The Fourth Shift for Oct. 12th

San Antonio's police chief believes a former officer will face charges in a shooting. Aurora takes action to prevent catalytic converter thefts. Denver Metro residents should beware of porch pirates.

NATIONAL

CNN: San Antonio Police Chief William McManus expects that charges will be filed against a former officer who shot an unarmed 17-year-old boy eating in his car. James Brennard fired on 17-year-old Erik Cantu ten times in a McDonald’s parking lot. In an interview with CNN, Chief McManus explained that SAPD has a policy that prohibits officers from shooting at moving vehicles unless their life or someone else’s life is in immediate danger. Cantu remains on life support.

ABC News: Prosecutors in Baltimore dropped charges against Adnan Syed, weeks after his murder conviction in 2000 was vacated. Syed’s case rose to prominence thanks to the 2014 “Serial” podcast, which looked into the prosecution’s evidence against him. Syed was 17 when he was convicted of killing his ex-girlfriend, Hae Min Lee, but maintained his innocence for years after. DNA testing on the victim’s clothing led prosecutors to clear Syed in the case.

NBC News: A jury is deliberating the fate of the man convicted of the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, FL. Nikolas Cruz shot and killed 17 people during the 2018 attack. Prosecutors argue that Cruz deserves the death penalty, saying he meticulously planned the attack. The jury must return a unanimous vote for a death sentence.

AP: The wife of California Governor Gavin Newsom will be among the accusers taking the stand against former movie mogul Harvey Weinstein at his rape and sexual assault trial in Los Angeles. Jennifer Siebel Newsom had small acting roles in films and TV shows between 2002 and 2011 before she became a documentary film director. She wrote about her experience with Weinstein in a 2017 essay that was published online. Weinstein is already serving a 23-year prison sentence after a conviction on rape charges in New York City.

COLORADO

LEADVILLE

President Biden will visit Colorado later today. The president will designate Camp Hale near Leadville as a national monument. During World War II, Camp Hale was a center for mountain and winter warfare training and was the base of operations for the 10th Mountain Division’s training. The public itinerary for Biden’s visit had not been released as of Tuesday night, but Air Force One can fly into Vail, so my guess is he will fly in some time in the late morning and depart in the afternoon.

AURORA

9News: The Aurora City Council voted to change the way it funds its crisis response team. Prior to Monday night, the program was funded solely through grants. That led to all clinicians leaving the program since funding dried up. Council members agreed to use city funds to fully staff the program moving forward.

Denver Post: The Aurora City Council unanimously approved a new ordinance aimed at stopping catalytic converter thefts. Under the plan, any converters worth $30 or more are now subject to new licensing and reporting requirements. The ordinance is meant to impact the resale market, and mirrors a similar law already on the books in Denver.

Fox31: Aurora Mayor Mike Coffman believes businesses in the city may have to begin closing earlier due to escalating crime. This all follows an incident at a local liquor store that was robbed twice within hours over the weekend. Thieves crashed a stolen SUV into the store front to steal an ATM and Bitcoin machine. Hours later, a second thief waltzed in and took several bags of merchandise. Coffman says until state lawmakers can enact harsher policies against criminals, businesses like convenience stores should close overnight instead of staying open 24/7.

GOLDEN

CBS4: The man accused of driving into a crowd outside a bar after a fight in Golden was on parole. Court documents show 29-year-old Ruben Marquez was released from prison in May after serving nearly three years in prison for aggravated vehicle theft, along with other charges. Investigators say Marquez intentionally drove through the crowd, killing one person and injuring several others.

WESTMINSTER

9News: A woman in Westminster faces murder charges after police say she shot and killed her estranged husband’s girlfriend. According to investigators, 44-year-old Sheryl Salzbrenner went into the victim’s workplace at Storage Etc. while wearing a wig. Surveillance video showed Salzbrenner grab the victim and then shoot her. The victim grabbed the suspect’s wig as she fell to the ground, revealing Salzbrenner‘s purple hair before she could exit the store.

DENVER

Denver7: Denver Metro Area residents should take extra care this holiday season to make sure they don’t become victims of porch pirates. A recent analysis from home security company SafeWise showed Denver was the worst major city in the U.S. for package thefts in 2021. Denver Police have received 939 reports of package thefts this year. That’s lower than at this same point last year, but higher than in 2020 and double compared to 2017.

Denver7: Denver Police are seeking two suspects who shot into a car while riding on motorcycles. The shooting happened on eastbound 6th Avenue near the southbound I-25 on-ramp on Saturday. It’s unclear if this was a targeted attack or a case of road rage.

COLORADO SPRINGS

KRDO: Colorado Springs Police are investigating three separate homicides from Monday night. One occurred in the downtown area, another happened at an apartment building and the third happened at a home. No information was released about suspects in any of the cases.

Fox21: Colorado Springs Police arrested a juvenile in connection with a man’s death last month. Nineteen-year-old Trevor Branson was shot on Gunshot Pass Drive near Powers Boulevard on Sept. 18th. Additional details about the suspect were not released since he is underage.

IT’S BACK…

HOCKEY SEASON IS FINALLY HERE! The Avs will hoist their 2022 Stanley Cup Championship banner tonight when they open against Chicago. By the way, did you see the championship rings? 💍🏒

Editor’s note: this edition of the newsletter was completed before 9 p.m. yesterday.