Paramedics’ convictions tossed in Elijah McClain’s death
AURORA, Colo. — Two former Aurora Fire Rescue paramedics convicted in connection with the 2019 death of Elijah McClain will be retried following a ruling by the Colorado Court of Appeals.
In September 2021, a statewide grand jury indicted Cooper and fellow paramedic Peter Cichuniec in McClain’s death. They went to trial together and were both convicted of criminally negligent homicide.
Both appealed their convictions separately and both had their convictions reversed and sent back for new trials for the criminally negligent homicide charge.
The appeals court agreed there was an error in the instruction of the standard of care as it related to the charge of criminally negligent homicide and tossed out those convictions.
For more on this story and others, please visit The Denver Gazette’s news partner 9News.
Arvada woman charged with murder after her teen daughter dies from alcohol abuse
Matt Kyle
matt.kyle@denvergazette.com
Updated 20 hours ago
An Arvada woman has been charged with murder after authorities said she supplied her 16-year-old daughter with alcohol for a prolonged period, leading up to her death. Arvada Police Department officers were called at about 8:15 a.m. on March 9...
Colorado Democrats slam Tina Peters’ release, while Republicans cheer
Ernest Luning
ernest.luning@coloradopolitics.com
Updated 3 days ago
Tina Peters, the former Colorado county clerk convicted of breaching her county’s secure voting equipment, drew cheers from fellow Republicans upon her release from prison Monday after Democratic Gov. Jared Polis commuted her sentence. Other state Democrats, however, said remarks...
‘I thought I was gonna die;’ JeffCo teen shot in face recounts shooting during trial
Matt Kyle
matt.kyle@denvergazette.com
Updated 6 days ago
A Jefferson County teen who was shot in the face when he and his friend were seeking a spot to take homecoming photos said he believed he was going to die as he recounted the shooting during trial testimony on...
Legislature overrules state Supreme Court decisions, federal judges contend with violations of orders | COURT CRAWL
Michael Karlik
michael.karlik@coloradopolitics.com
Updated 1 week ago
Welcome to Court Crawl, Colorado Politics’ roundup of news from the third branch of government. The Colorado legislature overruled two recent state Supreme Court decisions in this year’s session, plus federal judges are addressing the government’s violations of their orders...
Appeals court reinstates murder case despite ex-DA Linda Stanley’s conduct
Michael Karlik
michael.karlik@coloradopolitics.com
Updated 1 week ago
Colorado’s second-highest court reinstated the murder and child abuse charges on Thursday against a Fremont County defendant, reasoning that the former district attorney’s misconduct did not warrant dismissal of the charges. A judge previously dismissed the criminal case against defendant...
How a CU Boulder law school program helped free a Denver man after 27 years in ‘shaken baby’ murder case
Matt Kyle
matt.kyle@denvergazette.com
Updated 4 days ago
From the first time she looked at Stephen Martinez’s case, Boulder attorney Jeanne Segil knew she had a shot at getting him released from prison. Martinez, 58, spent 27 years behind bars for a crime he now says never happened....
Tina Peters thanks Polis for shortening her sentence, calls Colorado Democrats’ censure a ‘travesty’
Ernest Luning
ernest.luning@coloradopolitics.com
Updated 2 weeks ago
Two days after the Colorado Democratic Party formally condemned Gov. Jared Polis over his decision last week to shorten Tina Peters’ prison sentence for tampering with election equipment, Peters heaped praise on the term-limited Democrat and slammed his party for...
Federal judge green-lights jury visit to Aurora detention center in forced-labor lawsuit
Michael Karlik
michael.karlik@coloradopolitics.com
Updated 2 weeks ago
A federal judge granted a request on Thursday to have jurors visit the privately run U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center in Aurora as part of an upcoming civil trial over alleged forced labor practices. U.S. District Court Senior...
Federal judges’ responses vary to immigration authorities’ disregard of orders
Michael Karlik
michael.karlik@coloradopolitics.com
Updated 2 weeks ago
Colorado’s U.S. District Court judges have responded in recent days to the government’s violations of, or unclear compliance with, their orders in immigration detention cases, resulting in directives to immediately free the petitioners. “I’m just struggling to understand how he...
Colorado Supreme Court ditches debt collection case
Michael Karlik
michael.karlik@coloradopolitics.com
Updated 1 week ago
The Colorado Supreme Court declined to rule on Friday in a case questioning the procedure a creditor may use to obtain records from entities related to a debtor, in which the court initially expressed its interest. Joel Farkas is liable...
