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]

2 CRITICALLY INJURED IN GRAND COUNTY SNOWMOBILE TRAGEDY

UPDATE

The Christman Eve snowmobile accident near Frasier - which required the response of two medical helicopters - critically injured two people, Grand County Search and Rescue said in an update Friday.

The mishap in the Church Park area involved one snowmobile.

Rescue officials said personnel were "dispatched alongside Grand County EMS and the Grand County Sheriff’s Office. Grand County EMS provided medical care to both patients, with assistance from fellow snowmobilers on scene. "GCSAR personnel extricated and transported the patients to a secured helicopter landing zone in Church’s Park.

"Due to the nature of the injuries and location, two separate medical helicopters were requested. Each injured snowmobiler was transported individually by air for further medical care."

[Photo: Grand County Sheriff's Office]  

SAY SO LONG TO 'SUMMER' AND HELLO TO MORE SNOW

The National Weather Service says brace for typical winter weather after the warmest Christmas Day on record. 

TODAY'S CHUCKLE

"I told the doctor I broke my leg in two places. He told me to quit going to those places" - Henny Youngman

[Photo: Wikipedia]

POLICE STANDOFF ENDS IN ARREST

Police arrested a robbery suspect near downtown Denver early Friday after an hours-long standoff, officials said.

A shelter-in-place order was put into effect during the incident in the vicinity of 17th Street and North Emerson Street.

No injuries were reported.

RAGING BLAZE IN GLOBEVILLE XMAS NIGHT

Firefighters battled a huge house fire in the Globeville district of Denver on Christmas night, the fire department said.

No injuries were reported. The house was apparently abandoned.  

In a separate fire, an auto crashed and burned early Friday in the vicinity of Hampden Avenue and south Florence Street in Denver. One person was injured.
[Photo: Denver Fire Department]

HO-HO-HO HOTTEST CHRISTMAS ON RECORD

UPDATE

The temperature reached a record 71 degrees Fahrenheit on Christmas Day at Denver International Airport, the National Weather Service reports.

KNOCK - KNOCK - KNOCK - SANTA HAS A WARRANT.

Holiday greetings social media post by the U.S. Marshals Service's Colorado Violent Offender Task Force. [Photo: U.S. Marshals Service]

LITTLE LADY BACK HOME JUST IN TIME FOR SANTA

This lucky pup has been reunited with her family after embarking on a Christmas Eve stroll in Burlington, police said. She was found at Lincoln Street and Donelon Avenue and is home for the holiday.

[Photo: Burlington Police Department]

NO SILENT NIGHT: 2 DEAD, 3 HURT IN HOLIDAY TRAGEDY IN AURORA

UPDATE

Two people died and three others were injured in a Christmas Eve shooting in Aurora, reports say.

The victims and assailant or assailants were apparently acquainted. "This was not a random shooting,” police spokesperson Gabby Easterwood told The Denver Gazette. 

A woman and a male youth, age 17, were killed in the holiday bloodbath at an apartment complex in the 1800-block of Billings Street. The injured people were adults.

2 ESCAPE XMAS EVE BLAZE IN CENTENNIAL

Two people escaped a house fire that broke out on Christmas Eve at 7112 South Cherry Street in Centennial, South Metro Fire Rescue reported. No injuries were reported. The blaze apparently started in the garage. [Photo: South Metro Fire]

TINA PETERS TURNS TO GHOST OF GEORGE WASHINGTON TO FREE HER FROM PRISON

Disgraced Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters - convicted on state charges of elections fraud - is turning to George Washington's ghost to free her from prison after President Trump's pardon.

In a court filing, her lawyers cited Washington's pardon of people convicted of both state and federal crimes during the Whiskey Rebellion of 1795, the Associated Press reports.

Colorado Governor Jared Polis said Trump's pardon is meaningless under state law. Peters is doing time - a nine-year sentence - in the state's La Vista Correctional Facility in Pueblo.  

[Photo: Colorado Department of Corrections, Wikipedia]

LAY OFF THE EGGNOG, PLEASE!

This is a view of a Christmas Eve accident - yes, tonight - in Fremont County which sheriff's deputies describe as "alcohol related." Report intoxicated drivers to 911 or *CSP (277). Don't drink and drive.

