Author: Lance Benzel, The Gazette

A former Army Green Beret’s attempt to sue Fountain police over a July 2016 marijuana raid has been quashed. A federal judge in Denver this month dismissed a civil rights lawsuit filed by Eli Olivas citing “failure to state a claim,” a procedural snag meaning that Olivas’ complaint failed to identify lawful grounds for action.…

A partial mistrial was declared Monday for ex-El Paso County Sheriff Terry Maketa after a jury acquitted him of two misdemeanors and failed to reach verdicts on two felonies. It was the second mistrial for Maketa in six months, and one juror said he narrowly avoided being branded a felon. The woman, who asked that…

Testimony will begin Thursday in the retrial of ex-El Paso County Sheriff Terry Maketa on corruption charges after two days of jury selection. A panel of eight women and six men, including two alternates, will hear allegations left unresolved by a mistrial in July that ended in partial deadlock – again raising the prospect of…

A retrial begins this week for former El Paso County Sheriff Terry Maketa on corruption allegations that left a previous panel deadlocked. Jury selection is to begin at 9 a.m. Tuesday, with 90 prospective jurors on tap for consideration in a process that could take days. Final preparations were discussed Monday morning before 4th Judicial…

If not for a lone holdout juror, former El Paso County Sheriff Terry Maketa would be a convicted felon. Mary Mraz, jury forewoman in Maketa’s corruption trial that ended in a hung jury last July, said the vote to convict on at least two felonies was 11-1. Maketa is scheduled to be retried on the…

El Paso County sheriff’s candidate Mike Angley says he isn’t afraid of a fight – whether it means taking on incumbent Sheriff Bill Elder or local Republican Party officials. The question remains: Is anyone actually fighting back? Since declaring his candidacy in August, the retired Air Force colonel and political newcomer has favored confrontation over…

Hundreds of El Paso County inmates have endured “weeks and even months of senseless and illegal pretrial incarceration” because they cannot afford to pay a $55 fee imposed by the county, the ACLU said Tuesday in a federal lawsuit that seeks to end the practice. The complaint, which names El Paso County as the sole…