Author: Felisa Cardona
-
Police say boyfriend staged death of Springs woman, Air Force vet
Almost everything about Brittney Brashers’ death looked like an accident. The 22-year-old Air Force veteran was seated at the wheel of her Pontiac Vibe, which appeared to have gone out of control before crashing into several parked cars in Denver. Her wailing boyfriend, who staggered out of the smashed car and called for help, added…
-
High court justices face rare election opposition
Judicial-retention elections are traditionally quiet, noncontroversial affairs that barely get attention before Election Day. But a series of decisions made by the Colorado Supreme Court over the past decade has energized opponents of four justices who will be up for retention this fall, including Chief Justice Mary Mullarkey. Critics say the majority of the justices’…
-
Ex-Lockheed Martin worker wins whistle-blower case
DENVER — A former Lockheed Martin employee was retaliated against after she complained her boss was having affairs with U.S. Army soldiers in the company’s Pen Pal program and billing the government for the liaisons, a federal administrative law judge has ruled. Andrea L. Brown, who was director of communications for Lockheed Martin technical operations…
-
Stolen Valor Act unconstitutional, fake vet’s attorney claims
Rick Strandlof may have lied about being a decorated Iraq War veteran, but those lies are protected by the First Amendment, according to his attorney and a civil liberties organization. Strandlof, 32, is charged in U.S. District Court in Denver with five misdemeanors related to violating the Stolen Valor Act — specifically, making false claims…
-
Hep-C victims ask to sit in on scrub tech’s polygraph, medical tests
Twelve people who say former Rose Medical Center scrub tech Kristen Parker infected them with hepatitis C asked a federal judge Wednesday to allow them to attend her upcoming blood test, polygraph test and debriefing with prosecutors. The U.S. Attorney’s Office is opposed to the victims’ attendance at the debriefing and testing. Prosecutor Jaime Peña…
-
Prison officers’ sexual wrongs rarely result in jail time
From 2005 to 2007, investigators from the Colorado Department of Corrections confirmed 62 allegations of sexual misconduct levied against its employees and private contractors. But few of the employees involved faced serious criminal consequences for violating laws that bar illicit contact between jailers and the jailed. And experts say that preventing the abuse of inmates…
-
Wash. man indicted after abortion doctor’s family is threatened
A man who allegedly threatened to kill the family of Boulder abortion provider Dr. Warren Hern has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Denver. Donald Hertz, 70, of Spokane, Wash., was indicted on charges of making telephone threats to Hern’s office and violations of the federal Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act…
-
Accused surgical technician pleads not guilty
Former surgical technician Kristen Diane Parker appeared in U.S. District Court today and pleaded not guilty to charges related to stealing and contaminating drugs meant for patients.Parker, 26, is charged with three criminal counts and was indicted by a federal grand jury on another 42 counts.Parker’s parents also attended the hearing in U.S. Magistrate Judge…