RUNDOWN MOTEL, SCENE OF MURDER, BURNS

Fire broke out at the abandoned Ridgeview Motel in Colorado Springs, scene of a ghastly murder a decade ago.

Flames were contained to a single unit at the decaying property at 3501 West Colorado Avenue. No injuries were reported in the overnight blaze, the fire department said.

The cause is under investigation.

The motel has a sordid history. A woman fatally stabbed a man walking out of a room there in July 2016, according to old news reports. The motel was also the scene of a police SWAT team operations in 2017.

[Photos: Colorado Springs Fire Department]

ACCUSED DRUNK DRIVER PLOWS INTO COP K9 CAR IN AURORA

Victor Balderas-Castellanos, 50, is accused of running a red light and crashing into an Aurora squad car carrying a police K9 and its handler while driving drunk. The unmarked police unit was stopped at Del Mar Circle and Kenton Street on Tuesday night when the suspect's silver auto careened into its right side. Canine and handler are OK. Balderas-Castellanos was arrested on charges of DUI, careless driving, failing to yield, driving without a valid license and no insurance. "This should serve as a not-so-gentle reminder that drinking and driving is NEVER okay," police said on social media. "Uber, call a friend. Actions like this will end your night and it could end someone’s or your own life." [Photos: Aurora Police Department]

DEADLY HIGHLANDS RANCH MASS SHOOTING REMEMBERED

A Douglas County sheriff's deputy, Zack Parrish, 29, was killed in an ambush and mass shooting on New Year's Eve 2017 at the Copper Canyon Apartment Homes in Highlands Ranch. 

Four deputies and two civilians were wounded. A SWAT team killed the gunman, a veteran and former attorney with a history of psychotic episodes.

Parrish joined the Douglas County Sheriff's Office just months earlier after serving as a police officer in Morrison and Castle Rock.  
"Zack lived a life defined by purpose, drive, and deep commitment to serving others," the sheriff's office said. "Zack quickly became known for his hard work, integrity, and contagious energy. His dedication and drive earned him the nickname 'Zippy.' More than a deputy, Zack was a loyal friend and teammate who lifted others up and strengthened the bond within his patrol family. "Above all, Zack was a devoted husband and father. He leaves behind his wife, Gracie, and their two daughters, who were his greatest joy."

SHOOTING AND STABBING IN DENVER

A person was shot overnight in the 1400-block of North Pearl Street in Denver, and in a separate incident, another was stabbed in the vicinity of East Mississippi Avenue and South Quebec Street, police said Wednesday.

WRECK KILLS GIRL, 5, IN GREELEY

A girl suffered fatal injuries in a wreck involving two cars and a semi-truck in Greeley, police said Wednesday.

The child, 5, succumbed at Children's Hospital in Aurora.

The cars crashed Monday afternoon at Highway 85 and 22nd Street - and "the force of the collision caused both vehicles to spin into a semi that was stopped at the intersection," police said. If you witnessed the crash or have information, contact Officer Doug Medhurst doug.medhurst@greeleypd.com

CLEAN WATER PLAN FOR COLORADO TOWNS NIXED BY WHITE HOUSE

There are signs that Lauren Boebert is losing a key supporter and rural Colorado's water needs will suffer as a result.

Fox 31 reports the president vetoed a bipartisan bill - co-sponsored by the congressional Republican - to secure funding for clean water for communities on the state's eastern plains, a GOP stronghold.

Boebert issued a statement to Fox 31 saying: "If this administration wants to make its legacy blocking projects that deliver water to rural Americans; that’s on them."

There could be a reason for the veto. Boebert supported release of evidence in the Epstein matter.

[Photos: Wikipedia]

BIRD FLU CONFIRMED

The Fort Morgan Times reports officials confirmed that there was an outbreak of a bird flu at Riverside Park in mid-December, as suspected.

BAD FOR BUSINESS: DOPE PEDDLING, SHOPLIFTING SUSPECTS BUSTED

Police responding to a shoplifting in Westminster bagged their suspect as well as a getaway driver accused of peddling drugs - and the dealer's business ledger.

