Douglas County Sheriff – The Denver Post Colorado breaking news, sports, business, weather, entertainment. Sun, 21 Jun 2026 02:18:22 +0000 en-US hourly 30 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 /wp-content/uploads/2016/05/cropped-DP_bug_denverpost.jpg?w=32 Douglas County Sheriff – The Denver Post 32 32 111738712 Evacuation warning lifted for wildfire in southwest Douglas County /2026/06/20/colorado-wildfire-douglas-county-evacuation/ Sun, 21 Jun 2026 00:20:25 +0000 /?p=7789394 Douglas County officials lifted an evacuation warning for the , southwest of Castle Rock, on Saturday night as firefighters stopped forward progress on the fire.

The lightning-sparked wildfire charred about an acre and is 40% contained, U.S. Forest Service officials said on social media shortly before 8 p.m.

The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office initially sent out an evacuation warning for a 3-mile radius around the fire, which is off of Log Jumper Trail near Jackson Creek Road and Rampart Range Road, at 5:30 p.m.

“Fire crews are actively working to contain the fire and have stopped all forward progression,” U.S. Forest Service officials said in an update Saturday night. “Crews will continue actively suppressing the fire and smoke will remain visible throughout the night and into tomorrow morning.

Sheriff’s officials because of the wildfire, including on South Platte River Road and South Highway 67/Sugar Creek Road.

This is a developing story.


 

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7789394 2026-06-20T18:20:25+00:00 2026-06-20T20:18:22+00:00
Broncos’ Jonathon Cooper arrested again on domestic violence charges /2026/06/12/denver-broncos-jonathon-cooper-harassment/ Fri, 12 Jun 2026 13:56:10 +0000 /?p=7782191 Parker police on Thursday night arrested Jonathon Cooper at his apartment on multiple charges for violating a protection order, marking the second arrest in the span of a week for the Broncos linebacker following a physical altercation with his girlfriend at Cooper’s apartment last week.

The new charges for the 28-year-old Cooper come on top of second-degree felony and third-degree misdemeanor charges filed in Douglas County District Court stemming from his original June 4 arrest. A forensic exam performed on Cooper’s girlfriend after the altercation indicated she had been strangled, according to an updated affidavit obtained by The Post on Friday.

Hours after practicing with the Broncos in a limited capacity Thursday, police arrested Cooper at 6:17 p.m. and booked him at the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office detention facility later that night on misdemeanor charges of harassment and violation of a protection order, according to records.

“We are disappointed to learn of Jonathon Cooper’s arrest on Thursday and continue to review this matter,” the Broncos said in a statement provided to The Post.

Cooper appeared in Douglas County court Friday morning, where Judge Mark Solomon issued a personal recognizance bond of $5,000 for Cooper, after arguments between Cooper’s lawyer Harvey Steinberg and Cooper’s former girlfriend’s lawyer Ronald Gainor about whether Cooper violated a protection order filed earlier in the week.

Solomon ordered that Cooper — identified in court documents as Jonathan Javier Cooper — must have prior approval from the court before traveling outside of Colorado. The Broncos are scheduled to play their first preseason game against the Falcons in Atlanta on Aug. 14.

According to the NFL’s personal conduct policy, players found guilty of criminal assault through an NFL investigation could face a baseline suspension of up to six games. That number can range higher or lower depending on aggravating or mitigating factors the league reviews around the incident.

Jonathon Cooper (0) of the Denver Broncos roams the sidelines before the game against the Houston Texans at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas on Sunday, Nov. 2, 2025. (Photo by AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post)
Jonathon Cooper (0) of the Denver Broncos roams the sidelines before the game against the Houston Texans at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas on Sunday, Nov. 2, 2025. (Photo by AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post)

“We continue to monitor all developments in the matter which remains under review of the personal conduct policy,” NFL spokesperson Brian McCarthy told The Post in a statement.

In the original arrest affidavit for Cooper’s girlfriend following the June 4 incident, she told police Cooper grabbed and lifted her by the neck and threw her to the ground several times during their argument at his apartment after she accused him of infidelity. According to an updated arrest affidavit obtained by The Post Friday morning, the woman was taken to the Anschutz Medical Center in Aurora after Cooper’s initial arrest for a forensic examination.

