Author: Lance Benzel
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Judge drops contempt case against Colorado Springs public defender after COVID-19 protest
A judge Thursday vacated his contempt finding against a public defender sanctioned in October after citing a countywide coronavirus infection spike in refusing an order to represent his client at trial. The reversal by 4th Judicial District Judge Robert Lowrey averted what was supposed to be a sentencing hearing for Adam Steigerwald, a 13-year veteran of…
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No mercy on prison sentence for former Colorado Springs cop who molested 18 children
A former Colorado Springs police officer convicted in 2012 of sexually abusing 18 boys at a local middle school will not receive a reduced sentence, a judge ruled Wednesday. Joshua Carrier, 39, will remain incarcerated with a 70-year-to-life sentence in the attacks on students at Horace Mann Middle School, where Carrier was a volunteer wrestling…
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2 dead in Black Forest crash after driver runs stop sign
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to correct the time of the crash based on updated information from the Colorado State Patrol. Two people were killed in a traffic crash in Black Forest on Sunday when their sedan was T-boned by a car that ran a stop sign, the Colorado State Patrol said. Colorado…
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Sheriff’s Office lifts fire restrictions in El Paso County but urges caution
The El Paso County Sheriff’s Office has lifted Stage 1 fire restrictions throughout the county effective at noon Monday. “While the restrictions will be lifted, we continue to stress using caution when using any open fire and or flame-producing devices,” sheriff’s spokeswoman Jacqueline Reed said in a statement. “Always keep a safe area for their…
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Attorneys, court workers struggle to find vaccines as trials resume in El Paso County
Jury trials in the El Paso County Combined Courts resumed last week after a more than three-month pause — only to hit an early hiccup in which a prosecutor tested positive for COVID-19 one day after completing a trial. A defense attorney, a judicial worker and at least one other District Attorney’s office employee are now…
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Colorado Springs man to face murder trial in killing of woman whose body was ‘kicked’ off mountain road
A Colorado Springs man strangled his ex-girlfriend before concealing her body in a plastic tote and kicking it off a cliff on a remote mountain road, investigators alleged in court Monday. Daveon Artez Rogers, 31, will face a first-degree murder trial in the killing of 28-year-old Elizabeth Michelle “Lizzy” Kremer, 4th Judicial District Chief…
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CO Appeals Court overturns 3-year sentence for former nurse convicted of evidence tampering in Kelsey Berreth murder
Krystal Jean Kenney, the former nurse who helped Teller County rancher Patrick Frazee clean up blood after the murder of his fiance Kelsey Berreth in 2018, appears on course for an early prison release after the Colorado Court of Appeals on Wednesday overturned her three-year sentence. Ruling that Teller County District Judge Scott Sells erred…
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CO Appeals Court overturns 3-year sentence for former nurse who helped Patrick Frazee after Kelsey Berreth murder
Krystal Jean Kenney, the former nurse who helped Teller County rancher Patrick Frazee clean up blood after the murder of his fiance Kelsey Berreth, appears on course for an early prison release after the Colorado Court of Appeals on Wednesday overturned her three-year sentence. Ruling that Teller County District Judge Scott Sells erred in sentencing…
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Stepmother accused in killing of Gannon Stauch to appear in court for closed-door hearing
Letecia Stauch, the woman accused of first-degree murder in the killing of her stepson, 11-year-old Gannon Stauch, heads into court Friday for what is likely to be a closed-door hearing about her request for new attorneys. Stauch, 38, is to appear at 2:30 p.m. before 4th Judicial District Chief Judge Will Bain. If Stauch requests…
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Man pleads guilty in 1988 slaying of 24-year-old woman in Colorado Springs
A man tied by DNA to the long-unsolved 1988 slaying of a Colorado Springs woman pleaded guilty Wednesday, averting an insanity trial set for April. James Edward Papol, who was 15 when he attacked Mary Lynn Vialpando in an alley in the Old Colorado City neighborhood, faces 40 to 60 years in prison under the…