Accused CU slasher still not competent to stand trail
BOULDER — A man accused of slashing a University of Colorado student’s throat is scheduled to be re- evaluated in 90 days to see whether he is competent to stand trial.
Boulder District Judge John Stavely made an initial finding in October that Kenton Astin, 39, was incompetent to stand trial.
Stavely again found Astin incompetent Monday but said he would re-evaluate the suspect’s condition in 90 days to see if a new regimen of psychiatric drugs helps his condition.
Astin, who is charged with attempted first-degree murder and first-degree assault, is accused of slashing Michael Knorps on campus Aug. 27 before stabbing himself.
Astin was transferred to the Colorado Mental Health Institute in Pueblo after his arrest.
In 2001, Astin pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to stabbing a Longmont man and spent five years at a state mental hospital before being released.
Aurora wants to intervene in water lawsuit
AURORA — The city of Aurora has filed a motion seeking to intervene in a lawsuit filed against the government in a water deal.
The Lower Arkansas Valley Water Conservancy District filed suit in October in an effort to block a deal that would allow Aurora to continue storing and purchasing water from the Arkansas River basin for the next 40 years.
The conservancy district is concerned that the deal, which allows Aurora to store water in Fryingpan- Arkansas Project reservoirs, could strain resources for an already choked river basin.
Defendants in the district’s lawsuit included the Bureau of Reclamation and Interior Secretary Dirk Kemp thorne, but it did not name Aurora.
The city sought to join the case as a defendant-intervenor and said in court documents filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Denver that the district and defendants did not object.
Uncle pleads guilty to 2nd-degree murder
GLENWOOD SPRINGS — A Clifton man pleaded guilty Monday to second-degree murder in the shooting death of his nephew.
Jesus Hernandez de Jesus, 33, could face 16 to 48 years in prison, five years of parole, and fines of $5,000 to $1 million at a sentencing hearing set for April 11.
He originally was charged with first-degree murder and possession of a weapon by a previous offender in connection with the death of 20-year-old Ricardo Navarrete- Prudencio of Acapulco, Mexico, on June 25. Hernandez de Jesus agreed to a plea deal with prosecutors.
Prosecutors said the suspect shot his nephew over an affair the nephew had with the suspect’s wife in Florida.
Hiker hospitalized after fall
SHERIDAN, Wyo. — Authorities say a woman was hospitalized after she fell 75 to 100 feet while hiking on a ranch west of Dayton in northern Wyoming.
Dayton Rescue emergency medical technician Yodi Miles said the woman was flown to a hospital in Billings, Mont.
Miles would not release the woman’s name, citing patient confidentiality, but said she believes she is a 20-year-old Sheridan College student.
Miles said she believes the woman fell Saturday when she slipped on the snowy surface while sightseeing with a friend.