A forensic nurse who evaluated Cooper’s girlfriend reported to police that the woman had experienced “strangulation with hypoxia and traumatic brain injury,” the affidavit reads.

“Regarding seriously bodily injury, it is my medical opinion that the above … patient experienced physical injury which, either at the time of the actual injury or at a later time involved… (a) substantial risk of death (and) a substantial risk of protracted loss or impairment of the function of any part or organ on the body,” the nurse wrote, as the affidavit details.

Cooper originally denied any physical altercation to a responding officer, according to the affidavit. After the officer asked Cooper if he grabbed his girlfriend’s neck, Cooper “nodded his head up and down, coupled with an mm-hmm,” and said he grabbed it “aggressive,” the affidavit reads.

Cooper told police in that same affidavit that both he and his girlfriend had been dealing with emotional stress recently, and that such an incident was an “uncommon occurrence.”

“Cooper questioned where the anger and aggression came from, and when asked, confirmed he’s had two serious concussions in the past, both from football,” the affidavit reads.

A day after those charges were levied, Cooper sent his girlfriend nearly 20 text messages Thursday and called her via FaceTime and a social media platform while she was speaking with an officer, according to a subsequent arrest affidavit. Later in the day, he appeared at her apartment and knocked on the door for five to 10 minutes, the affidavit reads.

Some of the messages are sexual in nature. Cooper repeatedly asked his girlfriend if he could see her, if he could be with her and if she was “scared of the law.”

Cooper’s girlfriend told an officer that his showing up at the apartment made her feel “scared.”

Both Cooper and his former girlfriend had protection orders that prohibited them from interacting after they were both arrested in the June 4 altercation. Steinberg argued in court Friday that Cooper “did not have a no-contact order,” and therefore wasn’t prohibited from going to her house and knocking on her door. Steinberg also called police reporting that Cooper’s girlfriend was scared of him as “sensationalism” and “hyperbole.”

“It’s suggested … in multiple messages that this defendant asked to have sexual contact with (Cooper’s girlfriend) after she was assaulted,” Gainor said in court. “So for Mr. Steinberg or the record to reflect that this was not offensive conduct flies in the face of these messages.”

While prosecutors requested that an ankle monitor be issued to Cooper in light of how quickly he violated the protection order, Solomon declined to do so.

The 28-year-old Cooper is playing the 2026 season in Denver on the second year of a four-year, $60 million contract extension signed in November 2024. He finished second on the Broncos in sacks in both 2024 (10.5) and 2025 (8.0).

He has been with the team across the last two weeks of organized team activities. On Thursday, before Cooper’s second arrest, Broncos head coach Sean Payton told reporters that team leadership had a “long visit” with him.

“Now the process plays out,” Payton said. “The league obviously will be very much involved in that. We’ll stay abreast, but much like you all. I think thatap where itap at. We just go from there.”

Cooper has a disposition hearing scheduled for July 14 on Thursday’s charge of violating the protection order, and a jury trial scheduled for July 22 and 23 for his original misdemeanor charge of criminal mischief from last week, according to court records.

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7782191 2026-06-12T07:56:10+00:00 2026-06-12T15:18:17+00:00
Denver metro youth hockey coach arrested on suspicion of sexually abusing minors /2026/06/05/rory-nathaniel-mushlin-hockey-coach-arrested/ Fri, 05 Jun 2026 20:24:24 +0000 /?p=7777467 Douglas County authorities on Thursday arrested a 40-year-old youth hockey coach on suspicion of sexually assaulting minors.

Rory Nathaniel Mushlin, of Colorado Springs, is being held on investigation of sexual assault on a child by one in a position of trust, unlawful electronic sexual communication – person of trust, obscenity, and internet sexual exploitation of a child, the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office announced Friday on social media. Authorities say they have identified multiple underage victims.

Mushlin, since 2023, has served as a youth hockey coach at South Suburban Sports Complex in Highlands Ranch, investigators said. His team also practiced at the Parker Field House and the Family Sports Center in Arapahoe County.

Anyone with information has been asked to contact Detective S. Clay at sclay@dcsheriff.net.

