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Crime and Penal Reform Archives

February 29, 2008

The Pueblo Chieftain Online - Prisons high on state funding priority list

http://pueblochieftain.com/metro/1204297679/3...
State prisons in Las Animas, Pueblo and Fremont counties will see 280 more jobs and 173 more inmate beds if the Colorado Legislature goes along with a construction priority list approved on Thursday. The list of major state construction projects that the Capital Development Committee forwards to the Joint Budget Committee each year includes adding more beds to the Fort Lyon Correctional Facility, but losing bed space at two other facilities in the region. The prison changes were an addition to other Southern Colorado projects that also were included on the list.
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Top Stories: | report, states, percent : Gazette.com

http://www.gazette.com/articles/report_33654___article.html/states_percent.html...
The report said prison growth and higher incarceration rates do not reflect an increase in the nation’s overall population. Instead, it said, more people are behind bars mainly because of tough sentencing measures, such as three-strikes laws, that result in longer prison stays. “For some groups, the incarceration numbers are especially startling,” the report said. “While one in 30 men between the ages of 20 and 34 is behind bars, for black males in that age group the figure is one in nine.” The racial disparity for women also is stark. One of every 355 white women age 35 to 39 is behind bars, compared with one of every 100 black women in that age group. The nationwide figures, as of Jan. 1, include 1,596,127 people in state and federal prisons and 723,131 in local jails. That’s out of almost 230 million U.S. adults. The report said the U.S. incarcerates more people than any other nation, far ahead of more populous China with 1.5 million people behind bars. It said the U.S. also is the leader in inmates per capita (750 per 100,000 people), ahead of Russia (628 per 100,000) and other former Soviet bloc nations that round out the Top 10. The U.S. also is among the leaders in capital punishment. Amnesty International says its 53 executions in 2006 were exceeded only by China, Iran, Pakistan, Iraq and Sudan.
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Colorado near top in prison spending : Updates : The Rocky Mountain News

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/feb/28/colorado-near-top-prison-spend...
Colorado spends a higher percentage of its state budget on prisons than all but three states, according to a new study by the Pew Center on the States. The study found that 8.8% of Colorado's general fund was spent on corrections in 2007. Only Oregon, Florida and Vermont had higher percentages, the study found. Colorado spent $599 million on corrections last year and had a prison population of 22,841 as of Jan. 1, 2008, the study said. The national average was 6.8%. In addition, the study found that for every dollar Colorado spent on higher education, the state spent 78 cents on prisons. That ranked as the 11th highest rate in the U.S., the study said.
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Death-penalty pursuit puts DA under fire - The Denver Post

http://www.denverpost.com/newsheadlines/ci_8400186...
District Attorney Carol Chambers has billed the state for more than $200,000 in her quest to convict and put to death two inmates who are charged with killing another inmate four years ago. Westword reported Thursday that Chambers asked the Colorado Department of Corrections for $204,000 for work last year in the prosecutions of David Bueno and Alejandro Perez. Both have been charged with first-degree murder in the death of Jeffrey Heird at the Limon Correctional Facility in Lincoln County in 2004. Chambers is the DA for Arapahoe, Lincoln, Douglas and Elbert counties. Under Colorado law, counties can be reimbursed by the DOC to prosecute crimes committed in state prisons. Chambers was in meetings Thursday, said her spokeswoman, Kathleen Walsh, and could not be reached for comment. But Walsh said the DA's office has "charged the proper amount" in the prosecution of Bueno and Perez. She said she could not go into specifics because the cases are ongoing.
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The Coloradoan - Detention center violence slightly up; gang members eyed as possible cause

http://coloradoan.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080229/NEWS01/802290325/1002/...
Violence between inmates at the Larimer County Detention Center ticked up slightly last year, a rise that jail managers attribute in part to gang confrontations. Jail statistics show 63 reports of inmate-on-inmate violence last year, compared to 57 in 2006. That's a 10.5 percent increase.
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Glenwood Springs Post Independent - Garfield County Sheriff’s Office asks for support