The haul includes meth, cocaine, fentanyl pills and powder - and a gun, officials said. The arrests occurred Monday night in a parking garage near 88th Avenue and Sheridan Boulevard. [Photo: Westminster Police Department]

DENVER ZOO TRAGEDY: LOVEABLE WINNIE'S TAMANDUA PUP DIES

The Denver Zoo is in mourning after Winnie, its loveable Southern tamandua, gave birth to a premature pup that died Sunday. The child arrived three weeks early. Medics "worked tirelessly over the weekend to try to stabilize the baby," zoo officials said. "Despite their best efforts, the pup sadly passed away" "This outcome was unexpected and has been a hard loss for our teams," officials said. "Winnie is currently doing well, and her care team will continue to closely monitor her health." The tender pup was born Saturday. [Photo: Denver Zoo]

ROCKY MOUNTAIN LOW IN COLORADO

Colorado's mountain snowpack is "the worst it's been in more than half a century," a top Denver Water official tells CBS Denver.

It's sitting at about 46% of the typical average in the Upper Colorado River Basin above Dillon, water utility data show.

There's hope, though. February, March and April are often snowier than October, November and December.

Dillon Reservoir is Denver Water's largest reservoir.

[Photo: Wikipedia]

CHERRY HILLS VILLAGE POLICE SEEK HIGHLINE CANAL TRASH CAN BOMBER

Police are seeking a nocturnal bomber suspected of planting homemade explosives in trash cans along the Highline Canal in Cherry Hills Village over the past two months.

Village police officials describe the bombs as "small" and "crude" and say the suspect rides a higher wattage E-bike with dark frame, wide tires and handlebar mittens.

The blasts typically occur after midnight and are considered "criminal mischief."

Police released fresh photographs Monday showing the suspect is of thin build, stands 5-foot-10 to 6-foot-2, was wearing a winter jacket, hiking or high-top shoes, gloves, a beanie, a utility belt with a tactical pouch - and goggles.

[Photos: Cheery Creek Hills Village Police Department]

CONVICTED OF MURDERING HUSBAND, 85, AT SENIOR FACILITY

Kathy Lawton, 73, has been found guilty in the knife-murder of her husband, Larry, 85, during an alcohol-fueled fight at Bonaventure Senior Living Facility in Pueblo on Nov. 24, 2024. Prosecutors said the woman was intoxicated. 

[Photo: Pueblo Police Department]

TRACKS IN SNOW LEAD COPS TO CROOK IN LAKEWOOD

Police followed footprints in snow to track down, tackle and arrest a burglary suspect in Lakewood.

The suspect was "in possession of stolen property, drugs and a gun that had its serial number defaced," officials said. No injuries were reported. The drama, which included fence climbing, unfolded on Bell Court earlier this month after police responded reports to attempted auto break-ins. [Photos: Lakewood Police Department]

BIG RIG PLOWS INTO HOME IN FORT LUPTON

A large truck smashed into a home in Fort Lupton early Tuesday morning, injuring a person.

Firefighters stabilized the dwelling, which suffered "major" damage, near the northbound Highway 85 on-ramp from Highway 52, the fire department said. The injured person was transported to hospital. Police are investigation the cause of the accident. [Photo: Fort Lupton Fire Department]

MAJOR FIRE BREAKS OUT IN PUEBLO, SMOKE BILLOWS ACROSS CITY

UPDATE

Flames engulfed a building Tuesday morning in the 200-block of East 4th Street in Pueblo, the fire department said. Colorado's tallest ladder truck - a 125-foot rig - is seen in action in photo. Smoke blanketed the city. [Photos: Pueblo Fire Department]

CHARGES FILED IN AURORA FIREBUG BLAZES

The 17th District Attorney’s Office filed arson charges against Michael Anthony Lopez, 30, accused of setting a series of fires in the vicinity of East 16th Avenue and North Norfolk Street in Aurora, officials said. 

