A youth minister arrested this week on suspicion of molesting two girls was found dead of an apparent suicide at his home in Craig on Tuesday night.
John Graler’s body was discovered less than 24 hours after he posted bond on charges he had sexually assaulted two girls in his youth program.
“It’s such a shock to the community,” said Frank Hanel, the owner and general manager of Craig radio station KRAI and the former employer of Graler’s wife and son.
Craig and Moffat County authorities were saying little about Graler’s death, except that foul play was not suspected. A family member called 911 about 7:15 p.m. Tuesday after finding the body.
Moffat County Sheriff’s Office investigator K.C. Hume declined to talk about how Graler died until forensic evidence was tested.
Graler, 53, had been under investigation since the New Year’s Eve weekend when two girls reported he had molested them.
The girls were between 13 and 18 years old when the alleged assaults occurred. Graler had been the youth minister at the First Christian Church in Craig since 2000.
Additional local news briefs:
AURORA
2 boys investigated over videotaped fight
Two Thunder Ridge Middle School students agreed to fight each other while another student videotaped the confrontation and 40 students cheered, officials say.
The students, ages 12 and 13, received minor injuries during the after-school brawl at Lookout Park, 5436 S. Riviera Way. They were taken to the Arapahoe County Juvenile Assessment Center and released.
The boys are under investigation for “fighting by agreement,” a petty offense, said Bruce Wil liamson, public-safety bureau chief for the Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Department.
“One kid said something bad about the other’s girlfriend,” Williamson said.
Deputies confiscated a videotape of the fight as evidence.
CASTLE ROCK
Police seek fugitive sex offender, 66
Castle Rock police said they are seeking a convicted sex offender believed to be on the run after removing his GPS ankle monitor Wednesday afternoon.
Police obtained an arrest warrant for Richard Frank Roy, 66, who recently was released from prison and was living temporarily at a Castle Rock motel.
Police said they received a call from Roy’s parole officer, who reported that the GPS ankle monitor had been tampered with. The ankle monitor later was located at the corner of Colorado 85 and Atrium Drive.
AURORA
Man pleads not guilty in slaying of officer
The man charged with killing Aurora police Detective Mike Thomas, in plain clothes and driving his personal car when he was shot in September, pleaded not guilty Wednesday.
Brian Washington, 27, entered his plea in Adams County District Court. His trial is set for June 4.
Washington is accused of gunning down the detective, who had just finished a training session Sept. 20 and was running errands.
Thomas was in his car at the intersection of East Montview Boulevard and Peoria Street when he was killed.
Washington faces eight counts, including first-degree murder. If convicted, he could be sentenced to death, but prosecutors have yet to say whether they will seek the death penalty.
COLORADO SPRINGS
DA won’t pursue AFA rape allegation
Civilian authorities in Colorado Springs decided against prosecuting an Air Force Academy graduate accused of rape – a case that military prosecutors dropped last summer.
El Paso County district attorney officials devoted more than 100 hours to reviewing evidence in the case of Jessica Brakey, who accused Capt. Joseph Harding, a 2002 graduate, of raping her in 2000.
“After careful consideration and review of all the information, we do not believe we can prove the elements of this crime beyond a reasonable doubt,” chief prosecutor Diana May said Wednesday.
Prosecutors looked into possibilities for further investigation, she said, and also were “fully confident that we received all the information from the Air Force.”
Military prosecutors dropped the case after a Colorado Springs therapist refused to turn over the alleged victim’s medical records to a military court.
PUEBLO
Man gets 2nd jackpot in lottery in 3 years
A Pueblo man is celebrating his second lottery jackpot win in three years.
The winner, who wants to remain anonymous, won $3.4 million in the Dec. 20 drawing. He won $1.3 million in October 2003.
The first time, according to Colorado Lottery officials, the man was a week away from filing for bankruptcy.
He uttered a desperate prayer: “Lord, help me out. I want to pay my bills. I don’t want to file for bankruptcy.”
Within moments, he said, he heard a voice encouraging him to buy a ticket.
Lottery officials list the odds of winning a jackpot at 1 in 5,245,786. They say the probability of winning the jackpot twice in a lifetime is one in many, many trillion.
DENVER
DA clears officer in shooting of suspect
The Denver District Attorney’s Office ruled Wednesday that a Denver police sergeant did not violate the law when he shot a man who refused police orders to show his hands.
Sgt. Larry Valencia shot Daniel Ayon on Dec. 2 in a home in the 2200 block of Irving Street.
Ayon, a robbery suspect, was hiding in a closet and refused to come out or show his hands to police, according to an investigation by Denver District Attorney Mitch Morrissey.
Valencia fired two shots, hitting Ayon in the pelvis. Ayon was treated at Denver Health Medical Center for his wound and later arrested in connection with the robbery.
