CAT SAFE AFTER CLIMBING HIGHER THAN FIRE LADDER

 

A firefighter reached well above the top of a ladder to save a cat perched high on a tree branch, Black Forest Fire said Tuesday.

"Once she got him in her arms, the cat held on tight and didn’t look back," officials said. The feline is home again after "clinging to the branch and meowing the whole time," officials said. He wasn't injured in this week's one-in-nine lifetime adventure.

[Photo: Black Fores Fire]

RESIDENTS SAVE HOME IN FREAK ACCIDENT IN NORTHGLENN

Residents saved their Northglenn home from fire by shoving a burning auto out the garage and down the driveway to await the arrival of firefighters.
"The vehicle had been leaking fuel earlier in the day, possibly from a fuel injector," North Metro Fire said. "While attempting to place the vehicle into accessory mode using the push-button start, the fire ignited." Medics treated three people at Monday night's blaze. North Metro Fire cautions: "If you suspect a fuel leak, avoid attempting repairs in enclosed spaces. Flammable vapors can ignite easily." [Photo: North Metro Fire]

STANDOFF IN SUMMIT COUNTY PASTURE

Deputies arrested a woman brandishing a 9mm handgun after a four-hour standoff in a horse pasture in Summit County. 
Amy Autry, 45, of Lakewood, is accused fleeing from deputies in her auto, hitting a patrol car, crashing through a through a fence, down a steep horse pasture - and into an irrigation ditch, the sheriff's office said. Deputies "tossed an aerosol pepper spray canister into the vehicle" ending the standoff, officials said. Autry is also suspected of smoking marijuana while driving. The incident started when a resident of the Ptarmigan Ranch neighborhood reported "an unknown person" parked at their home, loading a magazine into a gun and making a motion as though she was aiming for the house, officials said. [Photo: Summit County Sheriff]

HAND-IN-HAND: DEPUTIES LOCATE MISSING GIRL IN ADAMS COUNTY

Adams County deputies located a missing girl over the weekend - and a lawman walked her home hand-in-hand.

"The child, who had been diagnosed with autism, is fairly nonverbal, and has a seizure disorder, had left her apartment without shoes or a jacket," the sheriff's office said. "Deputies located her in a neighboring building on the property." "After finding her safe, they took the time to build trust and make a meaningful connection" during Sunday's incident at an apartment complex near 74th Avenue and Dakin Street, the sheriff's office said. "Moments like this highlight how important it is to build strong relationships within our community — especially with our most vulnerable children," the sheriff's office said. [Photo: Adams County Sheriff's Office]

THORNTON COPS CLOCK I-25 SPEEDSTERS AT 100 MPH

During a recent graveyard shift, Thornton police stopped seven drivers speeding at more than 90 mph on I-25 - including four with the hammer down at more than 100 mph. [Photos: Thornton Police]

MARSHALS NAB FUGITIVE NEAR DENVER

UPDATE The U.S. Marshals Service and local police arrested fugitive Matthew Gardner near West 72nd Ave and North Pecos Street in Adams County on Monday. He was wanted for violations of federal supervised release. [Photos: U.S. Marshals Service] [Editor's Note: We are correcting the location that was provided in the official release on X from the U.S. Marshals Service. It is in Adams County.]

DENVER COPS HUNT TRIO IN ROBBERY; HAD GUNS, FLED IN AUTO WITH HANDICAP TAG

Denver police are hunting for three masked armed robbery suspects who fled in an auto with a blue handicap tag hanging from the rearview mirror.

The crime occurred in the 3400-block of 42nd Avenue at last Wednesday about 9:30 a.m., police said.

The trio traveled in a dark colored Ford Explorer. No injuries were reported. Two of the suspects carried black handguns. Two were very heavy set. The other was of medium build.

COLD CASE: STUDENT FOUND DEAD IN SOUTH PLATTE RIVER MAY HAVE BEEN VICTIM OF SERIAL KILLER

On Feb. 24, 1985, Denise Davenport, a student and sorority chaplain at the University of Northern Colorado, vanished - a case that rattled the college campus in Greeley.

