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Colorado Crime Still Among Nation’s Worst Despite Drop in Auto Theft
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, Commentary, State

Colorado Crime Still Among Nation’s Worst Despite Drop in Auto Theft

By: The Gazette Editorial Board | Commentary, The Denver Gazette The Polis administration’s announcement the other day touting a drop in Colorado’s nationally notorious rate of auto theft was welcome news — as long as it lasted. As The Gazette reported, the state Department of Public Safety released data late last month showing auto thefts were down this year by 36%, from January through May, compared with the same time frame last year. Then came the bad newS. Not one, but two people were shot to death in apparently separate incidents in Denver — both while trying to stop the theft of their cars — within days of the announcement. Yes, motor vehicle theft still poses a very serious threat in our state. And it shouldn’t come as a surprise.  Accordin...
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Jefferson County Brothers Accused of Stealing $12 Million From Medicaid Program
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, Local

Jefferson County Brothers Accused of Stealing $12 Million From Medicaid Program

By: Matt Kyle | The Denver Gazette Two Jefferson County men have been indicted on a slew of charges alleging they fraudulently obtained $12 million from Medicaid. James Andrew Heath, 33 and Jared Parker Heath, 37, were indicted on June 12 in Denver District Court. They are accused of defrauding Colorado’s Medicaid optical program by falsely billing Medicaid for glasses and other materials through their business QuickSpex LLC, according to a news release from Attorney General Phil Weiser. READ THE FULL ARTICLE AT THE DENVER GAZETTE
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Eleven Indicted In Colorado Auto Theft Ring Linked To Mexican Cartels
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, State

Eleven Indicted In Colorado Auto Theft Ring Linked To Mexican Cartels

By Matt Kyle | The Denver Gazette Eleven people who authorities said were part of a large metro Denver area car theft ring that shipped stolen cars to Mexico to be used by cartels have been indicted. The indictments — announced Monday by Attorney General Phil Weiser and Denver District Attorney John Walsh — were filed May 22. The alleged members worked together to steal vehicles from municipal airport parking lots, hotels and businesses across the Front Range, authorities said in a news release. The thefts are alleged to have taken place between July 2024 and January 2025. The thefts were mainly of full-sized pickup trucks, trailers and recreational vehicles. The thefts took place in Adams, Boulder, Douglas, Jefferson, Larimer and Weld counties, as well as in De...
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Ex Jeffco Schools Security Guard Faces Dozens of Child Sex Abuse and Exploitation Charges
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, Local

Ex Jeffco Schools Security Guard Faces Dozens of Child Sex Abuse and Exploitation Charges

By Matt Kyle | The Denver Gazette A former security guard for Jeffco Public Schools was arrested Monday over charges of child sexual abuse. Brian C. Richie, 67, was arrested by Longmont police and booked into the Boulder County jail. He faces several charges, including sexual assault of a child by a person in a position of trust, 12 counts of sexual exploitation of a child by possessing videos, 16 counts of sexual exploitation of a child by possessing photos, invasion of privacy for sexual gratification of a person under 15 and invasion of privacy for sexual gratification, according to the jail log and Richie’s arrest affidavit. Richie’s LinkedIn and Facebook pages showed he was employed by Jeffco as a “patrol sergeant” from April 2015 to February 2026, when he ...
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Suspect Arrested in Alleged Sexual Assault of 13-Year-Old Just Three Hours After Release
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CBS Colorado, Approved, Local

Suspect Arrested in Alleged Sexual Assault of 13-Year-Old Just Three Hours After Release

By Christa Swanson | CBS Colorado A man in northeast Colorado was arrested after police say he lured a 13-year-old into an alley and sexually assaulted the child, just hours after he was released from jail. The Fort Morgan Police Department says he has a history of arrests involving sex crime investigations. The most recent arrest stems from an incident on June 9 after a 13-year-old called 911. Investigators determined that 39-year-old Abdikadir Abade had lured the teen into an alley, picked them up and carried them behind a dumpster, then sexually assaulted them. Officers arrested him shortly after the assault. He is facing charges of second-degree kidnapping, sexual assault on a child, enticement of a child and harassment in connection with this investigation. ...
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Douglas County Undocumented Child Predator Sentenced to 100 Years to Life After Conviction
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DENVER7, Approved, State

