Body in back of man’s van is that of a male, police say
Park County – The dead body found in the back of a van last month is that of a male and the homicide might be drug-related, Park County sheriff’s investigators said Sunday.
Robert Pastore, 31, reportedly confessed that he strangled the man in the back of the van in the vicinity of Interstate 70 and Quebec Street in Denver on May 28.
Authorities say Pastore then drove to an isolated campsite at Guanella Pass in Park County and thought about killing himself for several days before turning himself in to deputies Saturday.
Initially, Denver prosecutors were going to pursue the case, but it was determined that the Park County district attorney’s office would assume authority.
The coroner’s office is withholding the name of the man until his family is notified.
BOULDER COUNTY
Hikers find body near St. Vrain Creek
A body in the advanced stages of decomposition was found Sunday by hikers on the south side of St. Vrain Creek about 3 miles southwest of Lyons.
Boulder County Sheriff Joe Pelle told 9News only dental records and DNA evidence could determine the person’s identity. An autopsy will provide the cause of death.
The circumstances of the death are unknown.
“To my memory and to the investigators’ memory, we don’t have any active suspicious missing persons case that comes to mind immediately,” Pelle told 9News. “Obviously we need to go back and look through databases.”
Pelle says his department is treating the case as a homicide.
RIFLE
Study: House values rebound after drilling
Oil and gas drilling does lower the value of nearby homes, but the price often rebounds at least partially when the drilling is complete, a seven-month study in Garfield County found. The gas boom can also raise prices.
“Value drops during the drilling phase, with a loss of almost $50,000, and begins to recover as the well is completed,” said Ford Frick, managing director of BBC Research of Denver.
Frick told the Glenwood Post Independent that three factors contribute to the loss of value: noise and odors, the fear that drilling is a risk, and the impact on quality of life.
A total of 7,600 property transactions were examined in the county, which has 2,674 operating wells.
BOULDER
Council calls for U.S. forces to leave Iraq
The Boulder City Council passed a resolution calling for a pullout of U.S. forces from Iraq but set no timetable.
The resolution was passed after a four-hour hearing Saturday that drew about 70 people.
“I’m disappointed we couldn’t get a firm date, but this goes a long way for our position on the war,” said Dan Winters, who gave a presentation outlining changes the coalition wanted in the city’s drafted resolution.
Councilman Shaun McGrath disagreed. “If we give this an arbitrary number, I think it will lose its credibility,” he said.
McGrath said more than 70 towns and cities have passed resolutions but none with deadlines.
The resolution has no legal impact. It passed 5-1, and the council will send a copy to President Bush, U.S. Sens. Wayne Allard and Ken Salazar and U.S. Rep Mark Udall.
Richard Polk, the only council member to oppose the resolution, said it didn’t have the support of the entire community.
“As a councilman, I have to respect the 100,000 residents that aren’t here,” Polk said.
DENVER
LoDo shooting sends victim to hospital
A man was wounded early Sunday at 18th and Blake streets in Lower Downtown.
A motive for the shooting was not immediately known.
The victim was taken to Denver Health Medical Center, where he underwent surgery, said police spokeswoman Virginia Quiñones.
His name and age were not released.
Police are looking for four people in a green Honda who were seen leaving the area after the shooting.
LAKEWOOD
Daughter’s boyfriend shot; her dad arrested
A father was arrested on investigation of attempted murder early Sunday after shooting his daughter’s boyfriend during a domestic dispute at a Conoco station, Lakewood police said.
The incident began after a 20-year-old woman called police and said she was assaulted at a home by her 29-year-old boyfriend. She left the home and went to a Conoco station at 1110 S. Pierce St. to call her father about 5:20 a.m.
Her father and boyfriend arrived at the station and got into a fight, police said. The father, who is 52, reportedly told police that the boyfriend hit him in the mouth and that is why he shot him.
Both the boyfriend and father were taken to St. Anthony Central Hospital for treatment. Both men’s injuries are not seen as life-threatening, police said.