On April 20, canoeists found her nude body in the South Platte River about two miles east of the city. It had apparently floated down river. Davenport, 20, whose family lived in Littleton, vanished after leaving work at a boutique at the Greeley Mall. She was wearing a bright pink two-piece suit with a white blouse and black pumps, the Weld County Sheriff's Office said. The young woman may have been a victim of a serial killer, a news report said. A suspect, who was sentenced to life in prison in a habitual criminal case, was never charged. He was considered a suspect in other slayings - the deaths of an elderly Windsor couple and a drifter found in Poudre Canyon.
Davenport "told a coworker that she was going to a car wash before picking up her boyfriend and was planning to attend an induction ceremony at her sorority later that night," the Rocky Mountain News said. She had been elected the sorority's chaplain.

"The following afternoon, a student spotted the car, a steel blue Mazda RX-7, parked near the UNC campus about five blocks from Davenport’s home," the News said. "The door on the driver’s side was unlocked, the radio was on, and the seat was soiled with mud and pushed back further than normal."

If you have information, contact the Weld County Sheriff's Office (970) 304-6464 or Crimetips@weld.gov. The exact location of the discovery of her body was in the South Platte between 18th Street and U.S. 34. In an odd twist, the News said: "A witness, under hypnosis, said she had spotted the car Davenport had been in, with its flashers blinking, the night Davenport disappeared. The witness said the car was parked at 26th Street and Seventh Avenue in Greeley. She recalled seeing two men and a woman nearby walking toward a pawn shop door."

[Photo: Weld County Sheriff's Office]

PERSON STRUCK BY AUTO IN RURAL LARIMER COUNTY

A person was struck and injured by an auto Monday on County Road 80C in Larimer County, Livermore Fire said. The accident occurred at mile marker 9.5. [Photo: Livermore Fire]

DENVER COPS ARREST SUSPECT IN GRANT STREET ATTACKS

Chase Leon Lipscomb, 24, was arrested as a suspect in a pair of attacks against women on South Grant Street in Denver, police announced Monday.

The attacks occurred Jan. 7 and Jan. 27 and the suspect was arrested Saturday.

He faces charges of assault and kidnapping. Police said the investigators recovered "physical and forensic" evidence.

DOG DAY FOR POLICE IN FREDERICK

UPDATE

Police in Frederick are seeking the owners of a female border collie mix found Monday near Fox Run as well as a male tan and white mix found in Countryside. Neither has chips. Call police dispatch (720) 652-4222.

[Photos: Frederick Police]

CLOSE CALL: AUTO SHOP ROOF CAVES IN AS FLAMES RAGE

A roof collapsed as fire devoured an auto shop in Colorado Springs. No one was hurt. The blaze broke out Friday at 2663 Durango Drive. Officials released photos Monday. The cause was under investigation.

[Photo: Colorado Springs Fire] 

TRIGGER-HAPPY WOMAN KNOCKS ON WRONG DOOR

A gun-toting woman knocked on the wrong door and shot up a home occupied by a gun-owning resident who fired back.

Bullets crashed through a wall into a child's room and the woman fled. No one was hurt in Monday's strange incident on University Drive in Colorado Springs, Fox 21 said.

The family didn't know the woman. Police stopped a car and arrested two suspects.

MOB TOWN: COLORADO SPRINGS BOSS SLAIN IN SHOOTOUT

On April 30, 1930, Colorado Springs bootleg boss Andrew Lombardi was "taken for a ride" and killed in an ambush on a lonely road southeast of the city.

It was one of Colorado's more than 30 mob murders during the Prohibition years, including the death of a federal agent.

The Associated Press said: "Lombardi had fired nine shots from the pistol found by his side. A new clip of cartridges had been placed in the gun when he fell with ‘shotgun slugs in his back and chest.

"Five shotgun shells were found nearby. The ground was torn up. Automobile tire marks indicated that the assassins drove westward with a flat tire, presumably punctured by one of Lombard’s bullets."

The police twice raided Lombardi's properties between 1924 and 1930. He hid whiskey in dugouts at his homes and shop in Roswell, a section of Colorado Springs. He was also arrested in connection with a distillery in Black Forest.