http://www.postindependent.com/article/20080229/VALLEYNEWS/72327527...
The Garfield County Sheriff’s Office is encouraging participation in the County Sheriffs of Colorado’s Honorary Membership Program. In a news release, Sheriff Lou Vallario wrote, “As Sheriff of Garfield County, I would like to discuss an issue very close to each of us — crime prevention. My office is committed to making our neighborhoods safer places to live. By doing so, we will improve the quality of life for individuals and families … both young and old, it is imperative that we seek programs to reduce the negative influences that crime has on our children and to help safeguard the elderly. “In the past year, this office has worked extremely hard to make significant improvements in our county. Through community-based programs and an emphasis on professionalism, we hope to reduce the number of gun-related crimes, thefts, incidents of domestic violence and other disturbances.” The statement outlines a list of plans including: providing officers with the resources to improve preparedness and response capabilities, notifying victims and keeping citizens informed, promoting the importance of neighborhood watch programs, continuing specialized training and crime prevention measures, protecting senior citizens from acts of violence, neglect and fraud, increasing drug awareness, developing opportunities for law enforcement to work more closely with shelters and organizations to provide counseling and support, integrating rehabilitation programs to help criminals become productive members of society and implementing activities to redirect kids from illegal activity.
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Nelson: Hoped to protect victim - The Denver Post

http://www.denverpost.com/newsheadlines/ci_8400188...
Shawna Nelson tried to explain Thursday why witnesses and a good portion of physical evidence pointed to her as the one who shot Heather Garraus execution-style in January 2007. At the end of her nearly three hours of testimony, she denied plotting to kill Garraus, who was married to her lover, then-Greeley police Officer Ignacio Garraus. "Did you shoot her?" asked her lawyer, Kevin Strobel. "No, I didn't," Nelson said. Closing arguments in the first-degree-murder case are expected today. Nelson testified she wanted to protect Heather Garraus and told her in a telephone conversation in 2004 that she was not having an affair with her husband. "I told her I loved her and I would never get between her and Ig," Nelson said. But she lied to Heather Garraus then, Nelson said, adding that her conversation happened about a month after she told Ignacio she was pregnant with their child.
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The Coloradoan - Nelson takes stand, denies she killed ex-lover's wife

http://coloradoan.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080229/NEWS01/802290327/1002/...
Accused murderer Shawna Nelson calmly refuted the charges against her Thursday, saying she was at a liquor store when her ex-lover's wife was gunned down last year and that she had never worn shoes found near the scene that contained her DNA.
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Shawna Nelson told husband she blacked out | News | The Tribune

http://greeleytribune.com/article/20080229/NEWS/883340622...
In a phone call Shawna Nelson made to her husband from Weld County Jail, she often blacked out, and that she had no memory of what happened the night Heather Garraus was shot except that she woke up in front of College Green Liquors. “I don’t know Ken, I mean I don’t remember anything,” Nelson told her husband, Ken Nelson.
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Shawna Nelson's testimony contradicts that of husband, best friend | News | The Tribune

http://greeleytribune.com/article/20080229/NEWS/892060593...
Moments after the prosecution rested its case of first-degree murder against Shawna Nelson, she took the stand in her own defense. Three times Nelson said she did not shoot, or have anything to do with the shooting, of Heather Garraus. Nelson faces life in prison for the execution-style shooting of Garraus on Jan. 23, 2007. Nelson had an affair with Garraus' husband, Ignacio Garraus, and gave birth to his son. Defense attorney Kevin Strobel led Nelson step-by-step through her affair with Ignacio Garraus, her relationship with Michelle Moore and her communications with Garraus; many of her accounts conflicted with prior testimony this week.
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35-year-old murder case to go to trial - The Denver Post

http://www.denverpost.com/newsheadlines/ci_8401411...
A 35-year-old murder case will go to trial in Arapahoe County after a judge denied a request Wednesday to dismiss the case. Arapahoe County District Judge Valeria Spencer ruled there is sufficient evidence still available to try Duane Frye, now 82, for the murder of his wife, Elizabeth Frye, on June 9, 1973. Frye, who is in failing health, will be arraigned next month. The case, which involves a number of prominent players in Denver's legal community, was the subject of a popular book, Quiet Time, written in 2004 by Stephanie Shaffer Kane, who was engaged to the Fryes' son, Douglas, at the time of the murder and is now married to U.S. District Senior Judge John Kane.
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February 28, 2008

