Author: John C. Ensslin
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Sheriff, FBI sued over ‘wrongful’ murder conviction
A man whose conviction was overturned in a 1991 double homicide has sued the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office and the FBI claiming investigators withheld evidence that could have cleared him. Timothy John Kennedy spent nearly 14 years in prison after a jury found him guilty of first-degree murder in the killings of Jennifer Carpenter,…
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Springs man gets 29 years for second-degree murder
A judge has sentenced a Colorado Springs man to 29 years in prison for his guilty plea to second-degree murder in the slaying of a man whose naked body was discovered in Teller County. Fourth Judicial District Judge Timothy Schutz imposed the sentence Friday on Steven Henson, 35, in the death of Levi R. Ortivez,…
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UPDATE: Woman waives hearing on welfare fraud charges
Defendants: Linda and Edward Bryant Allegation: The Bryants are accused of accepting more than $170,000 in public benefits from El Paso County by falsely claiming that they were caring for two adopted special needs children who are missing. Background: Investigators have been unable to locate the two boys, Austin Eugene Bryant and his biological brother…
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Supreme Court reverses local judge’s wiretap ruling in drug case
The Colorado Supreme Court Monday overturned a local judge’s decision to toss wiretap evidence in a drug case because of an “appearance of a conflict of interest” by the chief judge who approved the surveillance. In a unanimous 34-page ruling, the high court ruled that 4th Judicial District Judge Deborah Grohs erred when she excluded…
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Nozolino’s new attorney may also be witness against him
Colorado Springs anti-tax activist Bruce Nozolino strode into Judge William Sylvester’s courtroom Friday with a new attorney. But it’s doubtful Josh Tollini will ever utter a word in his defense. Instead, Tollini, is more likely to be a witness against Nozolino, who has been jailed for allegedly killing his ex-wife’s lover and trying to kill…
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Linda’s world: Murder, boxes of cash, tax evasion, prison
Linda Abramson-Schmeiler is going to prison for tax evasion. But before she becomes a federal inmate in June, she’s fighting back. The Monument woman and her husband, a Colorado Springs police officer, recently created a website that argues she’s the victim of an IRS investigation run amok. The website repeats much of the testimony that…
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Downtown rally kicks off crime victims week
Doris Espinoza settled into a lawn chair on a downtown Colorado Springs street corner Thursday, squinting into the setting sun. Around her, about 18 people stood holding up laminated blown-up photographs of people who were the victims of unsolved homicides in El Paso County. One photo showed her youngest son Ricky Espinoza, a 37-year-old whose…
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Springs teen gets 5 years for attack on mom
A judge Wednesday sentenced a 15-year-old Colorado Springs boy to up to five years in juvenile prison for shooting and stabbing his mother. Fourth Judicial District Judge David L. Shakes imposed the sentence on Daniel Gudino, who turns 16 in July. On March 3, a jury found Gudino guilty of attempted-first degree murder for the…
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City Clerk halts vote count to send workers home for night
A Colorado elections official Tuesday praised Colorado Springs’ municipal election as a well run process hours before the vote count ground to a halt with 9,000 ballots still to be tallied. City Clerk Kathryn Young announced at 9:40 p.m. Tuesday that she was sending about 20 election workers home for the night with about 9,000…
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Man gets work release for driving into construction worker
A judge sentenced a Colorado Springs man Monday to six months of work release for hitting a flag woman while driving in a construction zone. Fourth Judicial District Judge Robert L. Lowrey also ordered Dustin Eric Thomas to serve four years probation and perform 100 hours of community service for vehicular assault. Thomas, 22, pleaded…