BRECKENRIDGE

Giant wooden troll has a new home

A huge wooden troll has found a new home: Behind an ice arena in the south end of Breckenridge.

The troll’s creator, Danish artist Thomas Dambo, visited the location recently to affix a heart-shaped stone to the troll’s wooden body.

It was originally assembled beside a trail last summer for a festival, but it was so popular with visitors that nearby homeowners complained about the crowds. It was taken down in November.

The troll, named Isak Heartstone, stands 15 feet high.

The site is not open to the public yet. The town is building a trail and surrounding amenities, which are expected to open by early June.

SUMMIT DAILY

BERTHOUD

Man accused of firing gun outside newspaper printing plant

Authorities say a former employee of a newspaper printing plant was arrested after allegedly trying to enter the facility and firing a weapon outside the building.

The Larimer County Sheriff’s Department says no one was injured in the incident at the Lehman Printing Center in Berthoud. Authorities said the man was looking for specific people who weren’t there.

The plant prints the Reporter-Herald, the Longmont Times-Call, the Fort Morgan Times and the Sterling Journal-Advocate. The incident delayed delivery of the four newspapers.

The sheriff’s department said 35-year-old Rhett Williams was arrested on suspicion of attempted assault on a peace officer and prohibited use of a weapon.

LOVELAND REPORTER-HERALD

GREELEY

Alleged prison gang member accused of plotting DA’s murder

A Colorado jail inmate who allegedly belongs to a notorious prison gang was charged with trying to arrange the murder of a prosecutor.

Thirty-two-year-old Billie Allen of Cañon City was charged with solicitation of first-degree murder.

Allen is accused of trying to arrange the death of Weld County District Attorney Michael Rourke, who filed drug and weapons charges against Allen last year.

Allen was in the Weld County jail awaiting trial in the drugs and weapons case.

Authorities say Allen is a member of the 211 Crew, a white supremacist prison gang. In 2013, a 211 Crew member who had recently been paroled from prison, Evan Ebel, was suspected of posing as a pizza delivery man to shoot and kill Colorado prisons director Tom Clements. Ebel was later killed in a shootout with officers in Texas.

Allen’s next hearing date is June 18. A judge and prosecutor from neighboring Larimer County will handle the case, but the proceedings will be in Weld County.

GREELEY TRIBUNE

GRAND JUNCTION

US wildlife biologist pleads guilty to selling bobcat pelts

A U.S. Fish and Wildlife biologist has pleaded guilty in a years-long criminal enterprise of hunting, skinning and selling dozens of Colorado bobcat pelts.

Thad Bingham, 46, pleaded guilty in federal court to a felony count of transporting and selling the pelts to international fur traders.

Court documents say Bingham with at least five others sold 51 pelts mostly to buyers in Greece from 2012 to 2016, earning about $25,600.

Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Matt Evans says Bingham also falsified reports to state game officials.

Bingham is scheduled to be sentenced in August.

DAILY SENTINEL

EAGLE

Town’s growth spurs building fee to pay for police

The fast-growing central Colorado community of Eagle has imposed fees on new construction to pay for police and other public safety services.

The Eagle town board approved fees of 31 cents per square foot for commercial developments and $1,319 per residential dwelling unit.

About 2,200 housing units have been approved but not built in Eagle. The town about 30 miles west of Vail currently has about 7,000 people.

Eagle Police Chief Joey Staufer says money generated by the fee will pay for vehicles, equipment and other capital costs.

VAIL DAILY