Denver District Judge Herbert Stern has canceled the April 2 trial of Jimmie Wellman and will set a new trial date later.
Prosecutors said Wellman, who is charged with attempted murder, has brutalized several women, including a girlfriend who they say was hit, bitten, cut, burned and thrown around a hotel room by her hair over a dispute about money.
Wellman late last week had requested that Stern appoint the Denver public defender’s office to represent him. That was after Wellman’s advisory attorney successfully asked to withdraw.
Stern initially refused Wellman’s request, saying Wellman was “playing the system like a musical instrument.”
But Monday, Stern said he had reconsidered and issued an order appointing the public defender’s office.
More local news briefs
WHEAT RIDGE
Sex predator accused of exposing himself
Wheat Ridge police said they arrested a man listed as a sexually violent predator after he allegedly exposed himself to a laundry clerk.
Timothy Schreiber entered the Clean Center Laundry Mat, 7420 W. 38th Ave., on Friday morning to use the bathroom.
As he left, he exposed himself to the clerk and made offensive comments, according to a police news release.
When he returned to the center Monday morning, the clerk called police.
Schreiber, 47, was arrested on charges of indecent exposure and is being held at the Jefferson County Jail, police said.
Schreiber was released from prison in October after serving a sentence for attempted sexual assault on a child, the release said.
He had been living at 13491 W. 54th Ave. in unincorporated Jefferson County, police said.
FORT COLLINS
Three treated after crash at intersection
Three people were treated for injuries after a two-car collision Sunday night at Shields Street and Drake Road in Fort Collins.
A Ford Taurus driven by a 16-year-old male was southbound on Shields and failed to stop for a red light, colliding with an Isuzu, police said in a news release. He was treated and released.
The driver of the Isuzu, Katie Groom, 19, was treated for minor injuries, police said. Her passenger, James Driessen, 21, was treated for serious injuries.
Alcohol and speed are not believed to be factors.
PUEBLO
Motorcyclist, 19, critically injured
A 19-year-old man was critically injured Monday when he lost control of his Honda CRV motorcycle at a high rate of speed and hit a guardrail, police said.
The accident happened about 5 p.m. in the 2500 block of South Pueblo Boulevard, police said.
The motorcyclist, whose name was not released Monday, was ejected from the Honda and slid along with the bike into the railing, police said. He was transported to St. Mary Corwin Hospital.
Alcohol did not appear to be a factor, police said.
FRISCO
Van driver in crash may face felony charges
The State Patrol was “seriously considering” recommending felony charges against a ski shuttle driver who struck a parked snowplow on Interstate 70, injuring nine people, State Patrol Capt. Ron Prater said Monday.
A decision could come by the end of the week, Prater said.
Prosecutors would have the final say on any charges.
The Colorado Mountain Express shuttle driver has been moved to an administrative off- road position, company chief executive Jay Ufer said.
The crash Sunday morning near the Eisenhower Tunnel injured the plow driver and eight passengers of the ski shuttle, but shuttle driver Sebastian Lopez was not hurt, troopers said.
Three people remained hospitalized Monday at a Denver hospital.
The ski shuttle was on its way from Vail to Denver International Airport about 8 a.m. Sunday. The plow was parked in the highway to divert traffic so crews could clean up an earlier accident.
Electronic message boards warned drivers of the accident, while police officers and Colorado Department of Transportation workers at the scene directed traffic off I-70, CDOT spokeswoman Mindy Crane said.
Lopez apparently missed the detour and struck the plow at about 60 mph, troopers said.
The State Patrol was investigating whether weather and visibility were factors.
Ufer said Lopez has been driving for the company for multiple seasons and had completed all training requirements, including defensive driving.
BEAVER, Utah
Ex-sheriff working for county again
The former Beaver County sheriff who acknowledged using jail inmates to remodel his home is back on the public payroll.
Ken Yardley is paid $13 an hour to oversee inmate labor three days a week, Sheriff Cameron Noel said.
“We all make mistakes. We all do dumb things in our lives,” Noel said Monday. “If there are any charges for any misconduct, he’s gone. Until then, I’ve got to treat him like anyone else.”
The FBI still is investigating.