Grand Junction Sentinel - Felony DUI bill clears its first hurdle

http://www.gjsentinel.com/news/content/news/stories/2008/02/27/022808_7b_DUI_bil...
A Grand Junction lawmaker’s bill to create a felony drunken-driving charge cleared its first hurdle Wednesday afternoon, but only after it was significantly altered to lower its price tag. Republican Rep. Steve King’s amended proposal, House Bill 1313, would make drivers convicted of certain crimes after July 1 eligible for a felony driving under the influence charge.
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House OKs security funding for Capitol - The Denver Post

http://www.denverpost.com/newsheadlines/ci_8387620...
The House on Wednesday approved funding for metal detectors and additional security at the Capitol despite some lawmakers' objections that it was a waste of money. Criticism of the security measures crossed party lines and came just a day after a man was arrested after he walked onto the House floor uninvited and shouted at lawmakers. The unarmed man, later arrested after a scuffle with state troopers, said he wanted to address lawmakers. Metal detectors and more state troopers were added to the Capitol in September after an incident in July in which a trooper shot and killed an armed, deranged man inside the building.
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The Pueblo Chieftain Online - House passes bill to beef up security in state Capitol

http://pueblochieftain.com/metro/1204213176/2...
The Colorado Capitol is a state structure that should be left wide-open to the public, some lawmakers said Wednesday. But considering today's troubled times, and the public's general acceptance of at least basic security measures, metal detectors should continue to be used in the historic structure, other legislators countered. The opposing sides emerged during debate over whether the state should spend an additional $490,000 to beef up security at the Capitol as a result of last summer's fatal shooting of a mentally ill man who threatened Gov. Bill Ritter.
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The Coloradoan - DA wades through cases for DNA review

http://coloradoan.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080228/NEWS01/802280381/1002/...
Larimer County prosecutors are wading through a list of more than 1,000 convicts as they consider which cases to review - and who might ultimately go free - in light of advanced DNA testing. District Attorney Larry Abrahamson announced the plan to review cases after a judge freed Timothy Masters from his life sentence on Jan. 22. The judge said new DNA evidence pointed toward a new suspect in the 1987 Peggy Hettrick murder and vacated Masters' conviction after Masters had served nearly nine years in prison.
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Durango Herald Online - House OKs security spending

http://durangoherald.com/asp-bin/article_generation.asp?article_type=news&articl...
A day after an apparently deranged man barged into the House of Representatives, state lawmakers debated the expense of metal detectors at the Capitol. A number of lawmakers decried the new security measures at "the people's house," which had no metal detectors until last fall, when a tuxedo-clad man was shot by a state trooper outside the governor's office after he displayed a gun and declared himself emperor of Colorado.
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Grand Junction Sentinel - Judge says 10 illegally held in jail

http://www.gjsentinel.com/news/content/news/stories/2008/02/28/022808_1a_communi...
Mesa County’s top judge said last week his confidence in the county’s Criminal Justice Services Department has been “significantly eroded” after an investigation revealed some defendants were being held illegally in Mesa County Jail. The county could face a federal investigation, and the district’s judges may refuse to sentence defendants to the community corrections program if the issue continues, 21st Judicial District Chief Judge David Bottger wrote in a letter dated Feb. 20. As of Feb. 15, 10 defendants were in custody illegally and had been held for between six days and more than five months, according to Bottger’s own investigation. All defendants had been sentenced to community corrections and were placed either on day-reporting or nonresidential status as they were awaiting a bed at the facility. Bottger said the defendants were sent back to jail for alleged violations, but they were held without bond and without a judge determining whether the arrest was legitimate.
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Prosecution trace gun's trail in Shawna Nelson murder trial | News | The Tribune

