Commerce City’s top cop put on leave during probe
Commerce City – Chief of Police Brian Hebbard has been placed on administrative leave while city officials investigate allegations police may have given the former city manager preferential treatment during driving incidents.
“Sometimes administration changes are necessary,” Mayor Sean Ford said when reached by telephone Saturday.
Ford would not go into details about why Hebbard was removed from his job, but said, “Procedures may have been skipped.”
The city has engaged an outside legal firm to look into the processes and procedures of the police department. Deputy chief of police Chuck Baker has assumed the duties and responsibilities of the department, according to Acting City Manager Gregg Clements.
Perry VanDeventer resigned as city manager late last month at the request of the City Council. The city and VanDeventer have been criticized for their spending. Also, VanDeventer was arrested twice for allegedly driving drunk and has one DUI conviction.
According to news reports, city officials received a citizen complaint that VanDeventer turned the wrong way into a housing development, hit a curb and drove through white construction markers in July. Hebbard admitted in published reports that mistakes were made regarding treatment of VanDeventer.
DILLON
Eisenhower Tunnel to close half of lanes
Highway officials will close one side of the Eisenhower Tunnel beginning tonight, and drivers can expect delays as long as two hours while workers repave the portion of Interstate 70 through the Continental Divide.
Traffic will be funneled to one lane in each direction going through the same tunnel bore during the $3.8 million project, expected to last until Sept. 29.
Vehicles wider than 8 feet, 6 inches will be required to travel over Loveland Pass.
The tunnels will be open on weekends. Information on delays will be available on roadside message boards, by calling 303-639-1111 in the Denver area or 877-315-ROAD elsewhere in Colorado, or at www.cotrip.org.
CENTENNIAL
Inmate found dead in Arapahoe jail cell
The Sheriff’s Office is investigating the death of an Arapahoe County jail inmate who apparently hanged himself with a bedsheet Friday night in his cell, officials say.
The name of the 45-year-old inmate has not been released pending notification of his family, said Arapahoe County Sheriff Grayson Robinson.
The man was found at 8:15 p.m., Robinson said. The case is under investigation.
ALAMOSA
Cop shoots suspect in burglary at college
A burglary suspect caught in the Adams State College music building was shot early Saturday morning, officials said.
Salomon Silva Jr., 20, of Alamosa was given first aid after the 1:30 a.m. shooting and was taken to the San Luis Valley Regional Medical Center for treatment, said Gregg Mestas, director of ASC Public Safety.
Silva later was flown to Swedish Medical Center in Englewood, Adams State spokeswoman Julie M. Waechter said. It was unclear how serious his injury was.
The suspect is not a student, according to Student Affairs dean Ken Marquez.
The Colorado Bureau of Investigation is helping process the crime scene, Mestas said. Adams State police officer Tresa Rupright, who shot Silva, was placed on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation, Waechter said.
FORT COLLINS
Charges still weighed in prowler shooting
The Larimer County district attorney’s office is deciding whether to file charges against a man who shot a prowler in the back, authorities said.
The Fort Collins police department completed its criminal investigation against Steven Ray, 58, and presented its evidence to the district attorney’s office Thursday, said Rita Davis, Fort Collins police spokeswoman.
Early Aug. 28, Ray shot David Ebner, 28, in his backyard with a .45-caliber pistol as Ebner was running away from Ray’s home, Davis said.
Police found Ebner 20 minutes later in a vacant lot about 100 yards from Ray’s house in the 300 block of High Pointe Drive.
Ebner was briefly hospitalized and was discharged Sept. 3.
NATHROP
Man kills girlfriend, self to fend off search
A man shot his girlfriend to death and then killed himself when Chaffee County authorities attempted to search the man’s home as part of an arson investigation, authorities said.
Sheriff Tim Walker said Justin Jimerson, 24, killed Candus Wolfe, 49, before turning his semiautomatic pistol on himself Wednesday evening.
The two had concealed themselves inside a closet in Jimerson’s home as his father, Mark Jimerson, tried to talk to them while authorities waited outside, Walker said.
Walker said authorities planned to search the home for items belonging to Wolfe that might be linked to a June 17 fire that destroyed her Rocky Mountain Pine Cones business in Poncha Springs.
Authorities found numerous weapons around the house, with ammunition laid out nearby.
GLENWOOD SPRINGS
Weed cutter sparked 829-acre wildfire
A wildfire that burned 829 acres, destroying one home and three outlying buildings near Rifle, was started accidentally when a resident set down a weed-cutting device and heat from the motor ignited dry weeds, authorities said.
The fire started Aug. 31 and was declared contained by Sept. 3.
DENVER
26 arrested during CU-CSU football game
There were no major incidents at this year’s Rocky Mountain Showdown between Colorado State University and the University of Colorado.
Denver police made 26 arrests Saturday at Invesco Field at Mile High, said Detective Virginia Quiñones, police spokeswoman.
Police issued five citations for undisclosed violations, and 38 people were sent to detox, Quiñones said. Additionally, 52 were ejected from the stadium for being unruly.
BOULDER
25 new hires will join CU’s teaching force
The University of Colorado at Boulder will hire 25 new professors to improve the student-faculty ratio, according to chancellor Bud Peterson.
CU-Boulder has had about 1,000 professors with tenure or on the tenure track for about a decade, despite gaining about 5,000 students during that time.
Professors and administrators have been concerned about the campus’ ratio of 29 students for every tenured or tenure-track professor.
