The Fourth Shift for Dec. 6th
The feds get involved in the investigation after gunfire destroys power stations in North Carolina. The Club Q shooting suspect appears in court today. Denver ranks as one of the most sinful cities.
NATIONAL
NPR: The FBI and the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation are now working to find out who shoot up two electrical substations in Moore County. The attack over the weekend left thousands-of-people without power and created a local state of emergency. Investigators are calling the outage an intentional and targeted attack. The Moore County Sheriff’s Office is looking into reports on social media that the attack was an attempt to thwart a local drag show from taking place on Saturday evening. The group that organized the show said they had received a number of hateful comments, but nothing they would consider a threat.
WFLA: A Brevard County (FL) Sheriff’s deputy faces manslaughter charges after he shot and killed his fellow deputy and roommate. Records show 23-year-old Andrew Lawson “jokingly” pointed a gun at 23-year-old Austin Walsh, believing it was not loaded. One round was still in the chamber, and Walsh was fatally shot when Lawson pulled the trigger.
WFLA: Tampa Police Chief Mary O’Connor has resigned following an internal affairs investigation into a traffic stop. Last month, O'Connor and her husband were pulled over for driving in a golf cart without a license plate. Body cam video showed O’Connor giving the Pinellas County Sheriff’s deputy her badge, while asking him to let her go.
CBS News: The trial is underway for a former Fort Worth Police officer accused of fatally shooting a Black woman in her home in 2019. Twenty-eight-year-old Atatiana Jefferson was playing video games with nephew when Aaron Dean responded to a non-emergency call about an open front door at her home. Jefferson heard someone coming to her rear window and assumed it was a burglar. Dean saw Jefferson approaching with a gun, and shot her. Body cam video later showed Dean approach the front door, but then decide to walk around the side of the home and into the fenced-off backyard. Investigators say Dean never identified himself as police prior to shooting Jefferson.
COLORADO
LAKEWOOD
9News: Five people were taken to a hospital in Lakewood after a stolen Jeep struck an ambulance Sunday night. Police say officers attempted to pull the Jeep over when the driver sped off. Officers did not give chase, but the driver soon crashed into a West Metro Fire ambulance near West 14th and Reed, rolling the ambulance onto its side. The ambulance was not in service at the time. Two firefighters in the ambulance were evaluated at the hospital and released. Three people in the stolen Jeep were hospitalized with undisclosed injuries.
ENGLEWOOD
Fox31: An elementary school in Englewood closed Monday due to a threat made against students. Police say they discovered the threat against Charles Hay World School overnight, but would not give any other details. Security was increased at all Englewood Public Schools on Monday as a precaution.
CLUB Q SHOOTING
Gazette: The suspect in the Club Q shooting will make his first in-person court appearance this morning. Anderson Aldrich is accused of killing five people and injuring 17 others in a bias-motivated attack against the LGBTQ nightclub. Two of the club’s patrons tackled and beat Aldrich, likely preventing more deaths. Prosecutors filed ten charges against the suspect related to the Nov. 19 attack, but are expected to file more charges in court. Aldrich’s defense counsel may request a competency evaluation to determine whether he can stand trial.
LEGISLATURE
Denver7: State lawmakers are previewing possible changes to Colorado’s red flag law after the Club Q shooting. Democratic State Representative Meg Froelich says physicians and district attorneys should be allowed to petition the court for an extreme risk protection order. Currently, only family members and law enforcement officials can ask for an ERPO. The suspect in the Club Q shooting had a prior arrest in 2021, but law enforcement did not attempt to take away his firearms following that incident. It’s unknown whether an ERPO could have prevented the suspect from acquiring a firearm prior to the tragedy.
BOULDER
Daily Camera: Boulder Police arrested a man they say assaulted an officer Monday morning. Officers were called to an area near 47th and Pearl on a domestic violence case. When police arrived, they found the DV suspect was with another man who had an active warrant. That man punched an officer in the head before running. Authorities later caught the suspect. The officer who was attacked is being evaluated for a possible concussion.
DENVER
CBS4: Law enforcement is ramping up its presence in Downtown Denver. The Denver Police Department, RTD, and the Downtown Denver Partnership say they are increasing the number of officers and enhancing security features for the holiday shopping season. Mayor Michael Hancock says the lack of visitors to the downtown area is due to a number of factors, including elevated crime rates, and a number of non-retail businesses abandoning their office spaces following the pandemic.
GREENWOOD VILLAGE
9News: The man who barricaded himself for hours in a Greenwood Village hotel last week is a suspect in at least five bank robberies. Police say 29-year-old Jonathan Bell robbed the Key Bank near Arapahoe and Clinton last Thursday before leading them on a chase and shootout that ended in a standoff. Records show Bell is connected to similar robberies in Aurora and Denver over the last six months.
LA PLATA COUNTY
KKTV: A man from the Southwest Colorado town of Ignacio faces murder charges in a pregnant woman’s death from over the weekend. CBI investigators say 34-year-old Luis Raul Valenzuela killed 28-year-old Nikki Burch-Woodhull. Law enforcement located the victim’s body near State Highway 550 and County Road 310, south of Durango. Investigators say the suspect and victim knew each other, but have not disclosed a motive.
JEFFERSON COUNTY
Denver7: Jefferson County Sheriff’s deputies arrested a man who they believe broke into at least six businesses in Kittredge. Deputies caught up with 38-year-old Titus Emilyon late Friday night. Investigators say the suspect smashed through glass doors of businesses with a stolen car to get to cash registers near the entrances.
EYE ON THE NEWS
News radio in Denver has a new sound. Jeana Gondek is joining Marty Lenz as co-host of Colorado’s Morning News on KOA 850 AM, 94.1 FM. Gondek comes to Denver from Jacksonville and has previous experience in Kalamazoo and Grand Rapids. She will fill the shoes of the legendary (yes, I’m biased) April Zesbaugh, who retired back in May after spending 26 years with KOA. Fun story: April found out she got the job at KOA while she was on her honeymoon. 🎙️📡📻
AND FINALLY…
WalletHub: Denver is ranked number-seven among the most sinful cities in the U.S. WalletHub compiled the rankings across 38 metrics related to the seven deadly sins (anger, envy, gluttony, greed, lust, pride, sloth). According to the rankings, Denver’s “favorite sin” is lust, which is calculated by the number of adult entertainment establishments, erotic/burlesque events, Google search interest index for “XXX entertainment”, and Google search traffic for the term “Tinder.” No shocker, Las Vegas is the most sinful city in the U.S. It ain’t called Sin City for nothing. 🤷😈
Editor’s note: this edition of the newsletter was completed before 9 p.m. Monday.