Author: John C. Ensslin
-
SUNRISE: Woman accused in tow driver’s death due in court
A bond hearing is scheduled at 10 a.m. Friday for Detra Farries, the woman accused of manslaughter in the death of a Colorado Springs tow truck driver. Farries, 33, is being held in the El Paso County jail with bail set at $50,000 in the Feb. 23 death of Allen Rose, who was dragged to…
-
Rapist resentenced after some convictions overturned
A man previously convicted of raping four people, including two male Air Force Academy cadets, received a lighter sentence Thursday after some of the convictions were overturned on appeal. A judge initially sentenced Oliver Newell in February 2008 to 178 years to possibly life in prison after a jury found him guilty in a series…
-
Jurors can’t reach verdict in Olympic wrestler’s rape trial
The sex assault trial of a former Olympic wrestler ended in a mistrial Monday after jurors said they could not reach a verdict.After deliberating for nearly nine hours over two days, the jurors told 4th Judicial District Judge Robert Lowrey that they were deadlocked and could not agree on the charges against Stephen Anthony Abas.…
-
Jury out in sex assault trial of former Olympic wrestler
A jury is weighing whether a former Olympic wrestler raped a woman after she had passed out drunk in a downtown bar or if she’s a “party girl” who consented to having sex in her dorm room. After deliberating the fate of Stephen Anthony Abas for nearly two hours Friday the jury recessed for the weekend. They…
-
Jury hears woman describe sex assault after black out
A woman testified Thursday that she felt paralyzed when she awoke to find a former Olympic wrestler on top of her in her bed. “I just had this paralyzing feeling where I can’t move. I can’t say anything,” she said. “It was like my body was heavy.” Her testimony came during the third day of…
-
Trial to begin Thursday in 2004 rape, murder
Opening statements are scheduled Thursday morning in the first-degree murder trial of a man accused of raping a Colorado Springs woman and slashing her throat more than seven years ago. Martin Mendiola is accused in the Jan. 26, 2004 death of Patricia Gonzalez-Arvizu, 29, whose body was found inside a mobile home at 1025 Garner Street.…
-
Juror faints during graphic testimony in murder trial
For almost six years, Martin Mendiola got away with murder until his DNA linked him to the 2004 slaying of a Colorado Springs woman, a prosecutor said Thursday as testimony began in his trial. But Mendiola’s defense attorney contends that the 40-year-old former house painter had been having an affair with Patricia Gonzalez-Arvizu. He had sex with…
-
Sex assault trial begins for former Olympic wrestler
A former Olympic silver medalist is on trial this week on charges of sexually assaulting a female wrestler in her room at the Olympic Training Center in May 2008. Prosecutors contend Stephen Anthony Abas, a member of the U.S. Olympic wrestling team in 2004, had sex with the woman against her will after she had…
-
Counterfeit money “mastermind” gets 16 years for racketeering
A man whom police described as the “mastermind” of a counterfeit money ring has been sentenced to 16 years in prison. Fourth Judicial Judge Thomas L. Kennedy imposed the sentence Wednesday on Nicholas Ryan Johnson, who had pleaded guilty to a racketeering charge. Johnson, 30, was one of 11 people identified by Colorado Springs police…
-
16-year-old charged as adult in fatal shooting
A 16-year-old has been charged as an adult in the fatal shooting of a 19-year-old after a party on the west side of Colorado Springs. On Monday, prosecutors filed charges of second-degree murder and attempted murder against Eric Chance Manly in the Nov. 21 shooting outside a home in the 900 block of South 25th…