Golden – Former Colorado State Patrol Trooper Eric Leon Bufkin was convicted of a misdemeanor after a jury found him guilty of using a mirror to watch a woman undress at a Golden department store.
Bufkin, 34, got a mirror used by law enforcement to read vehicle identification numbers on the underside of automobiles and set it up in a dressing room in the juniors department at Kohl’s in April 2006, authorities said.
During a two-day trial that began on Monday, Bufkin testified that he got the idea from a voyeuristic porn website.
While trying on shirts and jeans, a female victim said she became suspicious when she looked down to see shoes in the next stall turned toward her. While disrobing, she then noticed a mirror aimed up at her from beneath the stall.
Bufkin ran from the stall next to hers and the victim and other customers followed him to an unmarked government car and wrote down his license plate, authorities said.
The misdemeanor carries a potential sentence of three months and sentencing is scheduled for May 22.
Additional local news briefs:
DENVER
Episcopal leader faces diocese allegations
The leader of a breakaway Episcopal parish will face financial misconduct allegations in the diocese’s judicial system, officials said Wednesday.
The action came two days after leaders of Grace Church and St. Stephen’s Parish in Colorado Springs voted to leave the denomination and join a Nigerian-linked missionary diocese. They left because they were upset about the liberal theological direction of the national church, particularly when it comes to gay relationships.
Hours after the vote, diocese officials handed down the church equivalent of an indictment against the Rev. Donald Armstrong but did not release specifics. Parish leaders criticized the action as the product of a “kangaroo court.”
A letter to parishioners from Colorado Bishop Robert O’Neill, obtained by The Gazette of Colorado Springs, accuses Armstrong of theft and mishandling of hundreds of thousands of dollars over about 10 years.
Armstrong has denied the allegations.
DENVER
Curfew crackdown to begin next month
In an effort to curb youth violence, Denver police will intensify their enforcement of a citywide curfew starting next month through September.
The curfew requires youths 17 and younger to be off the streets Friday and Saturday nights midnight to 5 a.m., and Sunday through Thursday nights 11 p.m. to 5 a.m.
Youths found outside during curfew are transported to a Safe Nite Curfew facility where they are processed and interviewed before being released to a parent or guardian.
There are exceptions to the curfew, including any youth traveling on the interstate, to or from work or in the company of their legal guardian or with an adult carrying a signed note from their legal guardian.
LAKEWOOD
Women’s body found; crime not suspected
The body of a woman was discovered Wednesday at the Main Reservoir near West Florida Avenue and South Kipling Street in Lakewood, but foul play is not suspected, said Lakewood police spokesman Steve Davis.
“On the surface, it looks like an accident,” he said.
The body was discovered by a group walking on a trail near the lake just after 11 a.m., Davis said. A dive team was called in to retrieve the body, which appears to be a woman in her late 50s or early 60s, he said.
Davis said a form of identification was found on the body, but the identity is being withheld pending autopsy results and the notification of next of kin.
WHEAT RIDGE
2 men arrested after woman, 80, carjacked
Police arrested two men who they said knocked down an 80-year-old woman while stealing her car outside an antique mall on Tuesday afternoon.
The carjacking occurred in the parking lot of the Stage Stop Antique Mall in the 7300 block of West 44th Avenue at 2 p.m., police said in a news release.
The woman and several witnesses tried to stop the suspects from taking her car, police said. The victim was treated at Lutheran Hospital and sent home.
About 4 p.m., police arrested 21-year-old Julius A. Suarez at his home in the 5100 block of Eaton Street in Denver, police said. Joseph A. Ferguson, 20, also of Denver, was arrested 20 minutes later in the 5700 block of Clear Creek Drive, police said.
Both men face charges of aggravated robbery and aggravated motor vehicle theft, police said.
HIGHLANDS RANCH
Identities of bodies in apartment confirmed
Douglas County authorities have confirmed the identities of two people found dead Tuesday at the Campden Apartments in Highlands Ranch.
They are Margaret Croze, 58, and Randy Florian, 50, both of Highlands Ranch, said Cocha Heyden, spokeswoman for the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office.
An autopsy is planned to determine the cause of death.
DENVER
Cracked windshield forces jet back to DIA
A GoJet flight carrying 70 passengers was forced to return to Denver International Airport shortly after takeoff because its windshield cracked, airline spokesman Bill Mishk said Wednesday.
The passengers and crew were never in danger, said Mishk, who called the return to DIA precautionary.
It was unclear what caused the crack.
The GoJet flight – which is operated by United Express – was en route to San Antonio.
On Feb. 16, 14 planes suffered cracked windshields while taking off, landing or taxiing at DIA, although none occurred during a flight. Debris was ruled the culprit in those incidents, but it hasn’t been identified.