http://greeleytribune.com/article/20080228/NEWS/574305886...
Prosecutors in Shawna Nelson's murder trial on Wednesday introduced evidence indicating that she used her husband's gun to shoot her romantic rival, Heather Garraus. Witnesses spent the remainder of the day describing Nelson's hatred for Garraus and her love for Ignacio Garraus. Alan Hammond of the Aurora police department's Colorado Bureau of Investigations' forensics lab, said two shell casings recovered from the crime scene where Heather Garraus was killed matched Nelson's husband's .40-caliber Glock model 22. Ken Nelson is a former Weld County Sheriff's deputy. Police have accused him of removing the gun from the truck his wife was driving before she was arrested.
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The Coloradoan - Prosecution slated to wrap up today in Nelson case

http://coloradoan.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080228/NEWS01/802280382/1002/...
Weld County District Court Judge Roger Klein sent jurors home early Wednesday so defense attorneys and prosecutors could reconcile some issues with exhibits prosecutors plan to present today. Larimer County prosecutor Greg Lammons said the prosecution has four witnesses remaining to testify, and the prosecution should conclude today.
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Nelson called jealous woman - The Denver Post

http://www.denverpost.com/newsheadlines/ci_8386609...
Any woman who got between Shawna Nelson and her married lover felt Nelson's wrath, including murder victim Heather Garraus, according to testimony Wednesday. Nelson is being tried on a charge of first-degree murder after Garraus was shot execution-style in front of her Greeley office on Jan. 23, 2007. Nelson carried on a three-year affair with Greeley police officer Ignacio Garraus. Prosecution witnesses Wednesday told jurors Nelson despised Heather Garraus and saw her as an obstacle to a life with Ignacio and the child they conceived. Many were co-workers of Nelson, who once worked as a Greeley police dispatcher. Former dispatcher Jennifer Morrison said Nelson called Heather Garraus "fat," a "hag" and "disgusting." Nelson also took out her frustration with Garraus by pretending to shoot her at a target range, Morrison said.
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The Longmont Times-Call - Inmate pods

http://www.timescall.com/News_Story.asp?id=6862...
The Weld County Jail was built to hold 405 inmates. It routinely averages 500. Officials hope a new $17 million wing will alleviate overcrowding at the jail when it’s ready for occupancy in March. “The objective and goal in building the new wing is to bring the numbers back down to capacity,” said Sterling Geesaman, Weld County Sheriff’s Office bureau chief. The four-year project adds 86,000 square feet to the jail and bring its capacity to 779 inmates.
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News : Guarding against crime (Montrose, CO)

http://montrosepress.com/articles/2008/02/28/news/doc47c6312e31b11250416400.txt...
Residents of a local subdivision are working to reduce crime in a way that focuses on individual homes — the crime-free lifestyles program. Fox Meadows is the first neighborhood in Montrose to begin implementing techniques developed by the International Crime Free Association to reduce the potential for residential crimes such as burglary and vandalism. "In the last three to four years, we've started to witness significant increase in crime," resident Ken Holyfield said Wednesday. Holyfield is also a member of the Fox Meadows homeowners association. He's lived in the subdivision for seven years.
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The Coloradoan - Jail's food managers committed to improvements following possible mass food poisoning

http://coloradoan.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080228/NEWS01/802280366/1002/...
Laurie Stolen is proud of the work that goes into preparing and serving an estimated 14,000 nutritious meals weekly, even though her diners don't really have much choice in their dining options. Stolen, inmate services director at the Larimer County Detention Center, oversees the jail's kitchen staff, a mix of employees from contractor Aramark and nearly 50 "trustee" inmates.
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The Pueblo Chieftain Online - Federal inmate convicted of ‘waxing’ guard

http://pueblochieftain.com/metro/1204213176/18...
A Florence inmate who allegedly planned to throw hot wax on a congressman visiting a prison was convicted Tuesday of assaulting a guard by throwing the wax on him instead. Chief U.S. District Judge Edward Nottingham said the inmate, Jay Vaughan Gregory, made "a strongly implied threat" in his closing arguments in a two-day trial. Nottingham ordered that Gregory's copy of the jurors' names be turned back to court staff "before you have any opportunity to copy" them. A person familiar with the case said Gregory, 51, is a member of the Aryan Brotherhood, a violent gang that operates in numerous prisons. Another person who attended the trial and had official knowledge of it said Gregory, in his closing argument, said, "We die with swords in our hands and not with chains on our ankles and we will hold each and everyone responsible for the actions that occurred in the courtroom."
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February 27, 2008

