In 2013, Zackary Moffitt died of a heart attack in Summit County after three days during which authorities essentially ignored escalating medical symptoms associated with alcohol detoxing, including hallucinations and repeated vomiting of green bile. Now, more than four years later, Summit County has agreed to pay Moffitt’s still-young children $3.5 million to settle the case.
What does Google think about certain celebrities? A quick way to find out is to type in the word “is” and a famous name in the query box. You’ll be offered a list of the most popular searches for that person. Back in 2014, we tried this trick with a slew of the best known Coloradans in entertainment, sports and politics, and the results were often weird and consistently funny. Here’s our hilarious update.
Jose Ocampo, the first of two men convicted of murder in the death of aspiring rapper Michael House, has been sentenced to life in prison without parole plus 36 years for his actions. Danielle House, Michael’s sister, is pleased by this punishment, but it hasn’t lessened her sense of loss over the slaying.
Millions upon millions of people have bought and sold items on Craigslist without a problem. But that doesn’t mean horror stories involving the service are unknown, as Anthony Mott understands very well. Last year, the Jefferson County homeowner was tied up, threatened with a knife and robbed by two men who responded to a Craigslist ad, one of whom Mott managed to kill after freeing himself. Now, David Mascarenas, the surviving partner in crime, has pleaded guilty and faces decades behind bars for his role in this nightmare scenario.
On December 5, the U.S. Supreme Court will consider whether Denver-based Masterpiece Cakeshop owner Jack Phillips discriminated against a gay couple, Charlie Craig and David Mullins, by refusing to make them a wedding cake. Phillips justifies his actions because the Craig-Mullins union contradicts his conservative Christian views, and he’s backed by the faith-based Alliance Defending Freedom and President Donald Trump’s Justice Department. But a representative from the Interfaith Alliance of Colorado, which has joined an amicus brief accessible below that opposes this position, says a ruling for Phillips would essentially suggest that one Christian belief system is more important than others.
Last week, authorities in Pueblo conducted a new series of searches in the case of Kelsie Schelling, a onetime resident of Denver (she lived in the Larimer Square area) who vanished more than four years ago after heading south to tell her boyfriend, Donthe Lucas, that she was pregnant. The searches focused on locations associated with Lucas, a person of interest in Schelling’s disappearance, and while they turned up no new evidence linking him to the disappearance, he was arrested days later at Denver International Airport for an unrelated robbery case — although one commenter on the Help Find Kelsie Facebook page saw a connection anyhow.
During a recent interview with Westword, former Congressman Tom Tancredo, who’s running for governor, said City of Denver employees who assist Immigration and Customs Enforcement representatives in ways that go beyond current city policy could be fined up to $1,000. Turns out he’s right, as indicated by a slide from a PowerPoint presentation sent to city employees, one of whom shared it with Tancredo. The graphic, on view below, notes that violations during interactions with ICE agents can lead to fines, jail time and even firing.
Freshly assembled data provides a new angle on Colorado places with the most arrests for intoxicated driving even as it offers fodder in the debate about whether stoned drivers are as big a threat as drunk ones. Areas with the largest number of marijuana businesses tend to have among the lowest rates of filings for driving under the influence or driving while ability impaired in the state. Additionally, less populous regions are apt to have more per capita DUIs and DWAIs than counties with big cities and crowded highways.
Mere months from now, Denver-area drivers traveling near the intersection of Interstate 25 and E-470 will be able to see construction getting underway on a test track for Arrivo, a hyperloop-inspired transportation system previewed in this space yesterday. Newly released images and maps shared here present visions of a future in which vehicles on a magnetic-levitation track will run alongside traditional roadways, except they’ll be moving at a speed of approximately 300 miles per hour, covering distances that currently take an hour or more to cover in mere minutes.
Yesterday, November 13, as we’ve reported, 18th Judicial District DA and Aurora theater shooting prosecutor George Brauchler pulled out of the race for Colorado governor in 2018 in order to run for state attorney general in the wake of AG Cynthia Coffman’s own gubernatorial bid. Shortly after the announcement, Brauchler spoke to us in detail about the motivations behind his decision and his take on both the governor’s contest and the competition for attorney general in a frank Q&A on view below.
