The Fourth Shift for Nov. 15th
Two mass killings at two universities are under investigation. Aurora may have a new interim police chief. Another Colorado city is setting up license plate reading cameras.
ACSO IN THE NEWS
Denver7: KMGH covered the federal sentencing of former ACSO deputy Christopher Haenel for child pornography charges. Haenel will spend 41 months in prison followed by five months of supervised release. The station mentioned he is a “retired” deputy from Wyoming. No statements from ACSO were part of the web article.
SHOOTING INVESTIGATIONS
Both CBS4 and Fox31 have web stories up about the shooting investigations on Krameria Street and Pontiac Street. No other information was released aside from what was given in our news release. All local outlets did tweet/retweet about it.
NATIONAL
ABC News: Police in Charlottesville, VA arrested a man wanted for killing three football players at the University of Virginia. Officers say Christopher Jones Jr. was a former UVa football player. According to university officials, the shooting took place on a bus that was transporting students from a field trip in Washington, D.C. Jones allegedly shot five people in a parking garage before leading police on a manhunt. The two other victims remain in the hospital with serious injuries.
KREM: Four students were found dead at a home near the campus of the University of Idaho. Police say the three woman and a man were all killed Sunday in a suspected homicide. Details about what happened have not been released.
CBS News: The Paulding County Sheriff’s Office (GA) arrested a man for breeding more than 100 pit bulls as part of a dog fighting operation. Deputies say 55-year-old Vincent Burrell trained the animals to fight. Dogs kept on his property were underfed, and tied to trees or metal stakes in the ground.
WIBW: A man in Topeka, KS faces DUI charges after he drove through the Fallen Officers Memorial outside the city’s Law Enforcement Center. Police say Maicol Garcia-Soto ran a red light and lost control in the parking lot, crashing through the bronze statue and granite monument outside the building. On Facebook, department officials say they plan to rebuild the monument.
COLORADO
AURORA
Denver Post: The 17th Judicial District dropped the criminal case against a protester facing charges following the death of Elijah McClain. Back in July 2020, 25-year-old Daxx Dalton was accused of in engaging in a riot as 600 demonstrators surrounded an Aurora Police substation while officers were still inside. Dalton was the last protestor on record that hadn’t taken a plea deal or had charges already dropped.
Denver7: The City of Aurora could hire former Miami Police Chief Art Acevedo to serve as its new interim police chief. Acevedo would take over for Dan Oates, who took over for Vanessa Wilson in April after she was fired. Acevedo was hired by the Miami Police department in April 2021, but was fired just six months later. In a federal lawsuit, Acevedo claimed city leaders fired him for being a whistleblower when they attempted to use the department for their own personal benefit. Acevedo could be one of the people applying to take over as a permanent replacement for the Aurora Police Department.
VAIL
9News: Police in Vail are asking for help to figure out how a Commerce City woman died back in July. The body of Kendra Hull was found in Gore Creek, but her cause of death was undetermined and is considered suspicious. Kendra left her home in Commerce City to care for her mother’s dogs near the area, but she never returned. She was found the next day dead in Eagle County. Vail Police released new information, saying Kendra was spotted near Bighorn Road and I-70.
DENVER
9News: Another big name is getting into the mix to become the next mayor of Denver. Democratic State Senator Chris Hansen filed the paperwork Monday morning to join the race. In his launch, Hansen says he has no plans to reduce the budget for the Denver Police Department and states he wants to work to increase staffing levels. Hansen is now the 14th listed candidate to enter the field, along with Democratic State Representative Leslie Herod, City Councilor Debbie Ortega, and former Metro Chamber of Commerce CEO Kelly Brough. The municipal election is slated for April 4th.
CBS4: Denver Police are working to find a suspect after Fire Station No. 2 was struck by gunfire Sunday night. The shooting happened near 53rd and Memphis. Firefighters were inside the building at the time, but no one was injured.
LOVELAND
Coloradoan: Forgot to include this for Monday🤦♂️. Loveland selected Tim Doran to serve as the city’s next police. Doran comes from Fort Collins Police Services where he worked as an assistant chief. Doran has 32 years of experience in law enforcement. He takes over for former chief Bob Ticer, who left the department to take a new job in Arizona. His first day on the job will be Jan. 3rd.
LEGISLATURE
Denver Post: Colorado House Speaker Alec Garnett will stay in state government next year. The Denver representative is term-limited in State House, but announced Monday that he will serve as the new Chief of Staff to Governor Polis. The move comes as Colorado Democrats potentially boast super majorities in both the House and Senate for the next two years.
COLORADO SPRINGS
KOAA: Colorado Springs Police is investigating an alleged threat at Banning Lewis Prep. CSPD says there is no indication that the threat is legitimate. No details were available about how the threat was made, or who made it.
PUEBLO
KOAA: Pueblo is joining the list of cities in Colorado to add license plate cameras at key intersections. The Pueblo Downtown Association bought two Automated License Plate Recognition (ALPR) cameras to help police track down stolen cars. Software for ALPRs run license plates through state and national crime databases and then provide investigative evidence for police to follow up on. License plate readers are also being used in Denver, and you might remember, an ALPR alert led to a deadly officer-involved shooting last week in Lafayette.
Editor’s note: this edition of the newsletter was completed before 9 p.m. Monday.