Author: John C. Ensslin
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State election official praises Springs election
A Colorado elections official Tuesday praised Colorado Springs municipal election as a well run process that met or exceeded state standards. Wayne Munster, Colorado Deputy Secretary of State, said his office monitored everything from the opening of mail ballots from the U.S. Postal Service to the counting of those ballots. “We have been very impressed,”…
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Anti-tax activist’s murder defense will be pricey
A judge has allowed Bruce J. Nozolino to call private lawyers from jail after ruling that the Colorado Springs anti-tax activist was not entitled to a public defender in his pending first-degree murder trial. William Sylvester, chief district court judge in Arapahoe and Douglas counties, made the ruling on March 18 after prosecutors showed Nozolino…
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Shooter gets 56 years in prison for killing two teens in park brawl
A judge sentenced a man to 56 years in prison Thursday for killing two teenagers with a semiautomatic rifle during a gang brawl in Eastridge Park. Fourth Judicial District Judge Timothy J. Schutz imposed the sentence on Juan Manuel Vasquez, 21, whom a jury convicted of second-degree murder in the Jan. 8, 2009, deaths of…
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Contractor gets probation, $10K fine for illegal gifts
A federal judge Thursday sentenced a Colorado Springs contractor to two years probation and fined him $10,000 for his guilty plea to giving an illegal gratuity to a former Fort Carson construction chief. U.S. District Judge Marcia S. Krieger also ordered Wendel P. Torres to perform 100 hours of community service and to give public…
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UPDATE: Coroner can’t testify that child’s death was homicide
Defendants: Hanif Zarif Sims and Monique Alisa Lynch. Victim: Genesis Sims, 7, whose body was discovered on May 14, 2010, wrapped in plastic and buried in the muddy crawl space beneath a duplex apartment at 764 Century Place in Monument. Charges: Sims, 30, is accused of child abuse resulting in his daughter’s death. Lynch, 30,…
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Vasquez sentenced to 56 years for killing 2 teens
Juan Manuel Vasquez faces between 20 to 64 years in prison Thursday when a judge sentences him for killing two teenagers during a brawl in Eastridge Park. On Jan.14, a jury found Vasquez, 21, guilty of second-degree murder in the Jan. 8, 2009 shooting deaths of Uriel Rascon, 18, and Luis Burciaga, 17. El Paso…
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Ex-Calhan mayor pleads guilty to molesting girl
A former Calhan mayor faces a sentence of up to life in prison after pleading guilty Monday to sexually assaulting a girl under the age of 15. John F. Cullyford, 70, entered the plea to a charge of sexual assault on a child by a person in a position of trust. Cullyford faces a minimum…
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Monument woman gets prison for cheating on taxes
A federal judge has sentenced a Monument woman to three years in prison for failing to report $1.6 million in revenue from the resale of professional hair care products on her tax returns. U.S. District Court Judge Robert Blackburn imposed the sentence in Denver Thursday on Linda Abramson-Schmeiler, 52, and ordered her to pay a…
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Mother accused of leaving baby in bathtub has court appearance
A Colorado Springs mother suspected of leaving her 9-month-old son in a bathtub of scalding water where he drowned has her first appearance in court Monday morning. On March 9, Colorado Springs Police arrested Estella Toleafoa, 23, on investigation of felony child abuse in the death of her son Erich Tyler Jr. The boy’s father…
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Mom charged with first-degree murder in baby’s scalding death
Prosecutors filed a first-degree murder charge Monday against a Colorado Springs mother suspected of leaving her 9-month-old alone at home in a bathtub in which he drowned in scalding hot water. During a brief court appearance, Estella Toleafoa, 23, also was charged with child abuse resulting in the death of her son Erich Tyler Jr. and with child abuse…