The murder occurred near Kelker.

Reporting from Colorado Springs, the AP said: "Lombari had a pretentious home here and was reputed to be wealthy. Authorities believe he had been involved in Pueblo gang warfare and was 'taken for a ride.'"

MAJOR FIRE IN FRANKTOWN SUNDAY

 

Flames ripped the roof off a residential building Sunday in Franktown. Neighboring communities sent mutual aid to the blaze on Empire Drive. No injuries were reported.

[Photos: Franktown Fire]

OUT ON PRAIRIE NATURE 'FLIPPED THE SCRIPT'

Rural fire crews responded to a series of wrecks along I-70 in eastern Colorado Friday as snow and ice struck - a sudden shift from days earlier when they battled a 5,000-acre wildfire. Agate Fire said: "Our firefighters worked long hours alongside mutual aid partners to protect property, livestock, and open space across our communities. Then by Friday, Mother Nature flipped the script. Snow and ice rolled in, turning highways slick and dangerous." The fire district called the week "a true Colorado reminder that conditions can change in a heartbeat." The wildfire swept farmland in Elbert and Lincoln counties. [Photos: Agate Fire]

ARREST SUSPECT IN DENVER STABBING

UPDATE Mia Zaffarano, 27, was arrested as a suspect in a stabbing in the 2800-block of North Brighton Boulevard in Denver, police said Monday. The suspect faces a charge of assault with a deadly weapon in the overnight stabbing. "Investigators believe the suspect and the adult male victim are known to each other," police said. The man was transported to hospital.

DO FISHING CATS FISH CATFISH?

This is Jonas, the Denver Zoo's fishing cat - a breed native to marshes, rivers and wetlands of Southeast Asia. Fishing cats have webbed paws to hunt and swim. [Photos: Denver Zoo]

TRUE CRIME: COLORADO'S ROBIN HOOD

Charles D. Waggoner, president of the Bank of Telluride, cleverly "robbed" several major New York banks of $500,000 to rescue his tiny institution from insolvency on the eve of the Great Depression.

Without firing a shot, Waggoner also saved his customers from economic ruin - and earned the moniker "Colorado Robin Hood."

In a series of complex transactions Waggoner - through his understanding of the intricacies of inter-bank transfers - made it impossible for the New York banks to recall money once it was released it through legal channels.

The money fleeing New York allowed Bank of Telluride to pay its debts though Waggoner wound up serving time in federal prison for masterminding the scheme.

Waggoner - standing to the left in the photo - didn't spend a dime of the money on himself.

[Photo: Denver Public Library]

HOUSE FIRE RAGES ON REMOTE RED DOG ROAD

Firefighters extinguished a house fire near the top of steep, winding Red Dog Road in Carbondale. There were no fire hydrants and crews shuttled water to the blaze, which broke out Saturday. No one was hurt, Carbondale Fire said. [Photo: Carbondale Fire]

FIRE DESTROYS BARN IN WELD COUNTY

Fire destroyed a barn early Sunday near Weld County Roads 31 and 20, Fort Lupton Fire said. Platteville-Gilcrest Fire also responded. "Sadly, one goat perished in the fire," officials said. "No other injuries were reported." [Photo: Fort Lupton Fire]

BATTLING BERTHOUD BLAZE

Firefighters battled a house fire Sunday on County Road 15 south of Berthoud, officials said. There was no mention of injuries. [Photo: Berthoud Fire Protection District]

LOST NANNY GOAT-ING HOME AFTER GIVING BIRTH

The Fremont County Sheriff's Office has reunited a lost goat - who gave birth "in somebody else's barn last night" - with her owners, officials said Sunday. The blessed event occurred in Penrose. Nanny and neonate are doing well.

[Photo: Fremont County Sheriff's Office]

BASEMENT FIRE IN NORTH DENVER; NO INJURIES

Firefighters battled a basement fire at a home in North Denver. "The fire was quickly contained with no injuries reported," the fire department said. The blaze broke out Saturday afternoon. [Photo: Denver Fire]

MOB TOWN: SHOT, BOMBED AND CONVICTED

The years 1973 and 1974 were cruel to Mrs. Pauline Smaldone, a convicted bookmaker and estranged wife of Denver mobster Clarence "Chauncey" Smaldone.