[Photo: Fremont County Sheriff's Office]

MAJOR SNOWMOBILE ACCIDENT WEST OF FRASER

UPDATE

Rescuers requested two medical helicopters to evacuate victims of a major snowmobile accident Wednesday in Grand County, the sheriff's office said. The incident occurred in the Church Park area west of Fraser. Grand County EMS, Grand County Search and Rescue and Grand Adventures personnel were on the scene along with sheriff's deputies, officials said. [Photos: Grand County Sheriff's Office]

HIKER PLUNGES AT RED ROCKS

A hiker plunged 20-feet off a trail Wednesday near the visitor's center at Red Rocks and suffered serious injuries, West Metro Fire Rescue said. "Members of our technical rescue team hiked the patient out to a waiting ambulance," fire officials said. The hiker was sent to hospital in critical condition.

CRITICAL INJURY IN CHRISTMAS EVE BLAZE; NEIGHBORS TAKE SWIFT ACTION

Firefighters rescued a critically injured person from a Christmas Eve house fire in Loveland.

Crews "performed a rescue through a large window" in the home on South Del Norte Avenue, the Loveland Fire Authority said.
People living nearby were credited with sounding the alarm.

"This incident highlights the importance of alert neighbors—smoke was spotted from the rear of the home and 911 was called immediately," officials said. Police and the fire authority are investigating the blaze. [Photo: Loveland Fire Authority]

CRIME STOPPERS ALERT FOR I-70 HIT & RUN

Denver police are searching for this vehicle in a Monday hit-and-run accident that seriously injured a motorcyclist on westbound I-70 near Sheridan Boulevard. License plates unknown.

BLACK SMOKE BILLOWS FROM ARAPAHOE COUNTY HOUSE FIRE

South Metro fire crews battled a basement fire at a home on South Dayton Street in unincorporated Arapahoe County. A 911 caller reported black smoke billowing from the dwelling. The fire's cause is under investigation though officials did say if you detect strange odors, unusual heat, leakage or odd noises in an electronic a device or its battery, stop using it and call 911. No one was injured in Tuesday's blaze. [Photo: South Metro Fire Rescue]

PLACE VERB FIRST IN HEADLINE? AIN'T GOOD GRAMMAR, READERS SAY

Your Daily Sketch editor has received gripes - from his wife and readers - about our habit of beginning some headlines with a verb, such as this week's "FREE DRIVER PINNED IN CRUSHED AUTO NEAR LONGMONT."

This is an old tabloid headline style very common in the early and mid-20th century. Partly to conserve page space. Partly brevity. Party fun to write. Alas yes, it is bad grammar in English 101 and above. Our photo provides evidence! It's a front page of the old New York Daily Mirror on Marilyn Monroe's death in 1962. We appreciate your comments! Yes, there is a method to our tabloid madness.

Our other recent sins include:

ARREST AURORA FIREBUG SUSPECT 

WON'T SELL OUR NATIONAL PARKS

SAVE LOST HIKERS TRAPPED ON MOUNT GARFIELD

Dat's da' way it is youse people.

NATIONAL NEWS: PRIVATE EYE SAYS HE'S SOLVED 'BLACK DAHLIA' AND 'ZODIAC' MURDERS

In national news, a high-tech private eye is pinning a pair of notorious California cold cases - the Black Dalia and Zodiac murders - on the same man, a former World War Two medic with surgical skills named Marvin Margolis, now deceased.

Alex Baber, 50, of West Virginia, used AI and codebreaking skills to reach his conclusion. His work was first reported by the Los Angeles Times.

The dissected remains of aspiring actress Elizabeth Short, 22, were found in a Los Angeles lot in 1947's Black Dahia case. The Zodiac shooting and stabbing killings of at least five people spanned 1968 and 1969 in the San Francisco area. The killer taunted police with cypher messages.

[Photo: FBI]

'SANTA CLAWS' SPOTTED IN BAILEY

 

The Park County Sheriff's Office released a surveillance video of a darting intruder deputies dubbed "Santa Claws" on the prowl in Bailey.

[Photo: Park County Sheriff's Office]

DREAMING OF WARM CHRISTMAS EAST OF ROCKIES

 

The National Weather Service is forecasting a mild Christmas east of the Rockies. On the Western Slope, look for mountain snow and valley rain through Christmas morning.

POLICE BLOTTER

A police officer was dragged by a fleeing auto and sustained minor injuries in Westminster.

Police chased and stopped the vehicle and arrested two fugitives in Tuesday's incident, which began in a parking lot near 88th Avenue and Pierce Street and ended on 92nd Avenue between Pierce Street and Westminster Boulevard, officials said. The Colorado Bureau of Investigation opened a homicide investigation into the death of a resident of Center in southwest Colorado. The man, age 78, was found inside his home off East Highway 112 on Tuesday. Agents believe he was last seen alive Dec. 19.