COLD CASE: WICKS AND DEFOND MURDERS

On March 8, 1980, Steven Douglas Wicks, 10, and his nephew, Ronald Lewis DeFond, 7, were found lying side-by-side with fatal gunshot wounds in a field in Adams County.

The boys with blonde-strawberry hair were last seen walking to buy ice cream in Denver.

The motive for the killings - near Tower Road - remains a mystery, with no evidence of molestation or robbery.

The boys still had their ice cream money.

Adams County Sheriff's Detective Larry E. Peterson pursued leads in Colorado and across the nation and after six years zeroed in on a suspect - a former prison inmate.

The Adams County district attorney's office didn't buy it and declined to press charges, citing a lack of convincing evidence.

[Photos: Colorado Bureau of Investigation]

SENTENCED FOR 'JUGGING' CRIME SPREE

The Denver DA's Office says a Texas man who flew here to rob bank customers of their cash - a crime called "jugging" - has been sentenced to 19 years in prison. Isaiah Moses pleaded guilty to violating the Colorado Organized Crime Control Act.

FATAL WRECKS NEAR KIOWA, IN AURORA

A man died in a two-vehicle crash early Monday on Highway 86, seven miles east of Kiowa in Elbert County.

The state patrol provided this account of the collision:

"A 1993 Dodge pickup was going westbound when it went off the road onto the right shoulder. It re-entered the roadway and traveled into the eastbound lane, where it struck the driver's side of a 2022 Ford SUV traveling eastbound."  

"The driver of the Dodge, a 45-year-old male, died on scene. The driver of the Ford was taken to a hospital in Parker with serious injuries."

Meantime in Aurora, police said a woman died Sunday in a four-vehicle crash at South Gun Club Road and East Jewel Avenue. In Thornron, three people were injured on a nine-vehicle accident on I-25 on Sunday, 9News reports.

HE'S FACING CHARGES FOR AUTO THEFT, DOPE & LOTS, LOT MORE

The Canon City Daily Record reports Fredrick Redfern, 30, of Pueblo, faces a long, long list of criminal charges.

Auto theft, eluding police, reckless driving, violation of a protection order, drugs and paraphernalia possession, criminal mischief, fictitious plates - and obstructing a peace officer, according to the local police blotter.

He was arrested earlier this month at South 9th Street and Sell Avenue in Canon City, the Daily Record reports.

TODAY'S CHUCKLE

"I told my dentist my teeth are going yellow. He told me to wear a brown tie" - Rodney Dangerfield

[Photo: Wikipedia]

MOTHER NATURE SPOILING US: MILD TEMPS THIS WEEK FOR I-25 CORRIDOR

 

The New Year is forecast to begin with spring-like temperatures along the I-25 corridor from Trinidad to Cheyenne, according to the National Weather Service.

CLICK ON IMAGES

DEPUTIES SEIZE ARSENAL ON WHEELS NEAR RIFLE

Deputies seized weapons and ammunition from a pickup truck at Fravert Reservoir near the City of Rifle and arrested two suspects, both of whom were intoxicated, the Garfield County Sheriff's Office said Sunday. [Photo: Garfield County Sheriff's Office]

FACES VEHICULAR HOMICIDE CHARGE

Erik Diaz Olivas, 20, faces charges of vehicular homicide and driving under the influence after a two-vehicle wreck early Sunday on Highway 85 in Brighton, police said. Another person was seriously hurt. Police investigated whether a third auto struck the dead person and fled.

GARAGE, AUTO, CAMPER, TUMBLEWEED ABLAZE

Rural firefighters battled flames that devoured a garage, car, camper and tumbleweed in the Briggsdale area of Weld County on Sunday, officials said. Galeton and Platte Valley fire crews provided mutual aid to Briggsdale firefighters.  