Douglas County Undocumented Child Predator Sentenced to 100 Years to Life After Conviction

By: Óscar Contreras | Denver7 DOUGLAS COUNTY, Colo. — A convicted child predator who fled the state prior to a court hearing in March was sentenced to 100 years to life in prison Friday. Jorge Campos, 42, was sentenced in Douglas County Court to 20 years for each of the 5 counts of sexual assault on a child for which he was convicted. The sentence will run consecutively. Campos, an undocumented immigrant, repeatedly assaulted his girlfriend’s daughter from 2021 to 2023 at her home. The abuse began when the victim was just 11 years old, Douglas County prosecutors said. READ THE FULL ARTICLE AT DENVER7
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Boulder Firebomber Gets Life Plus 2,128 Years For Terror Attack On Pro Israel Demonstrators
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, Local

Boulder Firebomber Gets Life Plus 2,128 Years For Terror Attack On Pro Israel Demonstrators

By Matt Kyle | The Denver Gazette A man accused of throwing two Molotov cocktails into a crowd of pro-Israel protesters in Boulder pleaded guilty Thursday to 101 state charges in a Boulder County courthouse and received just shy of the maximum sentence allowed by law. Following a lengthy sentencing hearing and personal statement from Mohamed Sabry Soliman, District Judge Nancy Salomone sentenced him to the maximum sentence on almost every count, which must be served consecutively. He was sentenced to life in prison, plus an additional 2,128 years. Soliman, 46, was arrested shortly after the June 1, 2025 attack at the Pearl Street Mall. Soliman, who plotted the attack for more than a year, threw two Molotov cocktails into a group of people calling for the release of hos...
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He Loved This City. Then It Nearly Killed Him.
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Rocky Mountain Voice, Local, Top Stories

He Loved This City. Then It Nearly Killed Him.

By Shaina Cole | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice Nico Francis had spent the early part of the evening on April 3 at the First Friday ArtWalk on Santa Fe, and with friends waiting on Colfax, he grabbed a Lime scooter just after 11:30 p.m. and took what he called the scenic route. It was a night like dozens of others for the Ohio transplant, who moved to Denver in 2020 — a man who had long been something of a downtown defender, someone who pushed back every time a friend called the area dangerous.  "I love 16th street. I love downtown. I like just riding through there and seeing what's going on — seeing all the people, seeing everything going on," Francis said. That comfort level would not survive the night. Then something felt off  A white SUV conta...
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20 Years Probation For Sexual Assault On a Child
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Jeffco Kids First, Approved, Commentary, Local

20 Years Probation For Sexual Assault On a Child

By Ben Brickweg | Commentary, Jeffco Kids First A Jeffco father and attorney answered our call to help fill the courtroom for the Chloe Castro sentencing (Jeffco Schools social worker who admitted to sexual assault on a child by one in a position of trust—her own IEP special needs student). This is what he shared on social media when he returned home. I was in the Jefferson County Courthouse earlier this afternoon, and the world doesn’t make sense anymore. I watched a school social worker admit to sexual assault of a student and get sentenced to probation with zero prison time. I don’t spend time in court. I’m a transaction guy. People hear “lawyer” and assume I live in a courtroom, but that’s not my world. Maybe in another life I would have been good at it, but not this o...
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Violent Crime Spree Allegations Follow Release Of High Risk Colorado Parolee
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Fox News, Approved, Local

Violent Crime Spree Allegations Follow Release Of High Risk Colorado Parolee

By Stepheny Price | Fox News Ricky Lee Roybal-Smith faces four murder charges, including three deaths in 2025 and one from 2022. A Colorado parolee once classified as a "very high" risk of reoffending is now charged in four separate killings across three counties — including three counts of first-degree murder tied to an alleged 2025 crime spree. Ricky Lee Roybal-Smith, 38, faces two counts of first-degree murder in Adams County, one count of first-degree murder in Denver and a newly filed second-degree murder charge in Arapahoe County connected to a 2022 death. He is being held without bond in the Denver jail, prosecutors confirmed. In 2022, Roybal-Smith was accused of threatening customers at a retail store. One day later, a woman named...
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