CHEYENNE – Fifteen pounds of cocaine was discovered Monday by Wyoming state troopers during a traffic stop on Interstate 80, police said.
Gustavo S. Valencia of Modesto, Calif., is being held in the Laramie County Jail. Felony charges of possession with intent to deliver are pending, said Sgt. Stephen Townsend.
Valencia was stopped and given a warning for following too closely, he said. The trooper became suspicious when Valencia didn’t know who was the car’s registered owner.
A search of the back seat yielded bricks of cocaine behind the side panels, Townsend said.
Troopers and special agents with the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation have determined the cocaine was being driven from San Jose, Calif., Townsend said, and was intended for delivery in the Chicago area.
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FORT COLLINS
Researchers find contaminants in river
Colorado State University researchers have found antibiotic resistance genes at five locations along the Poudre River.
In an upcoming issue of the American Chemical Society’s Environmental Science and Technology journal, CSU assistant civil and environmental engineering professor Amy Pruden urges the scientific community to view antibiotic resistance genes as serious contaminants.
Pruden notes that even if cells carrying the genes have been killed, the DNA still winds up in the environment and may get transferred to other cells.
“Antibiotic resistance genes in and of themselves can be considered emerging contaminants for which migration strategies are needed to prevent their widespread dissemination,” Pruden said. “This is especially true as the rate of discovery and development of new antibiotics is continually declining while the corresponding development and spread of resistance is occurring at a rapid pace.”
Pruden is working with CSU professor Ken Carlson to test and design early-warning security systems to alert city utility officials when major pollutants are detected in water supplies.
FORT COLLINS
Tax-fraud defendant given six months
A former Fort Collins resident investigated for promoting a fraudulent tax avoidance program was found guilty Tuesday of criminal contempt for violating an injunction order, according to the U.S. attorney’s office.
Federal district court Judge Robert Blackburn sentenced Austin Gary Cooper to six months’ imprisonment following the conviction. Cooper and his wife, Martha E. Cooper, had been charged with one count of criminal contempt for violating a permanent injunction order related to their sale and promotion of Taking Back America, a tax-avoidance program, authorities said.
Martha Cooper failed to appear for her initial appearance and remains a fugitive, authorities said.
In November 2003, a judge ordered the Coopers and their organization to provide the government with a complete list of customers, advise their clients of the injunction order and post the ruling on various websites controlled by the Coopers.
The Coopers were promoting and selling a so-called expatriation/repatriation package that purported to exempt participants from paying federal taxes, U.S. Attorney Troy Eid said. The Coopers sold the package for up to $1,600 to as many as 2,000 individuals nationwide, he said.
Evidence also showed that the Coopers knew that the expatriation/repatriation package they were selling would not exempt individuals from tax laws as they fraudulently claimed, Eid said.
FORT COLLINS
CSU student accused of trying to lure child
A Colorado State University graduate student was arrested Monday after police say he used the Internet to lure a child, 9News reported.
According to CSU police, 37-year-old David Michael Pepin was arrested at Morgan Library and an ambulance was called to the scene after Pepin suffered a minor medical problem during the arrest. Police did not elaborate on the problem.
Police said Pepin is close to earning his Ph.D. in ecology and teaches classes in the department.
He was charged with two felony counts of luring a child through the Internet and enticement of a child, according to police.
Pepin is being held at the Larimer County Detention Center.
CSU police say they were alerted to an ongoing investigation of Pepin by Jefferson County officials, but would not provide any other details.
CSU plans to hold its own investigation, and if Pepin is convicted, CSU police said he will likely be expelled.