[Photo: Galeton Fire Protection District]

SPEED DEMON: COP STOPS CAR DOING 128 MPH IN LAKEWOOD

A police officer recently stopped a car speeding at 128 mph - almost twice the limit - on eastbound 6th Avenue near Indiana Street in Lakewood, officials said. [Photo: Lakewood Police Department]

FIREFIGHTERS STOP BLAZE THREATENING NEARBY BUILDINGS

Firefighters battled a garage fire threatening nearby buildings in the town of Iliff in Logan County in northeast Colorado, the Sterling Fire Department said. No injuries were reported in the blaze early Christmas Day.

[Photos: Sterling Fire Department]

DENVER SHOOTING

A person was shot Saturday in the 700-block of East 20th Avenue in Denver, police said.

NORTHGLENN: BIG RIG, AUTO CRASH ON I-25

A semi-truck and auto collided early Sunday on northbound I-25 at 120th Avenue in Northglenn and "multiple people were transported to area hospitals," police said. [Photo: Northglenn Police Department]

CAR PUNCHES BIG HOLE AS FAMILY SLEEPS IN DENVER

A family was aroused from their sleep when an auto crashed into the front of their home early Sunday, the Denver Fire Department said. 
They "will be displaced until structural fixes can be made to the house," officials said.
The crash occurred near Florda Avenue and Monaco Street in southeast Denver. No injuries were reported. The errant auto suffered major damage.

[Photos: Denver Fire Department]

RESCUE ON THE ROCKS IN FOOTHILLS

Firefighters and medics from Golden and Arvada went to the aid of an injured climber Saturday on Highway 6 near Tunnel 2, officials said.

[Photo: Golden Fire-Rescue Local 5080]

GOOD SAMARITAN HAILED FOR SPOTTING EARLY A.M. BLAZE

UPDATE

A hero passerby is being praised for spotting a house fire early Sunday, calling 911 - and averting tragedy in Highlands Ranch, South Metro Fire Rescue said.

District Chief Aaron Goedecker presented the Good Samaritan an SMFR Hero Challenge Coin at the scene of the blaze. The wind-whipped flames broke out on the backyard deck of 2516 Penhurst Place just before 1 a.m. Firefighters "were able to quickly knock down the fire preventing it from extending into the interior of the home bringing the fire under control at 1:15 a.m.," officials said. One person was evacuated. No injuries were reported.
[Photos: South Metro Fire Rescue]

CALLING ALL CARS: FUTURE COP TURNS 4

A 4-year-old lad marked his birthday with a tour of the Parker Police Department. Reports say he's already studying for the civil service exam.

[Photo: Parker Police Department]

HE'S GOING TO PRISON FOR AUTO TRAGEDY

The Greeley Tribune reports a driver was sentenced to four years in prison for causing an auto accident that killed a woman's unborn child in the Weld County community of Timnath last year. Drunken and reckless driving charges were dropped in a plea agreement.

CLIMBER HURT AT EL DORADO CANYON PARK

A search and rescue crew evacuated an injured climber Saturday from West Ridge Trail in Eldorado Canyon State Park, Mountain View Fire Rescue said. [Photo: Mountain View Fire Rescue]

OVERHEATED BATTERY SEEN AS CAUSE OF MOBILE HOME BLAZE

Authorities suspect an overheated phone battery caused a raging fire that destroyed a mobile home Saturday in Lakewood.

The occupants escaped the blaze at near 14th Avene and Allison Street. "The lithium-ion battery in the phone overheated, igniting the combustible items around it, causing the fire to quickly spread throughout the structure," West Metro Fire Rescue said. Neighbors called 911. No injuries were reported. [Photo: West Metro Fire Rescue]

PERSON OF INTEREST IN AURORA TEEN MURDER DEAD

Fox 31 reports a person of interest in the shooting death of an Aurora teenager has died of a traumatic, self-inflicted wound.

The teen, age 16, was found dead Dec. 31 in the driveway of a home on South Jebel Court.

The person of interest - also a teen, age 17 - died in Denver and there are no other "outstanding" suspects in the Aurora murder, Fox 31 said.