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7777467 2026-06-05T14:24:24+00:00 2026-06-05T14:28:58+00:00
Highlands Ranch hit-and-run that killed 1, injured 2 looked intentional, witnesses say /2026/06/03/highlands-ranch-hit-run-crash-arrest/ Wed, 03 Jun 2026 14:10:10 +0000 /?p=7774825 The man arrested in a Highlands Ranch hit-and-run that killed a woman and injured two other pedestrians on Monday suddenly jerked onto the sidewalk and hit the group, witnesses told Douglas County investigators.

Adam Bauserman, 28, was arrested on suspicion of seven felony charges, including vehicular homicide, failure to remain at the scene of an accident involving death, second-degree assault, failure to remain at the scene of an accident involving serious bodily injury and vehicular assault, according to a . He is also accused of driving under restraint with a revoked license, a misdemeanor.

Witnesses told police that the crash near Willowbridge Way and East Wildcat Reserve Parkway looked intentional, according to Bauserman’s arrest affidavit. The truck suddenly “jerked” to the right, traveled over the curb and struck the three pedestrians before returning to the road, according to the affidavit.

One witness told police that “the truck was traveling so fast, she thought he was going to roll the vehicle,” the affidavit stated. Another said the driver “hit the curb with such force” that it launched the truck several feet in the air.

The driver pulled a U-turn after returning to the road and drove slowly past the crash scene before leaving, the second witness told investigators.

“Do you know if I killed the man?” Bauserman asked one Douglas County deputy while in custody, according to the affidavit.

“At least one person is dead,” the deputy replied.

That person is Corrine More, a 35-year-old woman from Highlands Ranch, according to the Douglas County Coroner’s Office. Paramedics took the other two victims — a 30-year-old man and a 72-year-old woman — to the hospital with severe injuries, according to the affidavit.

The man suffered “serious permanent disfigurement” and “was at a substantial risk of death,” the affidavit stated, citing doctors from Littleton Adventist Hospital. He suffered fractures to his arms, legs, spine, ribs and scapula.

The 72-year-old woman was taken to HCA HealthONE Sky Ridge, where doctors noted she suffered a head injury with brain bleed, a dislocated left shoulder, broken ribs and a fractured pelvic bone, according to the affidavit.

As of Wednesday morning, Bauserman was being held in the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office detention facility in Castle Rock on a $100,000 bail, according to inmate records. He is scheduled to appear in court on Friday for a hearing on official charges.

Douglas County deputies responded to the fatal crash shortly after 10:30 a.m. Monday. A blue pickup truck believed to have been driven by Bauserman left the road and hit three pedestrians on the sidewalk, according to the sheriff’s office.

One witness who saw the crash followed the truck as the driver fled the scene and helped deputies find and arrest the suspect, now identified as Bauserman, according to the sheriff’s office.

Anyone with information about the crash, including videos of the crash or the before and after the crash, is asked to contact detectives at bpereira@dcsheriff.net or 303-660-7537.

This is a developing story and may be updated.

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7774825 2026-06-03T08:10:10+00:00 2026-06-03T10:05:28+00:00
DOJ moves to join challenge of Colorado’s visa process for crime victims /2026/06/03/colorado-u-visas-lawsuit-justice-department/ Wed, 03 Jun 2026 12:00:53 +0000 /?p=7774425 The wants to join a local lawsuit challenging a 2021 Colorado law that sought to streamline the process for crime victims who are not U.S. citizens to apply for legal status within the country.

Attorneys with the filed a motion Tuesday to join with Douglas County Sheriff Darren Weekly and 23rd Judicial District Attorney George Brauchler in their January lawsuit against Gov. Jared Polis and other state officials over the law.

The local officials argued that the state law unduly limits law enforcement officers’ discretion when crime victims apply for , a visa set aside for non-citizen victims of crime who cooperate with law enforcement and meet other conditions.

The Department of Justice called Colorado’s law “deeply unfair” and argued in the motion to intervene Tuesday that the federal government’s law supersedes state law.

“The United States has an obvious interest relating to the integrity of the federal U-Visa program; that interest could be impaired or impeded by a ruling in Colorado’s favor,” the motion states.

