DENVER
The government asked a federal appeals court Wednesday to reverse a $1.1 million award to a family that claims a relative was killed during interrogation by authorities because he had been mistaken for an accomplice of Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh.
Kenneth Trentadue, 44, died in a cell in a federal holding facility in Oklahoma City in August 1995, four months after a federal office building was bombed, killing 168 people. His death was ruled a suicide, and federal officials have denied responsibility.
Trentadue’s family members filed suit claiming they suffered emotional distress because the government had not told them how he died or that an autopsy had been performed.
They said they discovered when they opened his casket that Trentadue’s throat had been slashed with a toothpaste tube and he had been hanged with a braided bedsheet.
They also saw signs of the autopsy.
After a 2001 trial, a federal judge in Oklahoma City ordered the government to pay Trentadue’s family the $1.1 million, saying the government’s conduct was outrageous and caused the family severe emotional distress.
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DENVER
Public defender seeks sanctions against DA
A defense attorney in a first-degree murder case asked that the Denver district attorney’s office be sanctioned for failing to share evidence until moments before the hearing.
The defendant, Timothy Boham, 25, is charged with murdering wealthy businessman John Kelso in his East Seventh Avenue home Nov. 13.
At Monday’s hearing, public defender Steve Flavin asked that the district attorney’s office be sanctioned for handing him 673 pages of evidence just moments before Boham’s preliminary hearing was to convene before Judge Andrew Armatas.
Senior Deputy Diane Balkin argued that Flavin wasn’t entitled to all of the records before the preliminary hearing and that he already had been given the most important document in the case, that of Boham’s confession.
Armatas denied the request for sanctions but said: “If the prosecutors do it again, I may impose sanctions.”
He continued the case until Feb. 6.
MEEKER
Flood-threatened town stays on alert
Meeker officials are keeping a close eye on the partially frozen White River that is threatening to flood some low-lying homes in the middle of the town.
Parts of the river have frozen from about 30 miles southwest of Meeker to several miles northeast, forcing unfrozen water over the ice dams and over the banks in places.
A handful of homes have been evacuated because of the threat of flooding, and the city has made sandbags available.
Rio Blanco County emergency manager John Hutchins said the river was flooding into farm fields south of Meeker and that was relieving some of the flooding danger in town.
FOUNTAIN
5 arrested in robbery of fast-food outlet
Authorities have arrested five people in connection with the Jan. 9 armed robbery of a Burger King in Fountain, police said Wednesday. The arrests took place Friday. Police said two female employees of the fast-food restaurant took part in planning the robbery.
Arrested on investigation of armed robbery charges were Cody Ford, 23; Larry Debon Ford, 18; and an unidentified 17-year-old boy, police said in a news release. Store employees Teresa Gause, 19, and Joanna Aguilar, 22, were also arrested on suspicion of assisting in the robbery, police said.
COLORADO SPRINGS
ACLU: Free speech denied at NATO meet
Security measures in place for a 2003 meeting of NATO defense ministers in Colorado Springs were so tight that protesters were kept out of sight, depriving them of their free-speech rights, an attorney for a group of demonstrators told a federal appeals court Wednesday.
The city’s attorney told a panel of the U.S. 10th Circuit Court of Appeals that the restrictions were reasonable and that a federal judge was correct in upholding them.
During the meeting, the city cordoned off a security zone around The Broadmoor hotel, keeping the public and protesters at least two blocks away from the venue.
Citizens for Peace in Space argues the restrictions violated free-speech rights because members were kept out of view of meeting participants.
DENVER
License plate program backs public schools
A consortium of public school foundations will launch the Colorado “Support Public Education” license plate program Monday in an effort to enhance educational opportunities for public school students.
The Colorado School Foundations Association’s program gives Colorado drivers a visible way to show their support for public education.
The plates can be purchased at supportcoloradoschools.org. The plates cost $20, in addition to the $25 fee charged by the Division of Motor Vehicles.
All money raised through the program will be used by local public school districts to support programs that enhance student learning.
Rep. Nancy Todd, D-Aurora, sponsored the bill creating the program.
