Man held in investigation of online child enticement
Denver police reached into cyberspace Wednesday to catch a man suspected of enticement of a child and attempted sexual assault on a child, Detective John White said.
Detective Gary Teiken of the computer-crime unit arrested Eric David Morgan, 22, just before noon after a two-week investigation, White said.
Police believe Morgan moved to the Denver area from out of state nearly a year ago for the purpose of meeting and engaging in a sexual encounter with a 14-year-old girl, he said.
“We have at least one victim who is giving us some information, which is why he was arrested,” White said.
The continuing investigation could identify additional victims in Colorado and Wyoming, White added.
Morgan was using the screen name “eric_morgan_soultalker” in Yahoo Messenger, White said. Anyone with information regarding Morgan or this screen name is urged to contact the Denver Police Department’s computer-crime investigations unit at 720-913-6150.
ARVADA
Teen expelled, faces charges in sex assault
A high school junior accused of sexually assaulting a ninth-grade girl in a school hallway has been expelled and faces 11 criminal charges.
The 17-year-old boy appeared in court Tuesday.
Police said the boy cornered the 15-year-old girl in an empty hall at Arvada West High School as she was waiting for a ride home Nov. 14.
The girl said she fought back and got away. They were described as acquaintances.
“We do our best with security with the resources we have to make sure our students are safe,” Jefferson County Public Schools spokeswoman Marlene Desmond said. “It is a huge priority.”
AURORA
City, family of man shot by police to meet
Aurora officials and the family of a man shot to death by police in December 2003 have agreed to meet at the end of this month in hopes of settling a federal lawsuit over his death.
A professional mediator will facilitate the meeting between city attorneys and the family of Jamaal Bonner, who was shot three times in the back in a motel room. He was unarmed.
The family sued in federal court in March, contending that police shot Bonner, 20, after he was subdued. He had been hit with a Taser and was on the floor before he was shot, according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit claims police used excessive force and seeks economic compensation for emotional distress, attorney fees and punitive damages.
“This is the right thing to do for the community,” Mayor Ed Tauer said in a news release about the mediation.
ASPEN
TV-show tip leads to arrest of man in Fla.
Authorities in Florida this week captured a man wanted by Aspen police since 1996, just two days after he was featured on “America’s Most Wanted.”
Ronald Kelly Young, 63, was captured Monday in Fort Lauderdale by a multi-agency fugitive task force after a viewer called in a tip to the TV show’s hotline.
Young is wanted in Aspen on embezzlement charges, including credit-card fraud and forgery. Young is also a “person of interest” in a 1996 fatal car bombing in Tucson, and Aspen police want to talk to him about a car bombing at the Aspen Club & Spa in 1985 in which a man was killed.
“He associated with people that were people of interest at the time of the car bombing,” said Aspen police Detective Jim Crowley. “Whether or not he was directly involved in that, we don’t know.”
Crowley was in Fort Lauderdale and expected to question Young on Wednesday. Young will be extradited either to Aspen or Tucson, depending on which city’s case takes priority.
GOLDEN
Mountaineers donate gear to quake victims
More than 12 tons of used clothing, sleeping bags and winter survival gear collected by the American Alpine Club for victims of the Oct. 8 earthquake in Pakistan are ready for shipment.
The national mountaineering organization teamed up with its counterpart in Pakistan to move the 25,000 items to remote villages damaged by the earthquake, which killed an estimated 80,000 people and left tens of thousands homeless going into the deepest part of winter.
Delivery company DHL is shipping the 1,000 boxes of materials for free to Pakistan, where in some cases they will be transported on the backs of mules, according to club officials.
COMMERCE CITY
Man shot at party dies at Denver Health
A young man shot at a card- playing party at a Commerce City home early Tuesday died at Denver Health Medical Center, Commerce City police Detective Mike Saunders said in a prepared statement.
Saunders identified the victim as Cedric Montano, 20, of Commerce City. The investigation is ongoing and it hasn’t been determined if the shooting was intentional, Saunders said.
