Author: Mackenzie Bodell
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‘Everything happens for a reason’: Veterans Trauma Court aims to help military members in times of need
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Five years after he separated from the Army, Mark Bisset found himself in the Colorado criminal justice system. Bisset’s story started on April 9, 2022. According to past Gazette coverage of the case, the arrest stemmed from an alleged incident in which Bisset rode a four-wheeler to a property in the Indian Creek subdivision in…
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Judge accepts new plea agreements for Return to Nature owners
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Jon and Carie Hallford will not see 2026 trials after all, as an El Paso County judge ruled to accept the most recent plea agreements for the pair Monday, despite heavy opposition from families who used their funeral services. The Hallfords came under a multi-agency investigation in October 2023 after an inquiry into their Penrose Return to…
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Man accused of assaulting, attempting to kidnap Colorado Springs woman sentenced to probation
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The man arrested after reportedly threatening to stab and kidnap a woman at a spa in Colorado Springs earlier this year avoided any jail time during his sentencing on Monday. Thomas McCarley, 54, was arrested on Jan. 28 after Colorado Springs police responded to a call of a disturbance involving a man with a knife…
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Cause of death revealed for self-proclaimed Planned Parenthood gunman
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The self-proclaimed gunman in the Planned Parenthood shooting in Colorado Springs in November 2015 died from congestive heart failure and other related medical conditions, the Federal Bureau of Prisons said in a recent court filing. The Federal Bureau of Prisons database shows that Robert Dear Jr., 67, died Nov. 22, at the U.S. Medical Center…
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Competency concerns arise again for arson suspect in Teller County fire
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After already being deemed competent to proceed to trial once earlier, competency concerns again took the spotlight Monday for the woman allegedly behind the Highland Lakes fire that burned nearly 170 acres near Divide last year. Lowa Tillitt, 77, also referred to as Lacey Tillitt in public records, was arrested Jan. 16 for allegedly starting…
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Hearing held for Planned Parenthood shooting suspect ahead of 10-year mark
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Robert Dear Jr., the alleged gunman in the 2015 Planned Parenthood shooting that left three dead and nine injured, is in the process of being committed civilly due to his mental health after being deemed incompetent despite forced medication. Similar to the past several state hearings, Thursday’s hearing provided little new information. Instead, attorneys in…
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Return to Nature: Judge rejects Carie Hallford’s state plea deal, 2026 trial
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Return to Nature owner Carie Hallford is heading to trial next year after an El Paso County judge rejected her state plea agreement Monday, a similar ruling in recent months for her co-defendant, Jon Hallford. Carie and Jon Hallford came under a multi-agency investigation in October 2023 after a investigation on their Penrose Return to…
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ICE officer impersonator in Colorado Springs will undergo second competency evaluation
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The Colorado Springs man arrested for allegedly impersonating an U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer before engaging in an hours-long standoff with police will see a second competency evaluator. Antonio Mellon, 22, was reportedly found competent to continue with legal proceedings by one evaluator, but the defense objected to the finding and is now in…
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DEA raid in Colorado Springs nets five ICE arrests amid Mexican drug cartel allegations
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The Drug Enforcement Administration executed two search warrants Thursday morning at an apartment complex in eastern Colorado Springs that was allegedly being used to distribute drugs by Mexican cartel members, the agency said. According to Kameron Korte with the DEA, the raid on the Village East Apartments on Hathaway Drive resulted in a handgun and “distribution amounts”…
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Return to Nature: Carie Hallford enters plea deal, remains a ‘liar’ to one family
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DENVER • Carie Hallford, who was ready to go to trial on more than a dozen counts of wire fraud connected to a case of deception that resulted in the decomposition of nearly 190 bodies at the Return to Nature Funeral Home, entered a guilty plea in federal court Monday while accepting a deal that…