On Christmas Day, a person was found dead outdoors in Denver's Lodo district, according to Denver police. It isn't known if the cases are related.

AIRPLANE DOWN; MISSES HOUSE IN WELD COUNTY

A small airplane crashed Saturday near a home in rural Weld County and the plane's occupants escaped without injury, the Hudson Fire Protection District said.

There were no injuries on the ground either when single-engine craft flipped over in a field.

"Upon arrival, firefighters located the aircraft and confirmed two occupants on board," fire officials said. "Both had self-extricated prior to our arrival."
[Photo: Hudson Fire Protection District]

NATIONAL NEWS: REEFER ROLLBACK?

In national news, the Boston Herald reports Massachusetts voters could get a chance to repeal a law permitting recreational marijuana next year. State officials certified signatures backing a petition called “An Act to Restore a Sensible Marijuana Policy.” Medical marijuana would still be OK.

COPS ARREST MAN WITH KNIFE AFTER HIGH-SPEED CHASE

Police arrested a man cutting himself with a knife after a high-speed chase and crash on U.S. 287 on Christmas Day in Boulder County, the Daily Camera reports. They used "less than lethal force" to apprehend him after he refused to drop the knife.

AULT POLICE OFFICER INJURED

An Ault police officer responding to an emergency call on Christmas Eve was injured in a collision with a semi-truck at Highway 85 and East 1st Street, police said. Ault is in Weld County.

TRUE CRIME: HAIL OF BULLETS AND BLOOD AT DENVER MINT

The Great Denver Mint Robbery lasted about a minute and unleashed a hail of bullets and blood.

On Dec. 18, 1922, a Federal Reserve armored car pulled up to the West Colfax Avenue entrance of the mint, which still stands today, to pick up a cash shipment of $200,000 in sacks of five-dollar bills.

A black Buick touring car, its curtains drawn, braked at the stone fortress and masked men armed with sawed-off shotguns leapt out, opened fire and snagged the cash.

A Federal Reserve guard named Charles Linton, stationed at the rear of the armored car, died as the robbers opened fire - pockmarking the mint's facade and shattering windows. Linton was shot in the abdomen, reports said.

The getaway car sped east on Colfax Avenue and turned at Pearl Street after the robbers pulled aboard a compatriot mortally wounded by a mint police officer named Pete Kiedegner, the Rocky Mountain News reported.

The evil Buick was found a month later in a garage at 1631 Gilpin Street along with the frozen body of robber Nicholas Trainor stretched on the front seat and a loaded .45-caliber six shooter in a trouser hip pocket.

Trainor "was nattily dressed in a brown checkered suit, tan shoes, neatly polished, black hose and a slouch hat," the Loveland Reporter-Herald said.

A shotgun dropped at the scene of the bloodshed was checked for fingerprints.

After more than a decade of hunting, police identified the robbers - and they were either dead or in prison for other crimes. About $80,000 of the loot was recovered in Minnesota in February 1923 along with bonds taken in an Ohio bank robbery.

[Photos: Wikipedia, private collection]

PEDESTRIAN DIES IN COMMERCE CITY

A pedestrian was struck and killed by an auto Friday in the 10500-block of Tower Road in Commerce City, police said.

POLICE BLOTTER

A person was shot Friday in the 2900-block of South Federal Boulevard in Denver, police said. Near Aguilar in southern Colorado, a man was ejected from an auto that flipped over on I-25, the state patrol said. He died.

SPIDERMAN BURGLAR AND SIDEKICK GO BOOZING IN FREDERICK

Disguised burglars - one in a full-face Spider Man-style mask and carrying a knife in a waistband sheath - broke into a liquor store and fled with several bottles of booze in Frederick. The pair smashed the front glass door of the store at 340 Fifth Street early Friday with "what appeared to be a hammer," police said. If you have information, call Frederick police at (720) 382-5700 or non-emergency dispatch at (720) 652-4222. [Photo: Frederick Police Department]