courts
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Colorado rape cases rarely result in an arrest and prosecution
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Authorities say they are especially difficult cases. In Colorado, most go nowhere. Over the past decade, for every 10 reports of rape, there is only one arrest. Warning: This story contains descriptions of sexual violence. Kiersten May remembered a fuzziness overtake her as Saturday night slid into Sunday morning at the remote Colorado mountain campsite…
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Trial delayed for former Fountain city councilwoman accused of public assistance theft
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The trial for a former Fountain City Councilmember accused of stealing over $37,000 in public assistance funds has been pushed to July. Detra Duncan, 55, resigned in mid-September 2025 after El Paso County investigators say they found forged documents that Duncan used to file for food assistance, Medicaid and other benefits for herself and her…
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Judge expected to decide Monday whether to accept latest plea agreements for Hallfords
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An El Paso County judge is expected to decide Monday whether to accept new negotiations that would extend the prison sentence for Jon and Carie Hallford, coming on the heels of the court rejecting the original plea agreements for the owners of the Return to Nature Funeral Home. The new agreements would see the Hallfords…
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Colorado justices reject defendant’s claim of race-based murder prosecution
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The Colorado Supreme Court rejected a convicted defendant’s argument on Monday that Arapahoe County prosecutors unconstitutionally singled out him and another Black teenager for murder prosecutions as adults, while offering lenient plea deals to their two non-Black co-defendants. Lloyd Chavez IV, a student at Cherokee Trail High School, died in May 2019 after four teenagers…
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Colorado justices reject defendant’s claim of race-based murder prosecution
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The Colorado Supreme Court rejected a convicted defendant’s argument on Monday that Arapahoe County prosecutors unconstitutionally singled out him and another Black teenager for murder prosecutions as adults, while offering lenient plea deals to their two non-Black co-defendants. Lloyd Chavez IV, a student at Cherokee Trail High School, died in May 2019 after four teenagers…
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Parents still waiting for Jeffco counselor plea deal on sexual assault charge
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A plea deal has been delayed again for the Jeffco Public Schools counselor who allegedly started a sexual relationship with a 14-year-old student. Chloe Castro appeared in a Jefferson County District Court room in front of Judge Diego Hunt on Tuesday afternoon. Her defense attorney, Marshall Breit, noted that Castro would likely take a plea…
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Governor, legislators, advocates seek changes after cases expose gaps in Colorado’s competency system
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After a series of high-profile crimes throughout the state last spring and summer exposed gaps in Colorado’s legal system for individuals declared incompetent to stand trial, lawmakers and an advocacy organization are pushing for changes this year. Extensive media coverage of cases such as Solomon Galligan’s — a convicted sex offender arrested last year for…
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Will Colorado Springs get a federal courthouse? Colorado senator, local officials make push for a new facility
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Local officials and one of Colorado’s U.S. senators urged the judiciary earlier this year to explore placing a new federal courthouse and judge’s chambers in Colorado Springs, while the district court is cautioning that Congress must establish new judgeships before any expansion out of Denver occurs. “We’re supportive of a courthouse in Colorado Springs with…
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A murder trial, a wildfire and gnarly roads are among the most notable news stories of 2025
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2025 brought a fair share of stories throughout Colorado, from the Eastern Plains to the Western Slope — none may have been more captivating than a murder trial in Centennial this summer. After three weeks of testimony, a jury found former Aurora dentist James Craig guilty of murdering his wife Angela in 2023 with lethal…
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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…