She was shot and critically injured, bombed and tried on gambling charges in federal court - in that order.

No arrests were made in the shooting or bombing. No motive was established. Nobody knew nothing. Mrs. Smaldone was a survivor, though, and lived until age 91. She is buried at Mount Olivet Catholic Cemetery in Wheat Ridge. 

At age 49, Mrs. Smaldone took three bullets outside her home at 2997 Pierson Way in Lakewood. The date was July 6, 1973. A few months later, Jan. 10, 1974, she escaped injury when the home was bombed. The same week, Mrs. Smaldone was indicted on gambling charges. Convicted in May, Mrs. Smaldone got probation. 

The larger Smaldone family established control over Denver's underworld - mainly gambling - in the 1930s. The main players were Pauline's husband "Chauncey" and brothers, Eugene "Checkers" Smaldone and Clyde "Flip Flop" Smaldone. Assorted relatives partook.

Recalling the bombing in an interview with journalist Dick Kreck, Mrs. Smaldone said: "When they bombed the house I never went back. I just fixed up the house and sold it."

In a strange turn, former University of Colorado football player John "Skip" LaGuardia, a Smaldone family associate, was shot dead outside his home in Lakewood two weeks after Mrs. Smaldone was shot. They lived blocks apart. That case went cold too.

[Photo: Find A Grave]

BRAVE COPS, FIREFIGHTERS SAVE DRIVER OF SINKING AUTO

 

A drone view shows Colorado Springs police officers and firefighters plunging into Prospect Lake to save the driver of a sinking auto - in what city officials called an "extraordinary display of teamwork and courage." The driver was in critical condition. Two firefighters and two officers were treated at hospital for hypothermia and minor injuries after Thursday's incident. Rescuers "continued searching the submerged car after reports that a child might also be inside," the fire department said. "Their coordination, trust, and willingness to risk everything for others are unmatched," the department said. Dive teams responded to the lake to perform an extended search, the fire department said. [Photo: Colorado Springs Fire Department]

BIG THANK YOU TO PRAIRIE FIRE HEROES

Eastern Colorado Bank presented a $5,000 donation to the Smila, Limon and Hugh fire departments for battling the 5,000-acre County Road 169 prairie fire that broke out Tuesday near Matheson in Elbert County and raced into Lincoln County.

[Photo: Simla Fire]

OUT OF CONTROL IN DOUGLAS COUNTY

A car crashed through a fence and slammed into a house near Sweet Clover Way and Sedge Way in Doulgas County, the sheriff's office said. Medics assessed one patient. South Metro firefighters propped up the shattered wall after the auto was towed. [Photo: Douglas County Sheriff's Office]

ALONE IN ERIE

This pooch was found wandering the streets of Erie - near the Safeway supermarket - on Friday morning, police said. 

[Photo: Erie Police]

DEATH PROBE SHIFTS GEARS IN COMMERCE CITY, COPS SAY

A murder investigation into the death of a young woman found on a Commerce City sidewalk has uncovered evidence the victim took her own life, police said Friday.

The body of the woman, age 23, was found by a passerby early Thursday in the 6200-block of Glencoe Street with what appeared to be "head trauma," police said. Police announced a homicide probe shortly after the tragic discovery Thursday morning - but then said that as of Friday morning the death case was "now being investigated as a potential suicide." They provided no further details.

If you or someone you know is struggling, help is available. Dial 988 - the National Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.

COPS STOP GUN THIEVES IN THORNTON

Police arrested three suspects accused of breaking into autos and snatching a gun in Thornton.

