Booth, 42, is charged with first-degree assault and attempted assault, both with extreme indifference, after police say he shot at two women, hitting one, as they were yelling insults at him and other Geo Group employees standing outside the facility on July 16.

Booth shot one of the women in the foot and told police he meant to shoot between the two protesters to scare them because he became enraged when the women said they would find out where his children went to school and have people show up there, according to his arrest affidavit.

The women were leaving a protest outside the facility, which had prevented Booth and other workers from getting inside.

Booth appeared Wednesday at a preliminary hearing in Adams County District Court, where his attorney and Chief Deputy District Attorney Sara Carty questioned Aurora police Sgt. Gabriel Nestor about the investigation.

Booth’s attorney, Julia Stancil, questioned Nestor about whether Booth knew he had shot someone when he fled the scene and whether he intended to hurt anyone. Booth previously told police he did not know he had shot someone and had not intended to hit either woman.

But Judge Martin Flaum ruled prosecutors had shown there was enough evidence to support the assault and attempted-assault charges, adding that one of the women was seriously injured and the second could have been injured or killed.

“The intentional or knowing discharge of a firearm in the direction of these two individuals for the purpose of scaring (them) certainly, in this court’s opinion, meets the definition of extreme indifference,” Flaum said.

Booth is set to appear in court for an arraignment hearing on Oct. 12.

Jeness Torres was after Brighton police responded to a shooting in the 3100 block of Eagle Boulevard at around 12:30 a.m. and found a man who had been shot. His name will be released by the Adams Count Coroner’s Office.

“After a thorough examination of the evidence, our office determined that the facts do not support the filing of criminal charges, as we cannot disprove self-defense or defense of others in this incident,” the said in a news release.

The DA’s office did not elaborate on why self-defense may have been a factor in the shooting and could not immediately be reached for comment.

An Adams County , 38, of first-degree murder on July 24, and Adams County District Court Judge Toni Wehmen on Friday sentenced him to life in prison without the possibility of parole, the mandatory sentence for a first-degree murder conviction in Colorado.

Witnesses first reported seeing a man grab a woman and force her into an SUV in the parking lot of a Super 8 at 12055 N. Melody Drive on June 8, 2024.

Investigators later determined that Gladney had called someone for a ride and when they arrived to pick him up, Gladney went into the building and came out with 36-year-old Valarie Garcia.

The driver told police Gladney was yelling at Garcia and forced her into the vehicle, where he continued to argue with her and threatened to shoot her. He then pulled out a gun and shot her in the chest.

Garcia was taken to Platte Valley Medical Center in Brighton and died later that night.

In a statement Friday, District Attorney Brian Mason described Garcia’s death as “a brutal and senseless killing.”

“While we cannot bring her back, I am glad we could deliver some amount justice for Valarie Garcia,” Mason said.

An attorney for Gladney could not immediately be reached for comment.

Those words and more choice language were leveled Friday afternoon at Lumumba Sayers Sr., a convicted murderer who was once a mixed martial arts fighter and leader of an anti-violence nonprofit called Heavy Hands Heavy Hearts Center.

Adams County District Judge Jeffrey Ruff sentenced Sayers to 51 years in prison for shooting and killing 28-year-old Malcolm Watson Sr. at a birthday pool party for Watson’s 5-year-old son in Commerce City’s Pioneer Park on Aug. 10, 2024.

Sayers, 47, received 48 years — the state’s maximum penalty — for second-degree murder and 18 months each for tampering with evidence and attempted tampering with evidence.

Prosecutors alleged Sayers Sr. killed Watson to avenge the death of his son, Lumumba Sayers Jr. — who was killed in a shootout in Five Points in 2023 — because Sayers Sr. believed Watson was connected to his son’s killing.

During Friday’s sentencing hearing, Watson’s family implored Ruff to impose the maximum sentence, saying Sayers’ cruelty, lawlessness and hypocrisy were unforgivable.

“He gave his sorry speeches and his crappy boxing lessons,” said Dominique Davis, one of Watson’s eight sisters. “He did the opposite of what he told others to do. What a joke. What a fraud.”

Throughout the tense hearing, Watson’s mother, sisters and the mother of two of his sons explained how Watson’s death left a gaping hole in their family, and how it will forever taint a child’s birthday.

