A grandmother accused of locking her grandson in a dog kennel pleaded guilty Tuesday to felony child abuse, Adams County District Attorney Bob Quick said.
June Candelario, 61, was arrested in May after authorities discovered she had kept her grandson, then 13, inside a dog kennel, chained and padlocked, up to 10 hours a day over a period of three years at her Commerce City home, while she was at work as a counselor in Jefferson County’s detention center.
She faces a maximum of eight years in prison, Quick said.
Candelario is scheduled to be sentenced in April.
THORNTON
4 arrested after pair are hurt during fight
Police arrested four boys in connection with a fight that involved bats and knives and resulted in the stabbing of a 16-year-old girl Tuesday afternoon at Lilly Park, police said.
The girl was treated for a minor laceration to her lower abdomen at North Suburban Medical Center and released, said Thornton police spokesman Matt Barnes.
The girl’s 17-year-old boyfriend was treated at the hospital for a broken arm he suffered when he was hit with a car, Barnes said. Investigators don’t believe the fight was gang-related.
The fight stemmed from an argument the boyfriend got into with those in a vehicle carrying the four boys at about 3:45 p.m. at 88th Avenue and York, police said. The boys allegedly attacked the victims at the park, and the girl was stabbed in the melee, Barnes said.
As the male victim walked to the corner to get help, another vehicle, a black Cadillac sedan, swerved to hit the boy, Barnes said.
Police located the four suspects in a vehicle in 8500 block of Richard Road in unincorporated Adams County, Barnes said. They were being booked into a county detention center for investigation of second-degree assault, Barnes said.
WESTMINSTER
Car-theft suspect shot during police chase
A theft of a Dodge Ram pickup ended in the north metropolitan area with a police-involved shooting of a suspect over the weekend, police said Tuesday.
Following a high-speed pursuit on Saturday, David Powell, 26, was arrested in the 3600 block of Elizabeth in Denver in connection with the armed robbery of two people in Westminster, police said.
The pursuit ended after Powell crashed the stolen truck he was driving into a concrete barrier and the truck rolled, police said.
After wrecking, Powell attempted to flee on foot, and Officer Brandon Barajas chased and fired several times at Powell when he perceived a deadly threat, police said.
Powell was grazed in the hip and was treated for injuries at Denver Health Medical Center before being released to the custody of the Westminster police.
Powell is being held in the Adams County Jail on suspicion of aggravated robbery, theft by receiving, menacing, resisting arrest, felony vehicular eluding, obstruction of a police officer and first-degree assault on a police officer, police said.
LYONS
Body found last June identified as transient
The badly decomposed body found by hikers southwest of Lyons on June 4 has been identified as Angela Josephine Wilds , 38.
At the time Wilds’ body was found, she carried no identification and had no visible characteristics or features that could help identify her remains. Wilds most recently resided in the Longmont area but usually was a transient. She was last seen a year ago.
After a complete autopsy and forensic toxicology testing, the cause and manner of death are undetermined. However, due to the unusual circumstances surrounding the discovery of the body, detectives believe that she was killed. The Sheriff’s Office is treating it as a homicide.
DENVER
Complaints lead RTD to review ad policy
RTD officials said they will re-examine the agency’s policy on transit advertising after representatives from two ad watchdog groups complained that advertisements for a violent video game appeared on light-rail trains.
The Regional Transportation District needs “to take a look from a legal and policy” standpoint at its advertising procedures, said RTD spokesman Scott Reed after the groups asked transit agency directors Tuesday evening to reject ads for “mature” video games.
A committee of RTD directors will review the ad policy, Reed said, but he noted that agency officials also have to weigh “free speech issues” when dealing with advertising matters.
DENVER
Man, woman found dead in apartment
A man and a woman were found dead in an apartment on Tuesday morning, but foul play was not immediately suspected, said Denver police spokesman Sonny Jackson.
Neighbors reported an odor to the Fire Department about 9:45 a.m., and a hazardous materials team was sent to 600 S. Dayton St. and found the pair. The man and woman had not been identified Tuesday.
WASHINGTON
Justices reject case; Pakistani faces exile
The Supreme Court refused Tuesday to consider the case of a Pakistani man facing deportation because he was convicted of an assault.
A federal appeals court sided with the U.S. government, ruling that Haroon Rashid state misdemeanor conviction qualified as an “aggravated felony,” making him eligible for deportation.
Rashid, of Lakewood, has been jailed for several years, first on immigration- related criminal charges involving a family member that the government ultimately dropped, now on the immigration proceeding based on the assault. U.S. Attorney Troy Eid said Rashid will be deported.
Rashid’s lawyer complains that the government publicly branded Rashid a suspected terrorist after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and is now seeking to deport him because his continuing imprisonment “has become an embarrassment.”
“Obviously we’re disappointed,” lawyer Andrew Reid said. “We think it’s a tragic misapplication of American justice.”