"Even though they tried to run, all three suspects were taken into custody," police said. "Stolen items, including a firearm, were recovered." The suspects were bundled into police cars just after midnight on Feb. 10 near the 9000-block of Gale Boulevard. No injuries were reported. Police also said: "Never leave firearms unsecured in your vehicle. Responsible storage helps prevent theft and keeps weapons out of the wrong hands!" [Photo: Thornton Police]

FIRE HITS SNOWMASS SKI RESORT IN ASPEN

Fire broke out at the Snowmass ski resort, scorching the Sundeck Restaurant atop Aspen Mountain. 

Aspen and Roaring Fork firefighters reached the blaze via the Silver Queen Gondola and snowcats.
"An outstanding job was done by Aspen Snowmass employees, as well as their whole operation to get our people up there,” Aspen Fire Chef Jake Andersen said. The Aspen Mountain Ski Patrol also responded.

No injuries were reported in Thursday's blaze. The cause of the fire was under investigation, officials said.

[Photo: Aspen Fire]

BIG ARVADA BLAZE: CAT RESCUED, ANOTHER HID, DOG AND OWNER ESCAPED

Firefighters rescued a cat from a raging house fire in Arvada, found a clever feline taking refuge in the basement - and accounted for their owner and a dog, who escaped without harm.

The big blaze started in the yard, climbed a wall and extended inside the home near Pomona High School on Thursday before hose crews gained controlled, Arvada Fire said. The cause of the fire was under investigation.
"Thankfully, all parties involved in this incident are safe— one resident and dog self-evacuated, crews rescued one cat from the second floor, and a second cat was later found safe in the basement," officials said.
Firefighters also saved a neighboring home, which was "exposed to heat from the fire," officials said.

[Photos: Arvada Fire]

SUSPECT CHARGED WITH ATTEMPTED MURDER OF BOULDER COP

Justin Lyle Radley-Sharpe, 36, has been charged with attempted murder in the beating and choking of a Boulder police officer, prosecutors said Thursday. The attack occurred Feb. 9 at an apartment complex in the 1800-block of 22nd Street while the officer was investigating a report of a man threatening another person. Backup officers used a Taser to subdue the suspect. Boulder Police Chief Steve Redfearn said: “I am thankful that our officer will be okay." Police provided this account: "When the officer tried to stop the suspect, he began to fight with the officer, who called for backup. During the struggle, the pair fell to the ground and the officer was knocked unconscious after his head hit a rock. The suspect landed on top of the officer and proceeded to twice punch him in the head.

"The officer fought back and the suspect then began choking the officer. After dispatchers were unable to reach the officer on his radio, they quickly sent additional officers who arrived, tased the suspect and took him into custody."

COLD CASE: DRIVE-BY SHOOTING AT ADAMS COUNTY HOUSE PARTY

Denver North High School senior Alaina Martinez and seven others were gunned down in a drive-by shooting at a house party in Adams County.

Martinez, 17, was the sole fatality in the hail of bullets in a tidy neighborhood on Dakin Street, near Denver, on Oct. 15, 2022, at 3 a.m. 

The cheerful youth was a triple Cinco de Mayo baby, according to her obituary - born May 5, 2005, and was preparing to take classes through a University of Colorado Denver pre-collegiate program.

Martinez had dreams of a career in veterinary medicine and "was so passionate about animals that she would volunteer to walk some of the neighborhood dogs," her obituary also said. And she liked anime and Minecraft.

The drive-by death car, a dark blue Chevy Tahoe, opened fire as teens poured from the home into the yard. Some of those in the yard pulled guns and returned fire - in all perhaps three dozen shots.

A neighbor told 9News a fight may have preceded the bloodbath.

The Adams County Sheriff's Office posted a $5,000 reward for information in the tragedy. Sheriff Gene Claps said: "No piece of information is too small and could be what we need to help solve this case.”

If you have information, call Metro Denver Crime Stoppers (720) 913-7867. 

[Photo: National Gun Violence Memorial]

MAN PULLED FROM AURORA BLAZE DIES

A man found inside a blazing Aurora home died at a hospital, fire officials said Thursday. The fire broke out in the vicinity of East 22nd Avenue and North Altura Street on Wednesday and the cause was under investigation. No other injuries were reported. Earlier Wednesday, a person died at a fire in an apartment building in Littleton. [Photos: Aurora Fire]