Study finds pluses, issues in Aurora's police department - The Denver Post

http://www.denverpost.com/newsheadlines/ci_8372655...
Aurora's Police Department is efficient, well-managed and has minimal complaints from the public, a study has found. The California-based Matrix Consulting Group found that the department also does well with community policing and in how it clears cases compared with the national average. "I think this is a ringing affirmation on how we deploy our patrol officers," Police Chief Dan Oates said. The group did find several areas for improvement, including speeding up the time officers spend in processing prisoners and better tracking of response times to crimes.
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Unregistered sex offenders arrested : Local News : The Rocky Mountain News

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/feb/26/unregistered-sex-offenders-arr...
Two Colorado men are in custody for an indictment and conviction in federal court for failing to register as sex offenders. Dominic Eugene Hughes, age 32, of Weld County, was indicted Feb. 12. He will be arraigned tomorrow. Hughes was convicted in 1999 of two counts of sexual assault on a child in El Paso and Teller counties.
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The Coloradoan - Nelson's best friend deals, then testifies

http://coloradoan.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080227/NEWS01/802270314/1002/...
Shawna Nelson's husband and best friend got deals from prosecutors and then spent most of Tuesday testifying against Nelson in her first-degree murder trial. Nelson, a former police and sheriff's dispatcher, is accused of gunning down her lover's wife outside a Greeley credit union Jan. 23, 2007. Nelson faces first-degree murder charges for the death of Heather Garraus and could face life in prison without parole if convicted.
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Shawna Nelson's friend delivers tale of vengeance | News | The Tribune

http://greeleytribune.com/article/20080227/NEWS/798473125...
More drama unfolded Tuesday in the Shawna Nelson murder trial when a former friend testified against her, describing Nelson's hatred and desire to shoot Heather Garraus. Garraus was shot and killed Jan. 23, 2007, and Nelson has been charged with first-degree murder. Michelle Moore, Nelson's best friend at the time of the shooting, accepted a deal Tuesday morning, pleading guilty to accessory to a crime, in return for testifying against her friend. The deal shaves nearly 40 years off of a possible sentence Moore faces for the felony, in which she was initially charged with helping Nelson plan the murder. In this sixth day of trial, prosecutors led Moore, 27, a former sheriff's deputy, through a number of conversations she and Nelson had leading up to the shooting, including events on the day before the shooting. Moore, who defined her relationship with Nelson as "sisterly love," said Nelson was in love with Ignacio Garraus, with whom she was having an affair, and that she hated his wife, Heather Garraus. Moore said Nelson often referred to Heather Garraus as a hag.
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News : Science can help stop meth (Montrose, CO)

http://montrosepress.com/articles/2008/02/27/news/doc47c4e1d20bda4637445041.txt...
Montrose County needs more data and money to stop meth in its tracks, the public learned Monday. But some of the existing data presented by the Montrose Meth Coalition during a community dialogue program was enough to surprise attendees. Gasps filled the county commissioners’ room when Montrose Police Sgt. Paul Eller said 60 percent of felony cases between 2003 and 2007 were related to methamphetamine. According to Eller, the stats were worse for Delta County, at 75 percent, and in Mesa County, at 92 percent. Solid data as to how, specifically, meth impacts various segments of the Montrose community is being actively sought, Eller said. The Montrose Meth Coalition, which formed last year as a countywide action committee, will soon send out business and residential surveys. “We want to use science-based practices to ensure we’re doing things that work, that we’re not going to reinvent the wheel,” he said.
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Capitol security stops raving man : Local News : The Rocky Mountain News

