An Aurora man described as a “person of interest” in the death of his housemate was ordered held without bail Friday for violating terms of his prison release in a separate case.
John Reed, 35, went on a cocaine binge after he left federal prison on Jan. 8 and even bragged about it to his probation officer, according to court documents. A warrant for his arrest was issued Feb. 9 after a series of drug tests came back positive.
On Monday, Reed tried to flee a traffic stop in Park County and crashed the car he was driving. The car belonged to Reed’s housemate, 42-year- old Corazon Parry, the homicide victim, said Shannon Lucy, Aurora police spokeswoman.
Parry’s body was found by family members in her apartment in the 1800 block of South Pitkin Street the same day Reed crashed her car. The autopsy has been sealed, and the cause of Parry’s death has not been released.
Reed, in handcuffs and jail clothes, made a brief appearance Friday in U.S. District Court in Denver, where he waived his right to a preliminary hearing on his prison-release violation.
His original federal charges were conspiracy to defraud the United States. Reed and others stole money from banks through checking and credit schemes in 1999, according to court documents.
more local news briefs
WASHINGTON, D.C.
Tancredo opposes more Iraq refugees
U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo has asked President Bush to stop Iraqis from coming to the United States until the ones here illegally go back.
In a letter to the president last week, Tancredo, R-Colo., said that allowing the entrance of 7,000 Iraqi refugees “would very likely violate U.S. law.” Tancredo said the law requires that the United States not accept residents of countries whose governments refuse to take back citizens that are here illegally.
“According to reports, since 2003 the U.S. has allowed 463 Iraqi refugees to relocate in the United States,” Tancredo wrote to Bush. “Under the statute, that is 463 too many.”
DENVER
Cracked windshields on planes “unusual”
Frontier and SkyWest airlines will try to unravel a mystery this week: What cracked windshields on 13 planes Friday at Denver International Airport.
While wind gusts up to 50 mph raked across the Front Range that evening, that shouldn’t affect the glass on the nose of an aircraft, which travels hundreds of miles an hour in cold high-altitude conditions, said Frontier corporate spokesman Joe Hodas.
“It’s definitely unusual,” he said Saturday.
There were no reports of flying debris or other known factors that could have caused the thin cracks, Hodas said.
The planes were not in jeopardy, said Hodas and SkyWest spokeswoman Marissa Snow.
DENVER
Motorcyclist killed after hitting hydrant
A 57-year-old Denver man was killed when he lost control of his motorcycle and crashed near East 46th Avenue and Himalaya Road on Saturday afternoon, police said.
The rider was not identified. He was driving too fast when he hit gravel and dirt, and then crashed into a fire hydrant, said Detective John White.
DENVER
Two men fatally shot in separate incidents
Denver police investigated a spate of shootings, including two fatalities, Saturday night.
The body of a man who had been shot to death was found near 21st and Arapahoe streets about 4 a.m. The victim, whose name was not released, had suffered multiple gunshot wounds, Detective John White said.
About 7:30 p.m., the body of a man shot to death was found in his home in the 1000 block of South Decatur Street.
Also Saturday night, a woman was hit in the leg at 2535 Lafayette St. in what appeared to be a drive-by shooting, White said.
