LOVELAND
Hunt begins today for Loveland pond reptile
Today will mark the first attempt to catch the estimated 5-foot-7-inch long reptile that has been spotted in Jayhawker Ponds in Loveland, said Larimer County Humane Society spokeswoman Cary Rentola.
The society will assist the Division of Wildlife with removing the reptile, probably a caiman, most likely in the evening when the reptile is more active, she said.
The reptile has been spotted several times in the past month and the 30-acre recreation area will remain closed until the reptile is removed.
SALT LAKE CITY
Man pleads guilty to stealing sheep’s head
A man who illegally killed an Alaskan Dall sheep ten years ago and then stole its head from wildlife officials this winter has pleaded guilty to theft and attempted burglary charges.
Wade Hanks, 37, agreed to pay $6,000 in fines in a plea Friday that will be held in abeyance for a year.
Salt lake County Deputy District Attorney Vincent Meister said the plea deal matched the crime, which he said amounted to a spur-of-the-moment lapse in judgment by Hanks.
Hanks was working a booth at a hunting expo in January when he came across the mounted sheep’s head on the wildlife agency’s anti-poaching “Wall of Shame,” Meister said.
Hanks and a friend, who also pleaded guilty to theft and burglary charges, stole the head while a wildlife worker stepped away. The two men were caught on surveillance camera.
BOULDER
Officer cleared after Taser-linked death
An internal investigation has cleared a Lafayette police officer who shot a Taser gun at a man who later died, the Daily Camera reported Saturday.
The report by the Lafayette Police Department was to be released publicly soon.
Prosecutors in October said no criminal charges would be filed against officer John Harris in the death Aug. 4 of Ryan Michael Wilson, 22. Wilson ran more than a half-mile from officers responding to a tip that marijuana was being grown in a field.
Police reports said Harris fired the Taser after Wilson appeared to reach for a knife clipped to his pants.
The Boulder County coroner determined Wilson died of an irregular heartbeat caused by a combination of the exertion from running from officers, shock from the stun gun, and a heart condition present since birth.
“It makes me sick inside we have officers like Harris on the streets,” said Jack Wilson, Ryan Wilson’s father. “I wonder if Mr. Harris has children and if he would feel the same as me?”
ESTES PARK
Rock ‘n’ roll legend’s image can be yours
Elvis has left the mountains.
Rock collector LaDell Alexander, 60, has found a stone she swears has the face of the singer on it. She has taken it home and plans to sell it on eBay on the 30th anniversary of his death.
“People are calling me the Elvis Rock Lady,” Alexander said. “Seven out of 10 people see Elvis (on the rock).”
She said she found it while buying rocks last summer.
Jessica Blezins, who works for Nature’s Own, a store that sells fossils and rocks, said the image is definitely not man-made. ‘It’s definitely natural,” she said.
Alexander said she was cleaning the rocks before putting them in her yard when she saw the image.
Alexander and her husband have decided to donate 10 percent of what they earn from the sale to one of Elvis’ foundations.
More online: Decide for yourself by looking at a photo of the rock.