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/feb/26/capitol-security-stops-raving-...
State troopers hauled a disruptive man out of the state Capitol this afternoon after he tried to enter a restricted area. The unidentified man, who tried to storm down the center aisle of the House floor, where the public is not normally permitted to go, was yelling as he was led out of the building. "Got to take action ... each and every one of us," the man said. "If we love ourselves, we'll stand up for our families." Members of the public are allowed to sit in the gallery but can only enter the House floor as guests of a lawmaker. Last July, an armed man was shot and killed outside the governor's office.
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Keeping a pig brings 24-year sentence - The Denver Post

http://www.denverpost.com/newsheadlines/ci_8372658...
A Grand Junction man is being ordered to spend 24 years in prison for possessing a bronze pig statue taken from the city's Main Street. Daniel Vigil, 42, learned his sentence Monday in Mesa County District Court. A jury convicted Vigil in January on one felony count of theft by receiving. The pig statue was found in a stolen truck in which Vigil was living last April. The bronze art work, titled "Sir," was at the corner of Sixth and Main streets in Grand Junction as part of the Art on the Corner public art project. Mesa County District Judge Valerie Robison said the conviction was Vigil's fourth on felony charges, and she declared him a habitual offender.
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The Coloradoan - Health officials investigate jail illness

http://coloradoan.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080227/NEWS01/802270318/1002/...
County health officials spent Tuesday evening at the Larimer County Detention Center investigating a possible weekend food poisoning that sickened 40 to 50 inmates. Investigators also are testing samples from the inmates, most of whom have recovered from their 24-hour gastrointestinal illness, said Larimer County health department spokeswoman Jane Viste.
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Extra!, February 27 : Local News : The Rocky Mountain News

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/feb/27/extra-february-27/...
Colorado residents Jack Adler, Eric Cahn and Andre Mark will share their experiences as Holocaust survivors during Colorado State University's 12th Annual Holocaust Awareness Week Survivors Panel. "All of the survivors on our panel represent stories of strength and persistence," said Molly Zwerdlinger, president of Students for Holocaust Awareness Week.
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Trooper given Medal of Valor : Local News : The Rocky Mountain News

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/feb/27/trooper-given-medal-of-valor/...
The state trooper who shot and killed an armed gunman at the State Capitol last summer today received the State Patrol Medal of Valor, its highest award. Trooper Jay Hemphill became the 41st trooper to receive the honor. "We will never know what would have happened had it not been for Trooper Hemphill that day," said Col. Mark Trostel, chief of the Colorado State Patrol.
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February 26, 2008

Grand Junction Sentinel - King says cost puts felony DUI bill on different course

http://www.gjsentinel.com/news/content/news/stories/2008/02/25/022608_5A_King_bi...
Republican Grand Junction Rep. Steve King said Monday he plans to substantially rewrite and weaken his proposal to make certain drunken drivers eligible for felony charges. King said that since legislative staff reported his measure, House Bill 1313, would cost Colorado nearly $13.9 million in its first year, he has worked feverishly to reduce its price tag. With no funding sources apparent, King said he will be forced to present the House Judiciary Committee a different version of his own bill. King said under his revised bill, prosecutors could only charge offenders with a felony DUI charge based on crimes they commit after July 1.
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Detective testifies in Nelson trial - The Denver Post

http://www.denverpost.com/newsheadlines/ci_8359780...
In a videotaped interview with a police investigator, Shawna Nelson repeatedly said she was confused over allegations she shot and killed Heather Garraus execution-style at a credit union in a strip mall in Greeley on Jan. 23, 2007. "I don't know, Greg I don't know," Nelson told Greeley Police Detective Greg Tharp during a half-hour video shown to jurors this morning. Nelson faces a first-degree-murder charge in connection with the death of Garraus, who was married to Nelson's lover, Greeley Police Officer Ignacio Garraus.
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Jurors get candid look at Shawna Nelson | News | The Tribune

http://greeleytribune.com/article/20080226/NEWS/435332443...
Jurors got their first candid look at Shawna Nelson on Monday morning as prosecutors played a video tape of Nelson being interviewed by police following her initial arrest on suspicion of murder. In the video, Nelson appears confused and visibly upset as she asks Greeley Police Detective Greg Tharp what's going on. Tharp led Nelson through her entire day. Nelson said she had spent the day caring for her children before driving to the liquor store where she found she had forgotten her purse. On the way back, her husband, Ken Nelson, pulled her over and she was later taken into custody. When pressed by Tharp for more information saying, "This isn't you," Nelson stood by her story. "I don't get it. I don't know, Greg," said Nelson on the tape. "I don't know, I mean that was my day."
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No room for the women : Local News : The Rocky Mountain News