“Words can’t describe the pain of losing Malcolm in the cruelest way imaginable,” his mother Tajauna McKinley said. “Malcolm’s sons had to watch their father die in front of them. Our lives are forever changed not knowing whether to celebrate a birthday or mourn Aug. 10.”

The family described Watson as a loving father, and the prosecutor showed a video of his oldest two sons — Malcolm Jr. and Milo — singing happy birthday and shouting “I love you” as they clapped at the song’s end. Watson had saved the video on his phone and investigators found it after his death.

He also enjoyed Marvel movies, football, singing and traveling with his mother.

“If my son loved you, you knew it and you felt it,” McKinley said. “If my son was your friend, you knew it and you knew he was a standup dude.

“I’ll never hear my son say, ‘Momma, I love you. You’re the best.’ My son was my biggest supporter.”

The sentencing hearing was held with Adams County sheriff’s deputies standing around the courtroom. The two families were separated on opposite sides, and afterward, Watson’s family was instructed to leave the courthouse and drive away before Sayers’ family was released from the courtroom.

People screamed curse words at Sayers as deputies led him out of the courtroom, and his family began shouting that they loved him. Ruff ordered everyone to be quiet and leave when they were told.

Just before the 2024 killing, Sayers Sr. had attended an anti-violence rally sponsored by the Denver nonprofit Struggle of Love in Montbello. He drove with family members from the rally to Pioneer Park, where surveillance video showed him park and walk toward Watson.

Watson was shot and killed seconds later, just out of the video’s frame.

Multiple witnesses said Sayers Sr. walked up to Watson, greeted him and then shot him at close range.

“It was out of nowhere in broad daylight in front of a host of witnesses, some of whom were children, some of whom were Mr. Watson’s children,” Deputy District Attorney Aaron Brunskill said as he asked for the maximum sentence. “I can’t come up with words to describe just how inhumane, how horrific that is. The hypocrisy can’t be left unsaid either.”

Sayers denied killing Watson and took the stand in his own defense to say someone else killed the 28-year-old and that he only pulled an unpermitted gun from his pocket after he heard shots fired in the park.

He shook his head in disagreement throughout Friday’s sentencing hearing, and Ruff noted that lack of remorse and accountability when handing down the penalty.

Four men, including Sayers’ wrestling coach at Denver’s East High School and Cody Sudmeier, a former mixed martial arts fighter who trained with Sayers, spoke on his behalf. All said Sayers’ history of helping others should be considered in his punishment.

Sudmeier said he has visited Sayers in jail and that Sayers had been attacked by multiple men, who injured his face and shoulder. Sayers wore his right arm in a shoulder sling on Friday.

“I respect how horrific of a loss all of this is,” he said.

Sayers declined to speak at the hearing. His attorney, Megan Downing, asked the judge to appoint public defenders to represent Sayers in his appeal.

Before now, the 21-year-old from Littleton has never felt like she was in danger while attending weekly protests outside the Aurora immigration detention center – that is, before a worker at the facility allegedly shot her in the foot as she was walking away from a confrontation after a protest Thursday night.

Landis said she knew protests could get violent, but it felt like something she’s only seen online.

“You prepare yourself for all the outcomes that can come, but did I expect it to happen? No. Did I think I would be in danger at that event? No,” she said Wednesday, shortly after leaving a court hearing for 42-year-old Brandon Booth, the man accused of shooting her.

Aurora police said Booth, who works for private prison operator Geo Group, was standing with a group of coworkers near their vehicles along Nome Street because the demonstration was preventing them from getting into the facility to start their shifts.

Officers already at the scene said the workers, Landis and another woman with Landis started verbally sparring as the women walked by, with the women shouting insults at the Geo Group employees and threatening to run their license plates and find out where their children went to school.

Booth told police he got so angry about the threats that he pulled out a gun and shot at the women as they walked away to scare them, hitting Landis in the back of the foot. He told police he did not intend to shoot anyone, according to his arrest affidavit.

Landis said she saw Booth holding something in a bag on his chest and started feeling threatened, which is when she and her friend turned and walked away.

