Author: Christopher Osher
-
Colorado Court of Appeals rules gag order may be unconstitutional but mother of 3 slow to file appeal
A judge’s gag order barring a mother of three from speaking out against a ruling terminating her parental rights may have been unconstitutional, but the mother lost her right to challenge her contempt citation that landed her in jail because she failed to make a timely appeal, the Colorado Court of Appeals has ruled. “A…
-
Ex-Colorado police chief’s partner faces charges after fraudulent child sex abuse report
The partner of former Aurora Police Chief Vanessa Wilson has turned herself over to law enforcement authorities to face criminal charges that she filed a fraudulent child sex abuse report against an Aurora City Council member who had criticized Wilson’s performance as chief. Wilson’s partner, Robin Niceta, posted a $4,000 personal recognizance bond after she…
-
False child sex abuse allegations used in intimidation plot against council member who wanted Colorado police chief fired: Police
An Arapahoe County social services worker weaponized the child protective system where she worked to retaliate against Aurora Councilwoman Danielle Jurinsky’s push for the firing of the social service worker’s partner, Police Chief Vanessa Wilson, according to criminal charges authorities filed on Monday. An arrest warrant obtained by the Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office alleges the…
-
Thousands of Colorado patients put in peril due to risky prescribing of psych medicine
Gene Estes, looks out over the mountains his son, Shayn Estes, loved as he has a smoke outside his Crested Butte condo Thursday, May 5, 2022. Gene found his son dead Oct. 17, 2020, from an overdose and believes benzodiazepines are responsible. CHRISTIAN MURDOCK, THE DENVER GAZETTE Gene Estes implored his son, Shayn, to go…
-
State of Colorado hid findings of ‘life-threatening’ errors at troubled mental health center
A pattern of “severe, life-threatening” prescription errors by the troubled mental health center responsible for treating 10 Western Slope counties put many of its patients at risk, according to the findings of an official investigation that three state agencies withheld from the public for more than nine months. The problems only came to light this…
-
Probation, parole or bond didn’t stop these convicts from killing in Denver
Denver homicide arrests in the last two years include a felon who remained on probation despite arrests for illegally carrying handguns that his past convictions barred him from owning. Warren Simpson Jr. had a history of five criminal convictions, ranging from felony menacing to aggravated robbery, when a Denver District Court judge sentenced him on…
-
Homicides in Denver: Nearly half of all recent arrests tied to person under supervision
The last words Christopher Rhodes remembers his ex-girlfriend telling him as she gasped her dying breath echo deep in his soul months after her killing. He found Taryn Meyer, the cellphone in her hand, the 911 dispatcher still on the line. Meyer was slouched behind a door in Rhodes’ apartment, her knees buckled underneath her from…
-
Judge tosses lawsuit alleging malicious prosecution against former El Paso County Sheriff’s commander Juan San Agustin
A federal magistrate judge on Monday tossed out a $10 million federal lawsuit contending public officials falsely arrested a former commander in the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office, Juan “John” San Agustin, ruling that San Agustin had not shown malicious intent. Juan “John” San Agustin, a former Sheriff’s Office commander (Photo courtesy: El Paso County…
-
Public can access new searchable database to determine instances when Colorado police officer certification was revoked
While continuing to withhold from the public fuller employment histories of Colorado’s police officers, the Colorado Attorney General’s Office unveiled on Monday a searchable database that allows the public to track instances where the state revoked the certification police officers must hold to work for police agencies. The public can search the database by typing in an officer’s…
-
Xcel Energy was spending $597 million to mitigate fire risks prior to historic Marshall fire
Though authorities have now dismissed initial reports suggesting downed lines owned by Xcel Energy caused the Marshall fire, the utility is currently engaged in a $597 million wildfire mitigation program across the state because of concerns about its powerlines starting fires. Xcel reported that in 2020 its power and transmission lines sparked 647 fires in…