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/feb/26/no-room-for-the-women/...
The Denver Justice Center under constructionwon't have enough cells for women,who will be bused to county jail. The new justice center rising from the ground in downtown Denver will not have enough jail beds for women, critics say. Under current plans, women, who make up 10 percent of the inmate population but as a group are growing in numbers faster than men, will be held in the new facility briefly and bused to the county jail on Smith Road in north Denver for most of their time in lockup. "We're disappointed women won't be able to have extended stays at the new facility," said Carol Lease, executive director of The Empowerment Program, a nonprofit organization that provides access to counseling, education, job and housing referrals to incarcerated women. Jail officials, however, say they planned it this way so women inmates would have access to programs at the Smith Road jail that can help them avoid repeat offenses that will land them back in jail. Still, some activists say women should have the same access to the new jail facility as men.
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Probate lawyer's disbarment upheld by state high court : Local News : The Rocky Mountain News

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/feb/25/probate-lawyers-disbarment-uph...
Denver probate lawyer Susan Haines has lost her license to practice for taking $70,000 from a client's estate and then lying under oath about it. In a decision issued Monday, the Colorado Supreme Court upheld Haines' disbarment and ordered her to pay back $65,000. "Haines by deceit and fraud seized the opportunity to pay herself a large amount of money without her client's authorization," the court ruled. The court said it agreed with a hearing board finding that "Haines engaged in a course of conduct that constituted knowing misappropriation of estate funds and lied under oath in the hearing board's proceeding." Haines was among several attorneys representing the estate of Dorothy Edouart in 2002 when a $200,000 settlement came in from litigation handled by another lawyer in Florida.
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The Coloradoan - Personal connection evident during police interrogation of Nelson

http://coloradoan.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080226/NEWS01/802260326/1002/...
Shawna Nelson asked the lead investigator into Heather Garraus' shooting death to hold her hand during her interview at Greeley police headquarters. She also asked Greeley police investigator Greg Tharp for a hug at the end of the interview, which ended when Nelson asked for an attorney. Jurors in Nelson's first-degree murder trial watched a video of the 40-minute interview Monday morning. Nelson is charged in connection with the execution-style killing of Heather Garraus on Jan. 23, 2007, as she left the Greeley credit union where she worked. Prosecutors allege that Nelson, who had a three-year affair with Garraus' husband that produced a child, saw Garraus as the obstacle keeping Nelson from living as a happy family with Ignacio Garraus and their child.
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Grand Junction Sentinel - Sheriff wants funds to fight repeat offenses

http://www.gjsentinel.com/news/content/news/stories/2008/02/25/022608_1a_offende...
A handful of frequent flyers in the Mesa County Jail — specifically 15 offenders who have visited the jail a total of 141 times over the past two years — have prompted Sheriff’s Department officials to seek more money to cut down on the number of repeat offenders draining funds from the county’s inmate transition program. Lt. Donna Dougherty said the department is seeking a second year’s worth of grant funds to continue its efforts to connect inmates with social services and area nonprofits, applying for a new federal grant totaling $98,443. “It’s about making those connections for them,” Dougherty said. She said many of the low-level offenders who frequent the Mesa County Jail often keep coming back because they have nowhere else to go or nowhere to live.
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Grand Junction Sentinel - Habitual offender gets 24-year sentence

