12 war protesters convicted of obstructing recruit center
Golden – A Jefferson County jury took only about a half-hour late Tuesday to convict 12 war protesters of blocking access to a Lakewood military-recruiting office.
The defendants, who refer to themselves as the “No Blood for Oil 12,” were found guilty of obstructing a passageway and third-degree criminal trespass.
The dozen will be sentenced July 26. They face up to six months in jail on each charge and fines of $500 for obstructing a passageway and $750 for trespassing.
Several said during the trial, which started Monday, that they had staged a Nov. 18 protest at the Armed Forces Recruitment Center at 215 S. Sheridan Blvd. to bring attention to the Iraq war.
ARVADA
1 killed, 1 hospitalized in crash on I-70
A man was killed and a woman was hospitalized Wednesday in a crash on Interstate 70 near the Interstate 76 interchange involving an 18-wheeler, a van and a pickup, said Susan Medina, spokeswoman for Arvada police.
The driver of the van, a man possibly in his 60s, may have suffered a medical condition causing him to veer across traffic and into the semi, Medina said. Both vehicles were westbound. A pickup on the other side of the semi was forced into the center median wall, she said.
The driver of the van was pronounced dead at the scene, Medina said. A female passenger in the van was taken to St. Anthony Central Hospital. Her condition wasn’t known.
The names of the victims weren’t released Wednesday.
DENVER
School bus driver arraigned in crash
Katherine Sierra, the driver of a school bus that careened out of control and hit a parked car and then plowed into a house April 26 in the Hilltop neighborhood, was arraigned Wednesday in Denver County Court.
Sierra, 58, is charged with 25 counts of careless driving resulting in injury. There were 24 students on the bus who were hurt in addition to the driver of the parked car, according to prosecutors.
DENVER
Fire sends smoke into high-rise for seniors
A fire in a parking lot of a senior-citizen high-rise in the 1800 block of Marion Street destroyed 11 vehicles and sent a dozen residents of the building to the hospital to be treated for smoke inhalation, said Denver Fire Department spokesman Lt. Phil Champagne.
He said the fire was arson and was set about 2 a.m. Wednesday in some clothing and extended to the vehicles.
Because of the warm night, many of the residents of the building had their windows open and the building sustained smoke damage as a result.
COLORADO
Political-balance law means board changes
A new state law that requires political balance on the governor-appointed boards that oversee state colleges will result in major shifts on some of those boards.
The board that governs Metropolitan State College of Denver, for example, includes eight Republicans and one Democrat.
The terms of three Republicans expire next year, and Colorado’s new governor will have to replace them with Democrats.
The bill also affects the Colorado School of Mines, Colorado State University, Adams State College, Fort Lewis College, Mesa State College, Western State College and community colleges.
GREELEY
Police link peeping photographer, rape
Greeley police detectives connected a 24-year-old man, arrested recently for taking photos of women sunbathing at an apartment complex without their knowledge, to the rape of a woman three weeks earlier, authorities said Wednesday.
Ronnie Jim Pieros of Milliken was being held Wednesday in Weld County Jail in lieu of $1 million bail, Greeley police Sgt. Joe Tymkowych said.
On Friday, officers arrested Pieros after managers at the Creekstone Apartments reported him loitering in the complex’s fitness center. The gym looked out over the swimming pool, and when officers confronted him, they discovered he had a digital camera with photos of women from the complex, Tymkowych said.
After further investigation, detectives connected Pieros to the May 12 rape of a 20-year-old woman in her residence at an apartment building a mile away, Tymkowych said.
DENVER
Leslie Foster named 2006 Unique Woman
The Denver Post, The Women’s Foundation of Colorado and Lockheed Martin named Leslie R. Foster, president and chief executive of The Gathering Place, as the 2006 winner of the Unique Woman of Colorado Award.
Also announced were the 2006 Unique Woman of Colorado honorable mentions: Mary Ann Kerwin, co-founder of La Leche League; Marcia Neville, sports reporter for KCNC- Channel 4; and Sally Schaefer, president of the Hilltop Community Resource Center in Grand Junction.
The Unique Woman of Colorado award was presented at the final lecture of The Denver Post Unique Lives & Experiences series this week.