“I felt the burning and I looked at my foot and saw the blood, and that¶¶Ňőap when I called 911,” she said.

Booth fled the scene and was arrested a short time later.

Colorado prosecutors on Wednesday charged him with first-degree assault and attempted assault, both felonies, the district attorney’s office said.

The DA’s office did not file attempted murder, felony menacing or weapons charges, which Aurora police had also accused Booth of in his arrest affidavit.

Booth appeared in Adams County District Court in handcuffs and a black-and-white striped jumpsuit on Wednesday afternoon and did not speak during the short hearing.

Landis’ attorney, Siddhartha Rathod of the Denver firm , said he, his client and his firm commend the DA’s office for bringing charges and support the decision.

Landis said she’s still trying to process everything that¶¶Ňőap happened in the past week. Political activism is something she learned early in life, she said, by going to demonstrations like the 2017 Women’s March with her parents.

“If you see something wrong, you say that it¶¶Ňőap wrong, you report it or find a way to fix that problem,” she said.

Landis said she’s not deterred from protesting because of her injury – if anything, it¶¶Ňőap the opposite.

“It honestly makes me want to do more,” she said, adding that she doesn’t want to be used as an “example” of what happens when people protest.

“I want to be used as an advocate, a way for voices to be heard that need to be heard,” she said.

Landis also hopes what happened doesn’t discourage people in the community from speaking out.

“Keep being out there,” she said. “Know how important it is to speak for what you believe in.”

Booth remains in custody on a $100,000 bail and is set to appear in court on Aug. 13.

Julie Bendon alleges in her lawsuit, filed Monday in Adams County District Court, that she suspected Dr. Karen Ashbeck had looked into records of gynecological care that she received at CU Medicine’s East Denver office based on information Ashbeck shared with her ex-husband — Bendon’s then-boyfriend — and mutual acquaintances.

In the lawsuit, Bendon said CU reported Ashbeck had looked at the records twice in 2023, though Bendon wasn’t her patient.

Bendon also alleged that Ashbeck falsely accused her of stalking. She said CU initially responded by ordering Ashbeck to complete training, but fired her after Bendon hired a lawyer.

“Ms. Bendon has lost sleep, impacting her ability to focus at her job, has pursued medical treatment and constantly fears learning of additional disclosures of her sensitive, private information,” the lawsuit said.

Caleb Meyer, Ashbeck’s attorney, said his client had seen the complaint.

“Due to the pending nature of the litigation, she cannot comment on the specifics of the case, but looks forward to defending herself in a court of law against the many false allegations that have been asserted,” he said in an email.

The University of Colorado declined to comment on pending litigation. It confirmed Ashbeck no longer worked there, but didn’t say whether it fired her or she chose to leave.

The lawsuit also named UCHealth as a defendant, based on Ashbeck working at its Highlands Ranch campus and that CU Medicine employees can apparently access patient records through its electronic systems.

UCHealth said it never employed Ashbeck and Bendon didn’t receive care from its facilities, so it doesn’t belong in the lawsuit. Regardless, the health system “constantly” checks records for improper access, spokeswoman Kelli Christensen said.

The man typically targeted closed businesses between midnight and 6 a.m. and broke into the shops either by cutting through lockboxes to access spare keys or breaking through the stores’ windows and doors, according to an April indictment. He then typically grabbed what cash was available in cash registers or safes and left, the indictment alleged.

The targeted businesses included retail stores, restaurants, coffee shops and food trucks in Westminster, Broomfield, Arvada, Thornton and other areas around Denver, according to the indictment. The targeted locations included a Taco Bell, Jersey Mike’s Sub, Jack in the Box and Ziggi’s Coffee, among others.

Investigators believe the man stole about $42,000 from the 75 businesses between February and November 2024 and caused about $77,000 in property damage, according to the indictment. He is also accused of stealing a license plate and attempting burglaries at five other businesses. It appeared no one was hurt in the burglaries.

The man, who is already in prison after he was sentenced in February to a six-year term for a series of business burglaries in Lafayette, is next due in court in August. He is represented by a public defender, who as a matter of policy do not comment on ongoing cases.

