Author: Zachary Dupont zachary.dupont@gazettedev.gazette.com
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Court roundup: Contractor sentenced in theft case, homicide suspects plead not guilty and more
Jonathan Shaheen Shaheen, a former Tri-Lakes area pastor and music teacher who pleaded guilty to sexual exploitation of a child, was sentenced to two years in the Department of Corrections on Monday. Freddy Quintanilla Diaz Quintanilla Diaz made his first appearance in Colorado’s 4th Judicial District Court on Tuesday after he was arrested for allegedly…
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Former Tri-Lakes area pastor sentenced to 2 years for child sexual exploitation
A former Tri-Lakes area pastor was sentenced to two years in prison on June 24 after pleading guilty to one count of sexual exploitation of a child. Jonathan Shaheen, 31, was accused of receiving sexually explicit images of two underage girls — one 9 and the other 5 years old — from a couple in…
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Man sentenced to 50 years in prison for killing man at Palmer Park
The man accused of killing one and injuring another during a shooting near Palmer Park last year was sentenced to 50 years in prison after accepting a plea deal on Thursday. Donnell Chess, 23, appeared in court on Thursday morning for an arraignment hearing. Chess was accused of starting a shootout at a parking lot…
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Former Tri-Lakes area pastor sentenced to 2 years for child sexual exploitation
A former Tri-Lakes area pastor was sentenced to two years in prison on Monday after pleading guilty to one count of sexual exploitation of a child. Jonathan Shaheen, 31, was accused of receiving sexually explicit images of two underage girls — one 9 and the other 5 years old — from a couple in New Mexico in…
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New commission creates statewide standards for Colorado jails
What set of standards are jails held to in the state of Colorado? Until recently, the answer was none. In 2022, Rep. Judy Amabile, D-Boulder, sought to rectify that by creating the Colorado Jail Standards Commission. The goal of the commission, in Amabile’s words, is to create a set of standards within the state that…
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Court roundup: Latest in Top Dollar Pawn case; Club Q shooter pleads guilty in federal court
A new weekly series from The Gazette highlighting the activity in notable local court cases for the Pikes Peak region. Damari Sims-Herrick The man accused of causing the death of 32-year-old Darrian Adame in January 2023, pleaded not guilty to one count of first-degree murder at an arraignment hearing on Monday. Sims-Herrick is now scheduled…
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Not-guilty plea, theatrics in court hearing on Colorado Springs rap artist’s death
The man accused of causing the death of a local rap artist in 2019 is out on bond and pleaded not guilty to all charges in a separate attempted homicide case Thursday. Aee Shawn Mathews, 26, is accused of killing William Underwood, who went by the rapper name “FYL Jackk,” on Sept. 17, 2019. The…
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Club Q shooter pleads guilty in federal case, victims’ families express frustration
DENVER • Victims of the 2022 mass shooting at the LGBTQ+ nightclub Club Q expressed their frustrations with the government’s decision not to pursue the death penalty on Tuesday in the convicted shooter’s federal sentencing hearing. Anderson Aldrich, convicted of state charges in the Club Q mass shooting, pleaded guilty Tuesday in federal court to…
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Club Q shooter to be sentenced in federal case Tuesday
Anderson Aldrich, the convicted killer in the Club Q mass shooting, is set to enter a guilty plea and accept a prison sentence on Tuesday in federal court. On June 26, 2023, Aldrich pleaded guilty to 51 charges at the state level for killing five people and injuring nearly two dozen more at the Colorado…
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2 children, 2 adults dead in apparent murder-suicide in southeastern Colorado
The Colorado Bureau of Investigation announced on Wednesday that it was investigating “an apparent murder-suicide” that left four dead in La Junta on Tuesday night. The release from the CBI states that at 11:30 p.m. La Junta police were called to the 1100 block of Smithland Avenue where officers discovered two adults and two children…