Hospitalized CU students had attended 2 frat parties
At least seven of nine University of Colorado underage female students who were hospitalized over the weekend after a night of heavy drinking attended parties held at two fraternities, a year after a fraternity pledge died from alcohol poisoning, police said Monday.
Police issued nuisance party citations to the Sigma Pi and Phi Kappa Tau fraternities for the parties late Friday and early Saturday, Boulder police spokeswoman Julie Brooks said.
“To have this many hospitalizations for alcohol on any given night is unusual,” Brooks said. “It’s too early to talk charges, (but) it’s unusual enough that we need to take a stronger look at it.”
University spokeswoman Pauline Hale said, “We’re very disappointed to hear of this, although we are encouraged that medical help was sought, that at least part of our message was getting through.”
Last September, Lynn Gordon “Gordie” Bailey Jr. was found dead inside the off-campus Chi Psi house in Boulder after a night of heavy drinking.
GLENWOOD SPRINGS
Wildfire shuts entries to caverns, canyon
A wildfire that had burned more than 10 acres in and near the Glenwood Springs eastern city limits by Monday evening shut down the tramway to the Glenwood Caverns and the bike path leading into Glenwood Canyon.
The fire was not threatening any structures, said Renee Brousseau of the Bureau of Land Management, but tram operators voluntarily opted to evacuate the tram and caves, which are a popular tourist attraction. The bike path that parallels I-70 was closed because of its proximity to the flames. A crew of about 50 firefighters was battling the blaze on the ground Monday and was to be joined today by two crews from Rifle and Fort Collins.
A helicopter, a single-engine plane and a tanker were attacking the fire by air.
AURORA
Body in burning car was that of a man
Authorities have confirmed that the body found Sunday in the trunk of a burning car in Aurora was that of a man, but his identity still isn’t known, according to a statement from police officer Marcus Dudley.
The cause of death also remains undetermined pending toxicology results, Dudley said.
Detectives sought a search warrant so they could conduct a more detailed search of the vehicle, he said.
The burning car was spotted at 5:19 a.m. just off the roadway on South Aurora Parkway about a mile north of East Smoky Hill Road by an off-duty Aurora officer on his way to work.
After extinguishing the blaze, firefighters found the body in the trunk, Dudley said.
PIKE NATIONAL FOREST
Bridge-repair work to close popular road
A bridge-repair project will force the U.S. Forest Service to close a popular road in the Pike National Forest southwest of Denver for up to 30 days.
The closure will affect Matukat Road, FS 211, which is often used by those traveling between the Deckers-Cheesman area to Lake George.
During the closure, contractors will replace a bridge superstructure over Goose Creek.
Matukat Road will be open from either direction to the construction project but not to through traffic.
For more information, contact J.R. Kirkaldie of the South Platte Ranger District at 303-275-5622.
DENVER
State council honors Brents prosecutor
Stephanie Villafuerte, the Denver prosecutor who led the prosecution of serial rapist Brent J. Brents this year, has been named “Prosecutor of the Year” by the Colorado District Attorneys Council.
Villafuerte was given the honor in recognition of her prosecution of perpetrators of physical and sexual violence against children as well as her work in the Brents case.
Denver District Attorney Mitch Morrissey said that during the Brents investigation, Villafuerte juggled her caseload as chief deputy of the DA’s Family Violence Unit and the prosecution of the Brents case.
Villafuerte joined the Denver DA’s office in 1991. She became an assistant U.S. attorney in 1998 and then returned to the district attorney’s office in January 2001.
DENVER
Think tank sues to block hearing
The Independence Institute filed a lawsuit Monday in Denver District Court that seeks to block an administrative hearing into whether the nonprofit think tank has violated state election laws in the debate over Referendums C and D, its attorney said.
Proponents of the state budget-policy ballot questions have accused the Golden research group of failing to register with the state as a campaign committee spending money in the fight.
The new legal filing asks a judge to interpret the state’s constitutional requirements for disclosure and to consider First Amendment concerns raised by a subpoena seeking information about the institute, said its attorney, Dick Kaufman.
Kaufman said he also would be asking an administrative law judge who was set to hear the dispute next week to postpone the matter.
DENVER
2 men killed in car; survivor stays silent
Two men were shot to death Sunday while in a car at the intersection of East 10th Avenue and Grant Street, police said.
The shooting occurred at 2:22 a.m.
Qutice McGaughy, 26, and Michael Hope, 24, died at local hospitals, said police spokeswoman Virginia Lopez.
The men were in a Dodge Neon at the time of the shootings, but police are not sure if someone shot at them from a car or if someone walked up and killed them.
Lopez said a motive for the shooting is a mystery.
A third man found inside the car was not hurt, but he refused to cooperate with the police investigation, Lopez said.
DENVER
Police identify 2 men slain after party
Denver police identified Mark Johnson, 18, and Jose Manzanares, 25, as the two men who were shot and killed after a party early Sunday.
Another person was injured during the 2:30 a.m. shooting in the 2500 block of Clermont Street, but police declined to name the victim.
A man was assaulted during the house party, left and came back with a handgun and shot the three people, said police spokeswoman Virginia Lopez .
People at the party held on to the shooter until police arrived.
Police described the shooting as gang-related.