Crime victims seeking U visas must have their applications certified by a law enforcement agency — that is, local officials must state that the applicants were victims of qualifying crimes and that they are helping in the investigation or prosecution of those crimes.

Federal immigration officials make the final decisions on whether or not visa applications are granted. Under federal law, victims seeking U visas must show that they have suffered physical or mental abuse due to a qualifying crime that happened in the U.S., they possess information about that crime, and they have been helpful or will be helpful to the prosecution.

In 2021, Colorado legislators changed state law to require that state officials consider only a victim’s helpfulness and whether they were subject to a qualifying crime when deciding whether to certify a victim’s application for a U visa. The state law also requires that officials consider a victim to be helpful unless there is documentation that the victim refused to cooperate with the case.

That shift undermines federal goals for the U visa program, the DOJ said in a news release Tuesday.

“Congress created a scheme to incentivize cooperation with law enforcement while relying on local official discretion to ensure that only deserving applicants receive U visas,” Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward said in the news release. “But Colorado is favoring the unhelpful alien over the crime victim who helps promote public safety and order. Federal law does not tolerate that backwards policy.”

No more than 10,000 U visas can be issued in any given year nationwide, creating a competitive process to receive one.

Between 2019 and 2025, 55 Colorado law enforcement agencies and district attorneys’ offices reported receiving 1,368 requests for U-visa certifications, according to records kept by the Colorado Division of Criminal Justice. The agencies signed off on 1,118 of those requests — approving about 82%.

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7774425 2026-06-03T06:00:53+00:00 2026-06-02T16:32:47+00:00
1 killed, 2 injured after Douglas County driver hits pedestrians on sidewalk, flees the scene /2026/06/01/douglas-county-highlands-ranch-crash/ Mon, 01 Jun 2026 19:19:34 +0000 /?p=7773368 An unidentified driver ran over a group of pedestrians on a Highlands Ranch sidewalk on Monday, killing one person and sending two others to the hospital, according to law enforcement.

Douglas County deputies responded to the hit-and-run crash near Willowbridge Way and East Wildcat Reserve Parkway shortly after 10:30 a.m. Monday, sheriff’s office spokesperson Deborah Takahara said in an email to The Denver Post.

One witness who saw the fatal crash followed the suspect vehicle as the driver fled the scene and helped deputies find the suspect in nearby Daniels Park, Takahara said. Deputies arrested the driver, who has not been publicly identified.

The cause of the crash remains under investigation, Takahara said.

No identifying information was provided about the pedestrians who were hit, but Takahara said one person died at the scene and paramedics took two others to the hospital with serious and critical injuries.

The person killed in the crash will be identified by the Douglas County Coroner’s Office.

This is a developing story and may be updated.

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7773368 2026-06-01T13:19:34+00:00 2026-06-01T13:19:34+00:00
Man dies after shooting involving Douglas County deputies in Franktown /2026/05/18/douglas-county-franktown-police-shooting/ Mon, 18 May 2026 20:21:31 +0000 /?p=7761277 A man suspected of assaulting his mother in a Douglas County home was fatally shot Sunday after he pointed a weapon at responding deputies, sheriff’s officials said.

Douglas County deputies responded to a home in the 3200 block of Weasel Way in Franktown just before 1 p.m. Sunday, after a child inside the house called 911 to report a man was assaulting their grandmother, according to a .

A child and a woman ran from the home while deputies tried to contact the assault suspect inside the house, .  One deputy spotted a man pointing a gun at the deputy through the open front door and shot at him. It’s unknown if the man shot at the deputy, Weekly said.

The man, who will be identified by the Douglas County Coroner’s Office, was later found dead inside the home. Whether the unidentified deputy fatally shot the man or the man shot himself remains under investigation, Weekly said.

“Our deputies are trained extremely well to handle calls like this, to de-escalate situations,” Weekly said. “This one evolved and escalated extremely rapidly. The deputy was faced with a life-or-death decision and did what they thought they had to do to save their own life and the lives of others.”

Two children and the grandmother were safely removed from the home, sheriff’s officials said. The grandmother was the suspect’s mother, Weekly confirmed.

