Author: Esteban Candelaria
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Verdict delivered in trial of woman who encouraged partner to kill his mother
A jury found Cohen “Vinn” Heath, charged with first-degree murder among several other charges, guilty on all counts Friday afternoon after roughly four hours of deliberation. Heath, 21, was found guilty of first-degree murder in the stabbing death of COVID-19 nurse Bridget Kenner, found in her Banning Lewis Ranch home April 28, 2020, after she…
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Man who killed mother testifies in former partner’s trial
A Colorado Springs man who pleaded guilty and was sentenced in the murder of his mother testified that his partner at the time, Cohen “Vinn” Heath, used the unhealthy relationship they had together to push the then 16-year-old into stabbing his mother to death. Heath, 21, is on trial charged with first-degree murder in the…
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Opening statements, evidence delivered in trial of woman accused of demanding murder of partner’s mother
Prosecutors and defense attorneys delivered opening statements and showed evidence Thursday in the case of Cohen “Vinn” Heath, accused of demanding her transgender partner to murder his mother in April 2020. After two days of jury selection, prosecutors with the Fourth Judicial District Attorney’s Office and defense attorneys for Heath laid out in opening statements…
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Four “pillars of the community” sentenced to probation for burglary, other charges
Four members of a Colorado Springs church who the Fourth Judicial District’s chief judge called “pillars of the community” were sentenced Wednesday to unsupervised probation for several charges including felony burglary. After being convicted of second-degree burglary, first-degree trespassing, and second-degree tampering last October, per court records, Colorado Springs Fellowship Church members Matthew Brown, Eric…
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Local academic institutions, courthouses make masks optional following CDC update
Masks will be optional, with some exceptions, for several academic institutions in and around Colorado Springs, as well as in the Fourth Judicial District’s courthouses, per orders and policy updates issued this week. Most of those changes, officials said, were based on updated guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which on Friday…
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Colorado Springs sees threefold increase in homicides in 2022 compared to same time last year
Colorado Springs has seen 12 homicide investigations in 2022, three times the amount it had seen at this time last year. As of the end of February 2021, according to Colorado Springs Police Department spokesman Lt. Jim Sokolik, the city had seen four such investigations. “Usually, these are isolated incidents that don’t result in additional…
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Man sentenced in Security-Widefield shooting that left high school student dead just before graduation
An 18-year-old man has been sentenced to over 30 years in prison in an April 2021 shooting in Security-Widefield that left a teenager dead. Kamrin Long, who according to court records pleaded guilty in December to second-degree murder, was sentenced Wednesday to 36 years in prison by Fourth Judicial District Chief Judge William Bain. The…
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Two officers injured in incident with man at 7-Eleven near Colorado College
Colorado Springs police arrested a man who allegedly pinned two officers between their vehicles and a pickup truck he was driving near a 7-Eleven Thursday afternoon. Police responded to a call around 4 p.m. Thursday on a report of an “emotionally disturbed man,” according to Colorado Springs Police Lt. Cari Graves, who reportedly brandished scissors…
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El Paso County sheriff’s candidate decides to ‘step away gracefully,’ files for state House seat instead
Karl Dent, who registered last year as a candidate in the running for El Paso County Sheriff Bill Elder’s position in the 2022 election, withdrew from the race Wednesday and filed a campaign to represent Colorado House of Representatives District 21 instead. Dent said the reasons for his decision to “step away gracefully” from the…
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Kara Nichols murder case: Judge gives orders on preliminary matters
Prosecutors and defense attorneys met Wednesday afternoon to discuss several early matters in the case of Joel Hollendorfer, a Black Forest man accused of first-degree murder in the death of Kara Nichols, who went missing nearly 10 years ago. After the case was reassigned to Fourth Judicial District Chief Judge William Bain during a first…