Northglenn police officers first noticed a driver “having difficulty maintaining their lane” headed southbound on Washington Street at about 11:50 p.m. on May 28, according to an arrest affidavit. The vehicle repeatedly swerved between lanes, and officers “became concerned the driver could collide with another vehicle if not stopped.”

The driver, later identified as Angelo Arias, stopped for officers in the 10500 block of Clarkson Street, but sped off as the officer approached his car, according to the affidavit.

“I heard the engine rev and the tires squealed as it drove quickly away from me,” an officer wrote in the arrest affidavit. That officer estimated Arias reached roughly 60 mph as he drove away in the 25 mph zone.

While walking back to his patrol vehicle, the officer heard tires screeching and a loud bang, according to the affidavit.

Arias had left the road where it turned and had driven straight into a house in the 10400 block of Clarkson Street, police said in the affidavit. Investigators found “no sign of braking” at the crash site.

The vehicle was sideways in the driveway and pinned to the brick wall of the home, where it had collided with a gas meter, according to the affidavit. The front of the car was heavily damaged, and the airbags had deployed.

Arias was found on the ground, roughly 5 feet from the driver’s side door, by the officer from the traffic stop, the affidavit stated. The officer noticed “a strong odor of an unknown alcoholic beverage coming from his breath,” and Arias later admitted to taking several shots of liquor and smoking marijuana before the crash, according to the affidavit. He told police that he had been driving for roughly one hour before he was pulled over.

After a witness reported hearing a girl scream before the crash, Arias told police that his girlfriend may have been in the car, but he “could not remember,” the affidavit stated.

The girl — identified in the affidavit as 18-year-old Paige Mahone — was found breathing but unconscious on the passenger floor, below the glovebox, according to the affidavit. Paramedics took Mahone to the hospital, where she later died.

A search of Arias’ car revealed several items of “marijuana paraphernalia” and an empty shooter bottle, police said in the affidavit.

Arias faces two vehicular homicide charges in the May 28 crash — one for DUI and one for reckless driving, according to Adams County court records. He will next appear in court on June 23 for a preliminary hearing.

Anyone with information about the crash is asked to contact Northglenn investigators at 303-450-8857 or dbrummel@northglenn.org.

Angelo Arias faces two vehicular homicide charges in the May 28 crash — one for DUI and one for reckless driving, according to the 17th Judicial District Attorney’s Office.

A Northglenn police officer attempted to stop Arias near Washington Street and East 112th Avenue at about 11:50 p.m. on May 28, “after observing erratic driving behavior,” according to a .

Arias initially stopped, but then fled, police said. Moments later, he crashed into a home in the 10400 block of Clarkson Street. That block is roughly a mile south of the traffic stop.

Paramedics took Arias’ passenger, an 18-year-old woman who has not been publicly identified, to the hospital, where she died from her injuries.

The crash ruptured a natural gas line and temporarily evacuated several homes, but no other injuries were reported, police said.

Arias will next appear in Adams County District Court on June 23 for a preliminary hearing, according to court records.

Anyone with information about the crash is asked to contact Northglenn investigators at 303-450-8857 or dbrummel@northglenn.org.

This is a developing story and may be updated.

Josh Lucero, 29, was arrested in March 2025 after Thornton police said he assaulted “at least one child” while he was the youth pastor at World Alive Church, where he oversaw teenagers between 13 and 18.

According to a civil lawsuit filed in Adams County District Court, Lucero is the son of Word Alive’s lead pastors and started grooming the victim when she was 15 years old and he was in his 20s.

Lucero began assaulting her in 2018 and continued until 2021, all while he was a youth pastor, the lawsuit states. Attorneys for Word Alive denied the allegations in court filings, and the case was put on hold until the outcome of Lucero’s criminal trial.

Lucero’s attorney in the criminal case, Chloe Gleichman with the Colorado Legal Defense Group, said in a statement Tuesday she is disappointed by the outcome of the trial.

“While Mr. Lucero accepts the jury’s verdict, he intends to pursue all avenues on appeal,” Gleichman said.

Word Alive officials did not respond to an email seeking comment about Lucero’s verdict.

The district attorney’s office declined to comment on the outcome of the case because Lucero has yet to be sentenced.

His sentencing hearing is set for Sept. 11.