Aurora developer to stand trial in Grand County arson
Hot Sulphur Springs – A millionaire Aurora developer accused of torching a friend’s Grand County home and historic cabin was ordered to stand trial Tuesday.
Grand County Judge Mary Hoak bound John R. Homburger, 65, over to district court in the 2003 arson case, despite defense contentions that scant circumstantial evidence linked him to the crime.
“This case is not weak, it’s nonexistent,” said defense attorney Harvey Steinberg after hearing the evidence presented by the prosecution that Homburger’s alibi didn’t hold up and that he was known to be angry with Aurora businessman Craig Walker over an unrequited business deal.
But Grand County sheriff’s investigator Leo Piechocki indicated that the two-year investigation centered on Homburger from the outset because he had told others that he was upset about being spurned in a land deal and wanted to get even with Walker.
Homburger faces two felony charges related to the fires, which caused an estimated $920,000 in damage.
He is scheduled for arraignment in district court Dec. 16.
GOLDEN
Mines denies coverup in death of student
The Colorado School of Mines on Tuesday denied covering up the death of student Rio Nicholas and said it fully cooperated with his parents to determine how he died.
Nicholas’ family filed a federal civil rights lawsuit this week against employees at the school, claiming the 19-year-old freshman’s death on Dec. 6, 2001, was a homicide rather than a cocaine overdose.
The family said the school tried to label Nicholas’ death as an overdose because the school did not want to ruin its reputation with news of a hom icide on campus.
Nicholas’ parents said the school asked Golden police to leave the scene of the investigation and also said that an autopsy was not performed on their son.
In a statement, the school said Golden police were on scene throughout the initial investigation and that it was Nicholas’ parents who did not want an autopsy.
GOLDEN
Jeffco home-burglary suspect arrested
A 20-year-old man who allegedly burglarized several south Jefferson County homes early Tuesday was arrested after escaping from a homeowner who said he was holding the suspect at gunpoint.
Connor Sullivan, whose last known address was in Nebraska, is being held in the Jefferson County Jail. He is accused of breaking into two homes, attempting to break into two other homes and stealing a car stereo.
The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office reported that it received a 911 call at 12:05 a.m. Tuesday about a possible burglary in progress in the 10700 block of West Berry Drive.
As deputies were responding, another call came from a next-door neighbor and a third resident said he heard glass breaking and saw the suspect in the doorway of his home’s front room, said sheriff’s spokesman Jim Shires.
Shires said one of the victims said an intruder dropped a plasma TV and ran when the homeowner pointed a gun at him. The suspect jumped over a fence into a greenbelt area. Deputies surrounded the area and found the suspect hiding in a nearby culvert, Shires said.
FORT COLLINS
Funeral today for one of three crash victims
Funeral services are scheduled today for one of three young Fort Collins men killed when the Ford Mustang they were riding in crashed after topping 100 mph late Saturday.
The funeral service for Jacob Ricke, 20, will begin at 2 p.m. today at Faith Evangelical Free Church, 3920 S. Shields St., in Fort Collins.
Services for Derek Jones, also 20, are scheduled for 2 p.m., Thursday at Bohlender Funeral Chapel, 121 W. Olive St., in Fort Collins.
Funeral plans for the third victim of the crash, Christopher Ragan, 19, were unavailable.
Colorado State Patrol officials said the investigation is ongoing in the crash. Toxicology tests could be completed today, officials with the coroner’s office said Tuesday. Alcohol was suspected in the crash that occurred on Larimer County Road 23, near Bellvue, just northwest of Fort Collins. The three friends were speeding along the paved rural road when the driver lost control and skidded into trees, authorities said.
BRIGHTON
School bus hits car; 7 kids slightly hurt
Seven elementary school children in Brighton were taken to a hospital with minor injuries after a school bus rear-ended a sport utility vehicle on the 2700 block of East Bridge Street at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday, officials say.
Police are investigating whether to cite the bus driver for careless driving, said Richard Kelly, Brighton police spokesman.
The bus was westbound when it struck a Dodge Durango that had stopped to make a turn.
The students, five girls and two boys, who are all about 10 years old, were taken to Platte Valley Medical Center in Brighton. None had serious injuries, Kelly said. The Durango driver was also treated and released.