While opioid addiction is widely understood to constitute a national crisis, there’s disagreement about how best to tackle the problem, with some advocates arguing in favor of a health-care focus and others backing get-tough law enforcement tactics. But the latter approach fell short in the high-profile case of Sam Brunelus, who was busted on suspicion of manslaughter in the deaths of two men to whom he allegedly provided heroin laced with carfentanil, an extremely powerful synthetic opioid best known as an elephant tranquilizer.
On November 1, the Jewish National Fund announced an event scheduled for today in honor of oil tycoon Jack Grynberg, a past Westword profile subject. The release noted that Governor John Hickenlooper would officially declare November 14 “Jack Grynberg Day,” with his chief of staff, Doug Friednash, scheduled to present the proclamation in person. But the get-together has been called off at the last minute amid uncomfortable headlines about sexual-harassment accusations made against the 85-year-old Grynberg by former employees. And now, all parties concerned, including Hickenlooper, are trying to distance themselves from potential embarrassment over association with an alleged groper in the age of Harvey Weinstein.
Today, November 14, two months to the day since Hyperloop One named the Rocky Mountain Hyperloop proposal a winner of its Global Challenge to “identify the strongest new Hyperloop routes in the world,” the Colorado Department of Transportation is announcing that Arrivo, a hyperloop-like transportation system, has agreed to build a test track in the Denver metro area. The location will be revealed at a press conference this morning.
In one of the least suspenseful votes in recent Denver City Council history, the cat declawing ban pushed by council member Kendra Black and supported by, among others, Animal Planet star Jackson Galaxy and Paw Project founder Jenny Conrad passed at a meeting held last night, November 13.
The 40th annual Denver Film Festival opened triumphantly on November 1 with the Colorado debut of Lady Bird, only to stumble as a result of the mediocre Big Night offering Submission and a handful of other high-profile misses. But the last full week of the fest, which concluded on Sunday night, November 12, succeeded more often than it failed.
George Brauchler, currently the 18th Judicial District DA, has suspended his run for Colorado governor in 2018 in favor of pursuing the office of state attorney general opened up by AG Cynthia Coffman’s own gubernatorial bid.
The latest figures in regard to the most stolen vehicles in Colorado reveal a definite correlation between the rides most likely to be swiped in Denver and the state as a whole. And while the two most frequently targeted cars have remained the same for years, trucks have made major moves up the list.
Last week, authorities in Pueblo conducted a three-day search for evidence in the case of Kelsie Schelling, a Denver woman who went missing more than four years ago after learning she was pregnant. Despite what were described in advance of the operation as new leads, no major breakthroughs were made. But Schelling’s loved ones have a renewed sense of purpose in regard to solving the mystery of her disappearance, and they promise the person or persons responsible that their resolve remains solid.
What’s worse than your Denver Broncos getting blown out again following a humiliating shellacking by the Philadelphia Eagles last week? Losing to Tom Brady and the New England Patriots, whose fans took to Twitter in the aftermath of a 41-16 annihilation at Mile High Stadium on November 12 to gloat in ways that make the defeat hurt all the more.
Today, November 10, authorities in Pueblo will continue their search for clues in the disappearance of Kelsie Schelling, a Denver woman who went missing more than four years ago after learning she was pregnant. The latest operation, prompted by what are described as new leads, continues increased activity in the investigation over recent months and follows an apparent attempt to burn down the home of Donthe Lucas, Schelling’s boyfriend and the most frequently mentioned suspect in the case.
We recently posted about the most expensive Zip Codes in Colorado as judged by average rent prices. Now, there’s a new list of the fifty most expensive Colorado Zip Codes for home buyers, and the numbers are even more eye-popping.
Last night, November 9, the Elbert County Sheriff’s Office revealed the discovery of two men who’d been shot to death west of Simla, Colorado at what’s characterized as an illegal marijuana grow. The incident feeds into the law-enforcement narrative that cannabis sales have led to increased violence in the state days after the fifth anniversary of Amendment 64, the 2012 measure that sanctioned the practice in regard to recreational pot.