In Alamosa, police arrested a suspect in a graffiti spree involving at least 17 businesses and homes as well as public property.
In Mesa County, police are searching for a woman who damaged and dumped books focused on transgender topics in a trash can at a public library on North 6th Street, Western Slope Now reports.

In Park County, a woman and four youths were sent to hospital after a crash on Highway 285 near the intersection of Roland Valley Drive. Tuesday's head-on crash involved three vehicles, the state patrol said.

In Cheyenne, Wyoming a motorcycle rider died Monday on Dell Range Boulevard, police said.

ACCUSED KILLER MOM RETURNED TO COLORADO FROM OVERSEAS

UPDATE

Accused killer mom Kimberlee Singler returned to Colorado on Tuesday, two years after fleeing to the United Kingdom, officials said.

Singler, 36, of Colorado Springs, is charged with murdering two of her little children and injuring the third on Dec. 19, 2023. She is being held in the El Paso County Jail.

Singler - who had told police a burglar harmed the children - was arrested in the U.K. on Dec. 30, 2023, and held there until her extradition. Reports said she was in a custody dispute with the children's father.

[Photos: FBI, Colorado Springs Police Department]

BIRD IN HAND WORTH TWO IN BUSH

 

Bird's eye view at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo.

[Photo: Cheyenne Mountain Zoo]

FREE DRIVER PINNED IN CRUSHED AUTO NEAR LONGMONT

Firefighters freed a person trapped in a mangled car Tuesday after a collision at Highway 66 and East County Line Road east of Longmont, Mountain View Fire Rescue said. A total of four people were sent to hospital. [Photo: Mountain View Fire Rescue]

ARREST AURORA FIREBUG SUSPECT

UPDATE Michael Anthony Lopez, 30, was arrested Tuesday as a suspect in an arson spree that damaged apartment buildings, autos and portable toilets in Aurora, the fire department said. "Crews responded to multiple fires in the area over the last week and worked quickly to extinguish the fires and limit damage," official said. "At the same time, Aurora police officers coordinated with firefighters and investigators to assess the scenes, gather information and identify a suspect." Fires occurred in the vicinity of East 16th Avenue and North Norfolk Street. No injuries were reported.

COP HURT, SUSPECT JAILED

A brawling shoplifting suspect injured a police officer Tuesday at a Walmart store at 2881 North Avenue in Grand Junction, police said. The officer was sent to hospital. The suspect was jailed.

MARIJUANA REVENUE GETTING HIGH

Statewide sales of almost $1 billion of regulated marijuana products fueled almost $200 million in tax and fee revenue so far this year, data show. “Colorado’s world-class marijuana industry drives out criminals and cartels," Colorado Governor Jared Polis said.

SCIENCE NEWS: LUNAR LITTER BUGS LOITER

With scores of moon shots projected over the next decade, there's a risk parts of the lunar surface will be littered by scrapyards of aged landers and crashed orbiters.

Quoted by London's Daliy Star, Professor Ian Crawford of Birkbeck, University of London, believes that "the more lunar satellites there are, the greater the chance that some may crash into scientifically or culturally sensitive locations.”
   
As our photo illustrates, scrap is already available for all comers, including NASA's Surveyor 3, which touch down - a bit tilted - in April 1967. It was photographed two years later by Apollo 12 astronauts who removed components and returned them to Earth.

That said, “it’s not an immediate concern," said Fionagh Thomson, senior research fellow at Durham University, also quoted by the Daily Star.

[Photo: NASA] 

POLICE BLOTTER

Prosecutors filed felony drug charges against two men after police seized about 6,758 grams of fentanyl - the equivalent of 67,000 pills - as well as meth, heroin and cocaine in Adams County. 
In Denver, Ernest Cunningham, 53, was convicted of second-degree murder in the slaying of a woman on June 29, 2024. In Lakewood, police added a vehicular homicide charge against Andrew Logan Miller, 22, of Denver, in a collision with a school bus that injured more than a dozen people Dec. 6.

In Douglas County, Corbin Klein, 31, of Littleton, was sentenced to 12 years in prison for vandalizing a Pride display and attacking sheriff’s deputies with a knife, prosecutors said.
In Larimer County, Robert Braden Jacobs, 21, was sentenced to 14 years prison after pleading guilty to attempted second-degree murder and aggravated retaliation against a witness or victim in a series of shootings stemming from a domestic violence case, prosecutors said. In Thornton, a motorcyclist lost control of his bike, crashed and died early Tuesday on East 120th Avenue near Holly Street, police said.

FIREFIGHTERS LEAD HORSES TO WATER - AND THEY DRINK!

