A good friend and fellow taxi driver says Darren Bloomquist was an Air Force veteran who began moonlighting as a cabbie to make extra money for his family — and, in particular, for his wife, who’s disabled. A statement from Metro Taxi adds that Bloomquist “was personable, good humored and…
The Denver Police Department loves stupid criminal stories, and so do we. That explains why we’ve featured the DPD’s tales of moronic ne’er-do-wells on two previous occasions — our original post in January and a sequel in June. The latest posts, as shared on the department’s Facebook page, include stories about…
In August 2014, we told you about the arrest of Daniel Stetzel, who was accused of stabbing his mom, Kathleen Stetzel, with a screwdriver and then strangling her following an argument over cigarettes. Days later came a new revelation: Stetzel had escaped from a halfway house before the murder, but authorities…
Yesterday, Sydney White appeared in court on charges related to the death of Angel Place, an eleven-month-old who died in her care last year. According to police reports on view below, White told investigators that she accidentally dropped Angel, then shook her so violently one of her two biological kids…
As we noted in our coverage of the Colorado Springs Planned Parenthood attack, the alleged shooter, Robert Dear, reportedly shared apocalyptic rants on the Cannabis.com website approximately a decade ago and also posted a sex ad that noted his interest in marijuana use. But did pot use play a role…
In September, D’Andre Mayfield posted the photo above — a shot from a somber grave-site visit. Mere months later, Mayfield lost his life under violent circumstances — and services in his memory are scheduled to take place this week. Mayfield was shot and killed on November 23. Kenneth Banks, twenty,…
James “Caz” Bzdek, the man behind Dueling Pianos Road Show, has been a well-known figure on the entertainment scene in Denver and the region for years. Now, however, he’s getting the kind of publicity that can hardly be termed good for business. He and an associate, Bethany Concha, have been…
On Friday, November 27, a gunman identified as Robert Dear, 57, killed three people and injured an additional nine others during an attack at a Planned Parenthood branch in Colorado Springs. In the days since then, we’ve learned the identities of the three people who died at Dear’s hand: Garrett…
It’s no secret that President Barack Obama’s pledge to close the prison at Guantanamo Bay has been mired in political maneuvering and posturing of all sorts. What’s surprising, though, is the strange and vehement alliance that’s emerged in opposition to the long-contemplated move of remaining Gitmo detainees to American soil…
Time is running out for anyone interested in joining the largest-ever class of recruits for Denver Deputy Sheriff positions; applications close at 11:59 p.m. on Sunday. By early this week, more than 1,000 people had applied for 100 open positions – an unprecedented number of potential recruits, with whom the Denver…
It’s long been established that the United States incarcerates its citizens at a higher rate than any other country; roughly 716 people out of every 100,000 residents are behind bars in this country. But a new report from the Prison Policy Initiative highlights some less well-known but possibly more startling numbers…
Paris Belle Williams was born this past February and died in June. The following month, the little girl’s parents, Lossie Thomas and Patrick Williams, who’d moved to Avon from the Los Angeles area, were arrested on suspicion of numerous charges, including child abuse resulting in death. Now, the pair have…
Earlier this month, we shared selections from Metro Denver Crime Stoppers’ most wanted list, only to find out after publication that the roster hadn’t been updated for months— a discovery that has prompted multiple updates to our item. Fortunately, Colorado’s Most Wanted Sex Offenders list is hot off the cyber-press…
Yesterday, a homeless shelter called the Lawrence Street Community Center opened with a great deal of hoopla, including an appearance by Denver mayor Michael Hancock, after months of wrangling between the Denver Rescue Mission and the Ballpark Neighborhood Association. But less than 24 hours later, the attention shifted to another shelter…
When Uber first moved into the Denver-area market, local taxi companies implied that the service wasn’t as safe as traditional cabs. Since then, however, we’ve only reported about a couple of Uber-related crimes so far this year. One involved a driver as an alleged criminal; Gerald Montgomery was arrested on…
A family disturbance yesterday afternoon reportedly led to a SWAT team standoff followed by a gun battle. A man described by the Denver Police Department as a robbery suspect was killed in the exchange. Meanwhile, two Denver police officers have been placed of leave — standard procedure following a shooting. The…
A manhunt is underway for three-to-four robbers who executed a bank heist while wearing masks of the sort associated with the movie Scream, then allegedly took part in a carjacking and assault that resulted in two people being shot. As noted by Fox31, the robbery took place around 10:40 a.m…
This week, as highlighted in a moving story from the Charlotte Observer, Chancellor Lee Adams celebrated his sixteenth birthday. In most circumstances, such an achievement wouldn’t be headline news. But for Chancellor, the fact that he not only survived but is thriving despite living with the challenges of cerebral palsy…
If you missed the exclusive Barbara Walters sitdown with John Ramsey to discuss the 1996 murder of his six-year-old daughter JonBenet, don’t feel too bad. The program, part of a series entitled Barbara Walters Presents American Scandals, aired a couple of weeks ago in a particular corner of basic-cable hell…
In recent years, Michael Contreras has played guitar for a Fort Collins death-metal band called Make It Till Mourning. Now, he stands accused of having tried to cause the death of his own mother. And he’s said to have been bummed he didn’t succeed. Here’s a publicity photo of Make…
It seems absurd that a crime in which the guilty party received a sentence in excess of two centuries would receive no media coverage until after the conviction. But that appears to be the case with 33-year-old Jana Bergman, who was given a 208-year jolt for abusing an at-risk adult,…
The grief expressed by Tracy Fernow on Facebook after learning about the murder of 24-year-old Glendale resident Guled Abdullahi Ige is absolutely heartbreaking. The posts include this one: “THEY KILLED MY HUSBAND PLEASE GOD NO NO NO NO NO NO.” As for the identity of Ige’s killers, no suspects have been…
