 11th, due to the second fire, posting it as “Danger Off Limits Do Not Enter or Occupy.” On May 13th we were able to speak to the property owner who confirmed the eviction process had been finalized and would occur on May 16th. We mobilized police assets to monitor the property until the eviction could occur on Friday and arranged for a fence to be installed. The property remains fenced and under the orders of the Chief Building Official that the building shall not be used until all building code violations are corrected.
Concerning questions about condemnation and why it took so long; until the fires occurred there was no legal reason the building official could examine the building. Prior to the fires, the only actionable concerns were related to the junk/outdoor storage and unregistered vehicles – neither of which allows for condemnation. And the concurrent eviction process occurred due to the property owner seeking the eviction.
As described above, Code Enforcement complaints were being addressed in the normal process we always use – examining the situation, seeking voluntary compliance, and working with the property owners to address the concerns before moving towards citations for code violations. Once we learned eviction was being pursued, we encouraged them to continue doing so as evicting the problem tenants was the permanent solution to the problem. The property owner was showing good faith efforts at this time to do so. The fires are what prompted the response from the building officials.
The Code Enforcement Team responds to thousands of calls per year and understands and supports our citizens’ desire to live in a safe and clean community.
Mark Reeves, Lakewood Police Department
Denver7 Investigates also requested an interview with Lakewood Mayor Wendi Strom, who repeatedly directed our questions to the police department. We emailed Lakewood City Council Members Isabel Cruz and Sophia Mayott-Guerrero for comment, but did not get a response.
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WELD COUNTY, Colo. — A fight is brewing between the Weld County district attorney and Colorado’s governor after an exchange on social media Tuesday involving Elon Musk.
News of an inmate being released into the public is garnering national headlines, after the Weld County Sheriff’s Office issued a warning to the public that the individual is a “potential danger to the community.”
CO sheriff says he was forced to release ‘dangerous’ man due to competency laws
The sheriff’s office released bystander video, which they said was not authenticated but allegedly showed Ephraim in the middle of two violent fights. Both occurred in April.
On Tuesday afternoon, Elon Musk shared coverage of the story to X with a post reading, “This is insane @jaredpolis.”
Absolutely unacceptable. I’m calling on the county attorney and DA to use state law, including CRS Title 25 and Title 27, to ensure he’s not at large. This should have happened BEFORE release not after. Remove this threat now!
Gov. Polis responded to the post, saying: “Absolutely unacceptable. I’m calling on the county attorney and DA to use state law, including CRS Title 25 and Title 27, to ensure he’s not at large. This should have happened BEFORE release not after. Remove this threat now!”
Now, Weld County District Attorney Michael J. Rourke is scheduled to address what his office is calling “misinformation” in the governor’s post. He has a press conference scheduled for 2 p.m. Wednesday. Denver7 plans to attend and hear more from the district attorney. We will update this story afterward.
Denver7 Investigates looked into Ephraim’s history and found 10 criminal cases since 2022, including a mixture of felonies and misdemeanors. All of those cases were dismissed and many involved competency issues. Charges in those cases ranged from theft to robbery to assault.
Watch our report from Tuesday about Debisa Ephraim’s case, which sparked Elon Musk’s tweet, in the video below.
Weld County sheriff says he was forced to release ‘dangerous’ man due to state’s competency laws
Denver7’s extensive coverage on competency law
Over the past year, Denver7 Investigates has reported on the complexities of competency law in Colorado and cases that have been impacted by a 2024 law altering language in the state’s statute.
That change stated that judges “shall” dismiss cases where the defendant is found incompetent and not restorable, meaning that they will not be fit to stand trial in the near future.
Charges officially dropped against attempted kidnapping suspect after competency finding
This is a developing story and will be updated.
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