Firefighters delivered water to the horses, cows, donkeys and others at the non-profit Community Farm in Arvada after last week's blackouts cut power to the farm's water pumps, officials said.

"Our mission is to preserve life, property and the environment," the fire department said. "Of course, life doesn't mean just humans! We're happy to lend a helping hand for four-legged friends and animals of all kinds."

Engine 58 and Brush 58 answered the call - and the refuge "made it through the power outage and all their animals are doing well!" fire officials said.

[Photo: Arvada Fire Department]

FIRE AT HOMELESS CAMPSITE

Firefighters extinguished a blaze at a homeless campsite that billowed a "large amount of black smoke" at 3330 North Academy Boulevard in Colorado Springs, the fire department said. No injuries were reported in Tuesday's blaze. [Photo: Colorado Springs Fire Department]

ALCOHOL, TOBACCO AND FIREARMS FRAUDSTERS

The federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is alerting the public to a phone scam involving crooks claiming to be federal agents demanding funds.

"These scammers, using phone numbers appearing to originate from Martinsburg, West Virginia, are instructing victims to purchase Apple gift cards in amounts of $500 or $1,000 to 'clear a red flag' from their accounts," ATF said. "Victims are then asked to provide gift card numbers to the callers."

The ATF and FBI are hunting for the callers.

"The public is urged to exercise caution and avoid sharing personal or financial information with unsolicited callers," ATF says.

BUST 4 IN VIOLENT HILL-N-PARK HOME INVASION ROBBERY

Authorities arrested four suspects in a violent home invasion robbery in the Hill-N-Park section of Greeley. "Deputies responded to a burglary in-progress on North Shenandoah Street and learned from the two victims that three males and one female allegedly entered the victim’s home, assaulted them, and stole a television," the Weld County Sheriff's Office said. The crime occurred Friday afternoon. "Patrol deputies along with one detective worked relentlessly over the weekend and into yesterday afternoon," the sheriff's office said Tuesday. "The last suspect was identified and arrested last night."

WON'T SELL OUR NATIONAL PARKS

Saying that “selling national parks was never on the table,” Utah Senator Mike Lee is no longer proposing a change to federal legislation that drew heavy criticism from conservation groups, Colorado Newsline reported.

Lee, a Republican, had proposed removing part of a spending bill requiring that national park lands be maintained as federal land.

The Coalition to Protect America’s National Parks shot back, saying the move could “green-light the selling off, transferring and giving away of national parks.” 

[Photo: Official portrait]

SKI LIFT STALLS, 57 RESCUED

First responders rescued 57 people Monday from a stalled ski lift at the Powderhorn Resort in Mesa County, the sheriff's office said.

The emergency operation was conducted "over the span of about two hours" after a mechanical failure, the sheriff's office said.

No injuries were reported.

Powderhorn Ski Patrol and Mesa County Search & Rescue led the rescue.

SAVE LOST HIKERS TRAPPED ON MOUNT GARFIELD

Using drones equipped with thermal imaging cameras, searchers located two hikers lost in darkness and descending the summit of Mount Garfield - and guided them to safety, Mesa County Search & Rescue said.

The hikers were reported lost at 7:45 p.m. Sunday, officials said. Neither was injured. Searchers provided water.

The mountain overlooks the town of Palisade near Grand Junction.

[Photo: Mesa County Search & Rescue]

RESCUE TODDLER FROM STOLEN AUTO DITCHED IN AURORA ALLEY

Using advanced technology, Aurora police swiftly tracked down a stolen auto with a toddler napping inside, officials said Monday.

The child's mother had stepped away from the idling vehicle when it was snatched in Denver on Dec. 14.

"Leveraging license plate reader cameras, officers were able to track the vehicle traveling eastbound on Colfax shortly after the theft," officials said. "Officers quickly located the vehicle abandoned in an alley. The child was found safe and asleep in their car seat." The thief fled. The child is 14 months old. [Photo: Aurora Police Department]

COPS CHOP 'CHOP SHOP'

Freemont County deputies broke up a suspected auto "chop shop" ring and recovered several stolen vehicles as well as a boat on L Street in Penrose, the sheriff's office said Monday.

PULLED GUN ON COPS BEFORE HE WAS SHOT

A man shot by Northglenn police last week "pointed a firearm at officers" during a foot chase, it was disclosed for the first time Monday. "Certain details were not included in the initial release due to the early stages of the investigation," police said. The man is expected to survive Friday night's shooting near Northglenn Marketplace. [Photo: Northglenn Police Department]