http://www.gjsentinel.com/news/content/news/stories/2008/02/25/022608_6A_Vigil_s...
A Grand Junction man suing the county for $50 million was sentenced Monday to 24 years in prison on a separate case of being in possession of a stolen bronze pig statue and for being a habitual offender. Daniel Vigil, 42, was found guilty by a jury in late January on a single felony charge of theft by receiving. A bronze pig statue that had been displayed on Main Street in Grand Junction was found in the camper of a stolen truck that Vigil was living in on April 23. But Mesa County District Judge Valerie Robison ruled Monday that Vigil’s latest conviction marks his fourth felony adult conviction, making him a habitual offender. Sentences for habitual offenders are four times the amount of prison time, so Vigil’s six-year sentence was multiplied to 24.
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The Coloradoan - County investigates reports of jail food poisonings

http://coloradoan.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080226/NEWS01/802260327/1002/...
County health officials are investigating reports that multiple inmates at the Larimer County Detention Center fell ill during the weekend after eating a chili dinner. A number of inmates serving work-release or weekend sentences - estimates range from a handful to 30 - reported getting sick. "There's a group that got sick, all out of the same area," detention center administrator Maj. James Wacker said. "The same chili got served elsewhere and no one else got sick." Wacker said the detention center is committed to making sure inmates get healthy food and is working with county health officials to ensure all food-handling procedures are properly followed. Wacker added the detention center "did very well" in a recent county food health inspection. County health officials confirmed the most recent inspection, on Feb. 7, went "fine" and said they're checking into concerns about the inmate illnesses. Wacker said a similar situation at a facility in Pueblo a few months ago was traced to a stomach bug, not the food.
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February 25, 2008

Judge makes lawyers pay for frivolity - The Denver Post

http://www.denverpost.com/newsheadlines/ci_8354619...
A federal judge recently got so infuriated by the conduct of two highly regarded trial attorneys that he overturned a jury's $51 million verdict, then ordered the lawyers to pay the fees and costs of the opposing lawyers, a sum that could total several million dollars. U.S. District Senior Judge Richard P. Matsch sanctioned attorneys Terrance McMahon and Vera Elson of the firm McDermott, Will and Emery, of Chicago and San Francisco, for "cavalier and abusive" misconduct and for having a "what can I get away with?" attitude during a 13-day patent infringement trial in Denver. He ruled that the entire trial was "frivolous" and the case filed solely to stifle competition rather than to protect a patent. Neither McMahon nor Elson returned phone calls. But their firm defended them by stating it "believes in vigorous and ethical advocacy on behalf of our clients. While we respect Judge Matsch, we disagree with the conclusions of the opinion and believe that it will be reversed on appeal." The U.S. 10th Circuit Court of Appeals saw it differently and affirmed Matsch's decision to overturn the verdict. News of Matsch's ruling swept through the legal community.
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Sordid details emerge as Ignacio Garraus testifies in the Shawna Nelson trial | News | The Tribune

http://greeleytribune.com/article/20080223/NEWS/29656968...
Ignacio Garraus compared his affair with Shawna Nelson to being "held hostage." "That (affair) was her leverage on me," said Garraus, who testified in court Friday. During more than three hours of testimony, Garraus recounted his affair with Nelson, whom prosecutors contend shot his wife Heather Garraus twice in the head in January 2007 in Greeley. Asked by prosecutors if he killed his wife, or hired someone to kill his wife, Garraus fired back with a point-blank, "No." More sordid details surrounding the shooting of Garraus came to light Friday as Ignacio Garraus described his relationship with his wife and Nelson. Garraus' and Nelson's now 22-month old son was not the first child that came from their affair.
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Grand Junction Sentinel - 'We ain't violent'

http://www.gjsentinel.com/news/content/news/stories/2008/02/24/022508_1a_HP_boys...
Some local teenagers are tired of being profiled as gang members after a name they started got out of their hands.
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The Coloradoan - Timnath to start police force

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Timnath is ready to take the law into its own hands. Town officials plan to hire a police chief by late spring to put together a police department by year end. In addition to administrative duties, the chief will be expected to "work the streets" and become a highly visible part of the community, said Mayor Donna Benson. For years, Timnath has contracted for law enforcement coverage with the Larimer County Sheriff's Office. But as the town adds homes and businesses, it needs a police force that's close to home, Benson said.
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