Saudi husband, wife plead not guilty in nanny kidnap
A Saudi couple pleaded not guilty Thursday to state charges including kidnapping and sexual assault stemming from allegations they kept an Indonesian woman as a virtual slave for four years.
Arapahoe County District Judge Marilyn Antrim scheduled a June 13 trial for the couple after denying a defense motion seeking separate trials. Homaidan Al-Turki, 37, and his wife, Sarah Khonaizan, face up to life in prison if convicted on the state charges.
Al-Turki is charged with kidnapping, 12 counts of sexual assault, extortion and false imprisonment, while Khonaizan is charged with kidnapping, false imprisonment and extortion.
The two also face an April 24 trial on federal charges of forced labor, involuntary servitude and harboring an illegal immigrant.
A federal indictment released last year alleges the Indonesian woman was repeatedly sexually assaulted by Al-Turki and was paid less than the equivalent of $2 a day over four years to cook, clean and care for the couple’s five children.
It also said she was sometimes loaned out to work for other families when her host family traveled.
Court documents said the woman told investigators she worked seven days a week with no regular days off from 2000 to 2004 while living in Aurora.
WHEAT RIDGE
Police say burglar has hit about 20 homes
Wheat Ridge police are warning the public that a burglar has struck about 20 homes on the east side of town, with three homes hit Monday, police spokeswoman Lisa Stigall said in a prepared statement.
The burglar typically strikes after dark and apparently knocks on the front door. If there is no response, he looks for a way to get into the home, either through an open window or unlocked door, Stigall said.
The thief seems mostly interested in cash, jewelry and small items, she said.
The only description of the burglar is that he is male, Stigall said.
Police advise residents to leave a light on after dark or use a timer so that one comes on after dark; install motion- detector floodlights on the exterior of the home; lock all doors and windows when leaving home; and call 911 if unfamiliar people are lingering or there is suspicious activity in the neighborhood.
DOUGLAS COUNTY
55-year-old man jailed on child-porn charges
A 55-year-old Littleton man was arrested in a sting in which authorities say he was trying to persuade a woman to let him sexually assault her 12-year-old daughter.
Michael Joseph Haswell was held on $100,000 bail for investigation of 13 counts of sexual exploitation of children through pornography and 10 counts of promoting obscenity to a child, said Lt. Alan Stanton of the Doug las County Sheriff’s Office.
Instead of contacting a 36- year-old mother as he thought, Haswell was corresponding with investigators from the Doug las County Sheriff Office’s high-tech crimes unit.
Investigators confiscated multiple computers from his house and believe Haswell may have victimized others. His screen name was Mike 91169.
LAKEWOOD
Teenager accused of setting her home afire
A 14-year-old girl faces 30 years in jail for allegedly setting fire to her family’s home and telling investigators she did it because she was bored.
West Metro Fire investigators announced Thursday that they were filing three felony arson charges against the unidentified girl. She is accused of using a lighter to set paper, paper plates and other items on fire Feb. 9, which caused more than $15,000 in damage to the home, in the 1000 block of South Garrison Street.
The girl’s father was also home when the fire broke out, and they managed to get out safely.
JEFFERSON COUNTY
Man, 44, faces more trespassing charges
Additional burglary and trespassing charges were filed Thursday against Robert Kent Peterson, 44, who is accused of breaking into homes and rummaging through dresser drawers.
Peterson turned himself in to the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office on Monday after a warrant was issued for his arrest in connection with a Jan. 13 break-in in south Jefferson County.
On Feb. 3, Peterson was arrested and charged with second- degree burglary and first-degree trespassing after deputies matched his vehicle’s description with one leaving a home where a woman said she found him attempting to hide in her 17-year-old daughter’s bedroom closet. Peterson posted a $10,000 bond and was released.
Later, investigators said Peterson appeared to have committed a similar break-in. A 15-year-old girl and a friend identified him in a photo lineup as the man they found hiding in an upstairs bathroom. The same charges have been filed in that case.
LITTLETON
Bar dispute ends with man shot twice
A 22-year old man was shot twice early Thursday after an argument in a Littleton bar spilled outside.
The victim, who was not identified by police, was taken to Swedish Medical Center and is in stable condition.
Witnesses told Littleton police that several men got into a “disturbance” about 12:45 a.m. inside Dubb’s Pub, 5301 S. Broadway.
DENVER
Mexican sentenced in ID-theft ring
A 34-year-old man authorities said was a key member of an identification-fraud ring was sentenced Monday to more than 11 years in federal prison for identity theft and money laundering.
Francisco Javier Miranda- Espinosa, a citizen of Mexico, belonged to the Castorena Family Organization and was involved in manufacturing and distributing counterfeit identity documents, including resident alien cards, Social Security cards and various driver’s licenses in Denver, Los Angeles and Chicago, according to the Colorado U.S. attorney’s office.
FORT COLLINS
CSU president seeks additional funding
Colorado State University president Larry Penley says the state should consider higher- education funding options that account for the high cost of educating science, math and engineering students.
The Colorado School of Mines and CSU spend the most per credit hour to educate students, yet the schools get no extra state funding, Penley said in a report released Thursday.
The two universities have higher costs because of higher faculty salaries in science, math and engineering, and expensive lab equipment. Penley’s report suggests that the state consider a funding model that weighs student credit hours based on cost. Other states, including Texas, Florida and Ohio, use such models. CSU is sending the paper to lawmakers, Gov. Bill Owens and the Colorado Commission on Higher Education.
