Black Hawk’s new mayor on probation for assault
Black Hawk – An alderman who pleaded guilty to felony menacing and third-degree domestic violence assault last month in accusations that he twice pistol-whipped his wife was sworn in Wednesday as mayor of this gambling town west of Denver.
David Dee Spellman, 41, was listed as mayor on the town’s website late Wednesday.
“We believe in second chances,” city spokesman Chuck Ford told KUSA-TV. “Most of us have all had one at some time or another, and we don’t think he should be denied that opportunity when he’s the best man for this job and has proven it over and over again.”
Spellman was sentenced to four years of probation, with the felony charge to be dropped if he successfully completes his sentence, city officials said.
Spellman has been a member of the City Council since 1993. A phone number listed for Spellman was disconnected.
SEDALIA
Driver charged in road worker’s death
A woman who police say fell asleep and accidentally killed a road worker faces two careless-driving charges, a Colorado State Patrol official said Wednesday.
Elizabeth Vogel, 19, has been charged with one count each of careless driving causing death and careless driving causing bodily injury, said State Patrol spokesman Eric Wynn. On Saturday, she struck and killed highway worker Christopher Naeve on U.S. 85 near Sedalia, police said.
An officer said Vogel may have been asleep at the wheel of her 2000 Chevrolet Geo when she swerved into the closed construction lane.
She is scheduled to appear in court next month.
DENVER
Spanish reading test faces federal deadline
Federal education officials have given the state one month to demonstrate that the Lectura, a state reading test design for monolingual, Spanish-speaking third- and fourth-graders, is comparable to the English version of the test.
The U.S. Department of Education earlier this month reviewed Colorado’s standards and assessment system. That system largely relies on the Colorado Student Assessment Program test to measure whether students are showing academic growth as required by the No Child Left Behind act of 2001.
AVON
Man who admitted molesting boy is jailed
A 33-year-old man who police say told them he had molested a 4-year-old boy he babysat was being held in lieu of $15,000 bail Wednesday.
The man, whose name was not released in order to protect the victim’s identity, is scheduled to appear in court Aug. 1 and he may face deportation, said Eagle County sheriff’s Lt. Kim Andree.
The boy’s mother had called police on June 29 after the child said the babysitter had sexually abused him while he watched the child eight days earlier.
Police arrested the man July 5. He admitted that day to molesting the boy but said he did not rape him, Andree said.
DENVER
Bank offers reward for robber’s capture
The Bank of the West is offering a $2,500 reward for information leading to the prosecution of a man who robbed a Denver branch Wednesday.
The suspect robbed the bank at about 1:50 p.m. Denver police would not say whether he had used a weapon.
“We’re hoping by putting those pictures out as quickly as we did … somebody will recognize him,” said Denver Police Department spokesman Sonny Jackson.
Witnesses may call Crime Stopper at 720-913-STOP or Rocky Mountain Safe Streets at 303-313-6800.
DENVER
Ban on hazmat trucks in tunnel to continue
Trucks carrying hazardous materials will still not be allowed through the Eisenhower Tunnel, except in severe weather, after a new study revealed that letting them travel the tunnel was too risky.
Hazmat vehicle traffic through the tunnel on Interstate 70 has been limited since 1987, according to a Department of Transportation news release Wednesday. Trucks carrying dangerous materials instead travel on U.S. 6 over Loveland Pass.
The current policy was based on a study completed in 1990, and the department wanted to make sure its policies were up to date, said department regional director Jeff Kullman in the release.
The most recent study, which cost $125,000, analyzed accident potential along the two routes.
The number of potential casualties on the I-70 route in the disaster scenarios is higher than that on the U.S. 6 route, according to the department.
LOVELAND
Mother gets 4 years in sex assault on kids
A Loveland woman who pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting her children was sentenced to four years in prison Wednesday, said Linda Jensen, spokeswoman for the Larimer County district attorney.
Dawn Rosemary Triggs, 41, pleaded guilty in April to two counts of felony sexual assault on a child. Under the plea bargain, she will spend three years on parole after her release from prison and 15 years on an intensive form of probation for sex offenders, which includes completing treatments and risk assessments.
Triggs also will have to register as a sex offender and is banned from having contact with anyone under 18, including her children.
Triggs’ husband, James Triggs, 37, was sentenced in April to 100 years in prison for 17 counts of sexual crimes against children.
The couple’s children told police that their parents made them strip and told them to engage in sexual acts with one another.
DENVER
Powerful PAC backs Democrat Mello
Democrat Jennifer Mello, a state Senate candidate in Denver’s District 32, was endorsed Wednesday by Emily’s List – the largest political-action committee in the country.
Emily’s List, a political network and financial resource for women running for public office, is likely to funnel money to Mello and help her with campaign strategies.
Mello is running against Chris Romer, son of former Gov. Roy Romer and term-limited state Rep. Fran Coleman in the Aug. 8 primary.
The winner will face Republican Dave Lewis in the fall.
