Teen acquitted of 6 counts in fatal crash; 2 counts stick
Justin Reed, 18, was acquitted Tuesday of six counts of careless driving causing death or injury in a 2004 automobile crash that took the life of a 15-year-old friend and injured three other teens in the car, including Reed.
An Arapahoe County Court jury convicted Reed of speeding and failing to wear a seat belt, said 18th Judicial District spokeswoman Kathleen Walsh.
He faces a $100 fine on each of those two charges and the loss of six points on his driver’s license, four on the speeding conviction and two for not wearing a seat belt, she said.
Reed was driving a Mitsubishi Mirage with friends to a school bonfire about 7 p.m. on Sept. 9, 2004, police said. Traveling east on Dry Creek Road near South University Boulevard, Reed lost control as the vehicle skidded into a westbound Honda Accord and down a 9-foot ravine.
Kameron Elliott was killed in the accident.
There was testimony that one of the passengers in the car pulled its emergency brake while the car was passing another vehicle, which could have factored into the car’s veering out of control, said defense attorney Scott Robinson.
WASHINGTON
Rep. Salazar seeks funding for vets’ care
Rep. John Salazar of Colorado wrote Tuesday to House Speaker Dennis Hastert asking that $630 million in veterans’ health- care funds be included in President Bush’s $72.4 billion funding request for the Iraq war.
The letter from Salazar, D-Manassa, the newest member of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, was signed by 120 House Democrats, including Reps. Diana DeGette of Denver and Mark Udall of Eldorado Springs.
“With the war in Iraq and Afghanistan, we’ve created a whole new generation of veterans who need our care,” Salazar wrote. “It is time for us to be honest in our budgeting and recognize the urgency of providing full funding for veterans’ health care.”
DENVER
Absent witness delays forced-labor trial
A federal judge on Tuesday delayed the trial of a Saudi couple accused of keeping an Indonesian woman as a virtual slave after prosecutors said a key witness has not returned from Saudi Arabia.
State and federal prosecutors allege Homaidan Al-Turki sexually abused the Indonesian woman repeatedly. They say Al-Turki and his wife, Sarah Khonaizan, required the woman to cook, clean and provide child care in their suburban Aurora home for little or no pay from 2000 to 2004.
Al-Turki and Khonaizan’s trial on federal charges of forced labor, involuntary servitude and harboring an illegal immigrant was to start April 24. But prosecutors told U.S. District Judge Walker Miller on Tuesday the only witness who can testify about the way the woman was treated, Khaled Resheid, is out of the country.
Prosecution filings say the Indonesian woman sometimes stayed with Resheid and told him about the alleged sexual abuse and working conditions. The filings say Resheid has not returned to the U.S. after traveling to Saudi Arabia in August to be with a sick relative.
DENVER
“The Apprentice” auditions March 25
Auditions for the sixth season of the reality-TV series “The Apprentice” will be March 25 at the Denver Performing Arts Complex, city officials announced Tuesday.
Denver is one of 17 cities to be visited by casting agents from the show, in which contestants vie for a job with tycoon Donald Trump. The fifth season of “The Apprentice” is airing at 8 p.m. Mondays on KUSA-Channel 9.
Candidates should arrive no earlier than 7 a.m. at Kevin Taylor’s at the Opera House in the Ellie Caulkins Opera House, said city spokeswoman Ann Wil liams. Interviews will begin at 10 a.m. An application, available at www.nbc.com/theapprentice, is required. The website also has audition rules.
EVERGREEN
Planned dam’s face to get $75,000 coverup
The Genesee Water & Sanitation District board has approved spending about $25,000 on staining the downstream face of the district’s proposed dam in Bear Creek Canyon and an additional $50,000 on other visual mitigation.
The action, taken Feb. 28, was requested by the Jefferson County Board of Commissioners in response to neighbors’ concerns about the visual impact of the 100-foot-high, 500-foot-long dam. The district will hold a public meeting to gather area residents’ ideas on how to mitigate the dam’s appearance.
The reservoir and dam are scheduled to be completed and filled with water by the summer of 2007.
GREEN RIVER, Wyo.
Gas projects could bring 8,950 new wells
Two drilling projects proposed in the Red Desert near Wamsutter could result in nearly 9,000 new gas wells over the next four decades.
The wells would be drilled on 1 million acres of public and private land. The federal government is planning an environmental study on the Creston/Blue Gap II natural-gas project proposed by Devon Energy and the Continental Divide/Wamsutter II gas project proposed by BP America.
The combined projects around Wamsutter call for up to 8,950 new gas wells, including 100 to 500 coal-bed methane wells, over the next 30 to 40 years.
HIGHLANDS RANCH
Water, sewer bills going up 6 percent
Highlands Ranch residents will see a 6 percent rate increase in water and sewer bills that arrive in April.
Centennial Water and Sanitation District and the Metro Districts of Highlands Ranch adopted the increase for service use that began Feb. 1.
The new price reflects the higher cost of running water and wastewater operations, particularly because of electric rates and tariffs from Xcel Energy, according to the Metro Districts.
For more information, e-mail Centennial Water and Sanitation District at info@highlands ranch.org. E-mails should include the customer’s name and telephone number.