The 23rd Judicial District Critical Incident Response Team will investigate the fatal police shooting.

One Douglas County Regional SWAT vehicle hydroplaned in the heavy rain and crashed while responding to the incident, according to the sheriff’s office. The deputy driving the vehicle was taken to the hospital, treated and released.

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7761277 2026-05-18T14:21:31+00:00 2026-05-18T14:21:31+00:00
Shelter-in-place order for gas leak caused by Douglas County crash lifted /2026/05/13/parker-shelter-in-place-douglas-county/ Wed, 13 May 2026 20:28:21 +0000 /?p=7757226 Douglas County residents were ordered to for a short time Wednesday afternoon after a vehicle crashed into a building near Parker and broke a gas line, police said.

The crash happened near South Chambers Road and East Mainstreet at 1:14 p.m. Wednesday, according to South Metro Fire Rescue. By 2:45 p.m., the , although officials noted that “a lingering gas smell may be present in the area.”

between Mainstreet and Cosmopolitan Circle for the crash investigation, according to the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office.

The sheriff’s office originally issued the order for a half-mile radius from 10759 Tomboy Drive, including parts of Newlin Crossing, Sierra Ridge and Meridian Village neighborhoods. Pine Grove Elementary School was also ordered to shelter in place and had a controlled release of students, .

Residents near the leak were asked to stay inside with their windows closed, turn off their heating and cooling systems and avoid any activity that could cause a spark, South Metro officials said.

Paramedics took two people to hospitals for evaluation, . It’s not clear if they were involved in the crash or were nearby residents.

Information on the cause of the crash was not immediately available, but photos shared by South Metro officials showed a red pick-up truck had gone off the right side of northbound Chambers and

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7757226 2026-05-13T14:28:21+00:00 2026-05-13T20:00:46+00:00
Highlands Ranch teen missing since Tuesday found safe /2026/04/29/highlands-ranch-missing-person/ Thu, 30 Apr 2026 01:13:30 +0000 /?p=7553313 A missing 17-year-old girl from Highlands Ranch who was last seen Tuesday has been found safe, Douglas County sheriff’s officials said Thursday.

with finding the teenager after she was last seen near U.S. 85 on Tuesday.

Sheriff’s officials said early Thursday morning that she had been found safe.

“We appreciate the community’s help in the search,” . “No further information will be released at this time.”

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7553313 2026-04-29T19:13:30+00:00 2026-04-30T07:25:18+00:00
Former Douglas County STEM teacher gets 14 years for child sex exploitation /2026/03/22/highlands-ranch-child-sex-exploitation/ Sun, 22 Mar 2026 23:37:26 +0000 /?p=7462374 A former Douglas County teacher was sentenced this month to more than a decade in prison after initiating a sexual relationship with a student in 2024, according to the sheriff’s office.

Tera Johnson-Swartz, a 45-year-old Castle Rock woman who taught at STEM School Highlands Ranch, took a deal and pleaded guilty to child sex exploitation in January. The deal dropped several other charges from her case, including second-degree kidnapping, sexual assault with a 10-year age difference, unlawful electronic sexual communication and sexual assault on a child by one in a position of trust, court records show.

Douglas County District Court Judge Ryan James Stuart sentenced Johnson-Swartz on March 12 to 14 years in prison, according to a .

“Douglas County has some of the finest teachers in Colorado. I know, because — like many parents in our community — I have entrusted my four kids to be taught by them,” District Attorney George Brauchler stated in the release. “This warning is coming from the DA and a parent: if a teacher in our community exploits their position of trust with our kids for their own lascivious desires, we will seek to change their life forever.”

Johnson-Swartz’s employment at the Highlands Ranch school ended on Feb. 14, 2025, after her relationship with the 16-year-old student was uncovered, sheriff’s officials said.

Johnson-Swartz would buy the student cigarettes and let the student “take a hit” off her marijuana pen, according to the grand jury indictment. Their relationship was discovered when the studentap phone was confiscated by their parents and the studentap mother found thousands of texts to and from the former teacher, many containing sexually explicit content, according to the indictment.

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7462374 2026-03-22T17:37:26+00:00 2026-03-22T17:37:26+00:00