Dony Salazar's DNA ties him to rape a month before he stabbed a pregnant woman

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Photos, video below.
While Denver District Attorney Mitch Morrissey wasn't a fan of a 7News rape-kit story, he likely feels better about another report offered by the station on a similar subject.

To whit: Thirty-year-old Dony Salazar, in jail for stabbing a pregnant victim, among other things, has now been charged with kidnapping and sexually assaulting another woman only a month earlier -- and thanks for that goes to DNA captured during a post-rape examination. Photos, video and more below.

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Nathan Dunlap: Mom of victim Ben Grant latest to call for killer to die

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Photos and more below.
We've been covering a clemency bid by Nathan Dunlap, who killed four people at a Chuck E. Cheese in 1993; see our previous coverage below.

Yesterday, we shared a letter to Governor John Hickenlooper by a woman who was scheduled to work at the restaurant on the fateful evening but took the night off instead; she urged him to go forward with the execution. Today comes a similar statement from the mom of a co-worker who wasn't so fortunate. She, too, thinks the appropriate sentence is death.

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Video: Teen arrested for bomb found near "high-traffic area" at Centaurus High School

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Photos, video below.
Update: Earlier this morning, we told you about a pipe-bomb-like device found at Centaurus High School in Lafayette yesterday. It was successfully retrieved and detonated.

We also noted that authorities were focusing on a male person of interest in the case. Now comes a report that a sixteen-year-old boy has been arrested in the case. His name has not been released. See our previous coverage below, including photos and video.

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Jordan Webb: CU-Boulder quarterback's arrest latest disaster for program in crisis

Categories: Colorado Crimes

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Photos, videos below.
It's not exactly news that the CU-Boulder football program is a mess. But the hiring of former San Jose State head coach Mike MacIntyre was supposed to be the first step on the road to recovery.

Now, unfortunately, there's more recovery necessary, thanks to starting quarterback Jordan Webb's arrest over the weekend.

The story's complicated, but the continuing damage to a program in crisis is plain as day.

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Photos: Six people hurt in Thornton crash after Northglenn police chase alleged car thief

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Big photos below.
There's always debate about when police should engage in a car chase with suspects -- and when doing so is simply too dangerous for everyone involved, including innocent bystanders.

Against that backdrop, we offer the facts that have surfaced thus far about a rollover crash in Thornton that injured six -- count 'em -- six people.

The alleged crime: car theft. And yes, the smash-up was spurred by police pursuit.

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Todd Helton pleads guilty to driving while ability impaired

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Big photos below.
The mug shot of Colorado Rockies all-star Todd Helton taken after his arrest for DUI in February spoke volumes about the most humiliating moment of his career -- an incident detailed in an arrest report on view below in its entirety.

Now, however, with the Rockies' season underway and going better than anticipated, Helton is taking responsibility for this error in judgment and attempting to put the embarrassment behind him by pleading guilty today to driving while ability impaired.

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Miguel Ita stabbing: DA frustrated by new rules for charging fifteen year olds as adults

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Photos, video below.
Last week, we told you about the decision of the Jefferson County District Attorney's Office to name Miguel Angel Ita, fifteen, as the prosecutorial target in a fatal Lakewood stabbing and begin the procedure to try him as an adult.

That process has changed, and not for the better in the view of Jeffco DA Pete Weir. He laments the inability to use a method called "direct file" to simply move Ita's case directly to adult court. Get details and see photos and a video below.

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Felix Trujillo, inmate, says deputy who helped him escape thought (wrongly) he'd get $500K

Categories: Colorado Crimes

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Photos, video below.
Update: The tale of Felix Trujillo's escape from Denver jail last month, and deputy Matthew Andrews's alleged role in helping him do so, was already plenty weird. But it just got a whole lot stranger.

Trujillo now says the escape plan came from Andrews, based on the mistaken notion that the inmate would pay him $500,000 for his help.

And where did he supposedly get this idea? From Trujillo's Facebook page.

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Big Blue Bear vandalism: Charges rejected for man busted in green-paint splashing

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Big photos below.
Update: Yesterday, Denver police announced, with a good deal of hoopla, that an arrest had been made in the March 31 vandalism of the Big Blue Bear at the Colorado Convention Center, during which the tourism symbol was splashed with green paint.

Mere hours later, however, the Denver District Attorney's Office decided not to press charges against 21-year-old Joseph Rivas, with officials determining that there wasn't enough evidence against him to guarantee a conviction.

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Eight-year-old shot on 6th Avenue: Apparent break in case falls apart

Categories: Colorado Crimes

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Big photos, video below.
Update: Earlier today, we questioned whether an alleged break in the case of an eight year old's shooting yesterday evening was actually a case of premature tweeting; see our previous coverage below.

Turns out it was: 9News, which had rushed out photos of a white Volvo in connection with news that two arrested suspects were possibly involved in last night's gunplay, is now reporting that the couple were determined to have had no tie to the previous case and were released.

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