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Stories used here are reproduced under the Fair Use exception of 17 USC § 107 for noncommercial, nonprofit, and educational use.
Bipolar mother drives over cliff with four children after having husband arrested for domestic violence
Girlfriend accused in break-in, attack with bat
Domestic violence activist arrested
Cop kills woman after responding to domestic disturbance
Breakup leads to pushing and shoving, El Paso County deputy sheriff and mistress both arrested
Former deputy sent back to jail
Boulder man's life destroyed by violent woman
State prison guard sentenced for attempting to have her husband killed
Abstracted from an article by Electa Draper and Mark Hunter
Sunday, January 12, 2003, Denver Post
Alamosa — Alison Kay Phillips was reported to be unwavering in the care and protection of her three children — until she drove them off a cliff along Wolf Creek Pass.
On January 2, 2003, Alison Phillips piled her three children and a 16-year-old cousin into her car, telling them they were going to see a friend. One of the boys later said his mother, before driving over the cliff, told the children they would see a bright light and then see Jesus.
State Patrol Trooper Chris Balenti, an accident reconstruction technician, said he saw no signs of braking, except perhaps right at the edge of the cliff.
Phillips suffered from bipolar disorder but had not been taking her medication in the weeks before the crash. Her family had tried for months to get Alison to confront her illness, and she had just begun to seek help.
Then came a troubling sequence of events: a fight with her husband in which he was charged with domestic violence on New Years Eve, a tug of war over the children and a police decision to return the children to her.
Before the accident, Chad Phillips and his wife Alison had their share of marital problems. He was upset, he said, that she had stopped taking medication for her bipolar disorder in mid-October. And Alison talked often about committing suicide.
Still, a fight New Year's Eve was their first run-in with police. That night, Alison Phillips had told her husband that she wanted a divorce after their 19 months of marriage, and her anger flared. During the altercation Alison scratched Chad on his neck and back and he pushed her. She called 911.
Chad said he wanted to get 3-year-old daughter, Kayla, out of the house and into his parents' home. Alison wanted the little girl to stay with her together with her two sons from a previous relationship. He took his daughter Kayla to his parents' house before turning himself in at the police station.
Police charged both with misdemeanor domestic violence and harassment. Police claimed Chad Phillips was the primary aggressor and jailed him for two nights until $250 cash bond could be paid the day after New Year' s.
But Alison Phillips was not jailed and was allowed to return to the couple's apartment. That night two police officers, a victim's advocate, and a Tu Casa representative went to the grandparent's house to take Kayla from them.
“I spelled it out for them,” Kayla's grandfather, Bob Phillips, said. “Alison has been diagnosed as a manic-depressive. The children will not be safe with her. You can't leave this child alone with her mother.”'
The police sergeant arrogantly told the grandparents that it was his call, adding that “all children should be with their mother.”
Authorities called Phillips' death a suicide but her husband, Chad Phillips, said after Alison's funeral that her act, the death of their 3-year-old daughter, Kayla, and the injury of his two stepsons and Alison Phillips' 16-year-old cousin — all passengers in the car — were “totally preventable.”
“I buried my two beautiful ladies yesterday,” 27-year-old Chad Phillips said, “because the system failed Alison.”
Alamosa Police Chief Ron Lindsey said his officers acted appropriately knowing what they knew, stating that: “If anybody should have done something about the situation, it should have been the family.” However, it is quite apparent the police and social services would not allow the family to take care of the children.
“I' m begging them, with tears, to leave Kayla with us,” her grandmother, Susie Phillips, said. “' Will Alison be alone with these kids tonight?' I asked. And they promised me they would not be left alone. I handed Kayla over to someone who would fail her.” Police never contacted Social Services, Chief Lindsey said. And there are conflicting accounts about which agency determined where the children went after being taken from the Phillips home.
Alamosa County Social Services caseworker Geri Curtis said the department intervenes on behalf of children in domestic disputes only when police make the determination that the kids are in danger.
“The officers had every reason in the world to believe that they were placing her and the three children in a safe environment with Tu Casa,” Chief Lindsey said. He said Tu Casa would not tell the officers where the children would be sheltered.
Pointing the finger in the other direction, Tu Casa's director, Lynn Johnson, said police, not her staff, decide where and with whom children go after a domestic-violence incident. Tu Casa provides shelter to victims of domestic violence, she said, but she refused to answer any other questions about the policies of the private center.
On the day Alison Phillips would take her family on its deadly journey, Chad Phillips said he saw and spoke to his wife briefly at their home. Accompanied by his mother and a police officer, Chad Phillips stopped by his home to hastily gather up some clothes and other personal effects.
“When she answered the door, she was really calm, really understanding. She looked very pretty,” Chad Phillips said of the last time he saw his wife alive. All the children were there, but he said he saw only Chris, the youngest boy, who told him he forgave him for fighting with “Mommy.”
“There was no indication that they were getting ready to go anywhere,” Kayla's grandmother said.
by John Ingold, Denver Post Staff Writer
© 2003 Denver Post
Reproduced under the Fair Use exception of 17 USC § 107 for noncommercial, nonprofit, and educational use.
Sunday, April 20, 2003 — Arapahoe County authorities on Saturday arrested a woman who allegedly tried to use a baseball bat to attack a boyfriend she said was cheating on her — after crashing through his garage door with her car.
Arapahoe County authorities on Saturday arrested a woman they said crashed through a boyfriend's garage door with a car and tried to attack him with a baseball bat because she believed he was cheating on her.
Sherrie Nicole Holmes, 26, of Greenwood Village told sheriff's deputies she was expecting her boyfriend to stop by her apartment Friday night or early Saturday. When he didn't show up, she started thinking he might be cheating on her, officials said.
So about 5 a.m. Saturday, she drove her Mercedes Benz to his house. When he didn't answer the door or the phone, authorities said, Holmes rammed her boyfriend's garage door several times with her car.
After getting out of the vehicle, authorities said, she crawled through a 3-foot gap she had created by crashing into the door.
Once inside the house, Holmes allegedly confronted him and a woman who also was there. She “went after (her boyfriend) with a baseball bat,” according to a sheriff's report.
Authorities said the man took the bat away from her.
While she was in the house, officials said, Holmes also threw dresser drawers around in the master bedroom, damaging a lamp and a picture.
Deputies said they had to restrain Holmes when she tried to attack the other woman at the house.
Sheriff's officials said Holmes was being held without bail at the Arapahoe County Jail on suspicion of burglary, criminal mischief and domestic violence.
According to the Saturday, June 7, 2003, (p. Metro5) edition of the Colorado Springs Gazette Donna Hardy-Marth, age 41, was arrested May 26 th for domestic violence together with her husband, Raymond Marsh, age 32. Both pled guilty.
In March Donna Hardy-Marth had launched Stop It!, a support group for family and friends of victims of domestic violence. Her sister, Dee Ann Hardy, was killed by her boyfriend in June 2001 and Stop It! was formed in response to that tragedy.
However, Donna, whose age suggests she may be entering perimenopause, apparently hasn't learned to control her temper. Their argument apparently began when Raymond confronted Donna about her relationship with another man according to his statement to police. About half of the married men who contact the Equal Justice Foundation for help are charged with domestic violence after they find evidence their wife is having an affair.
As the argument escalated Donna reportedly threw a framed picture at him, hitting him in the side. Both then started yelling, breaking pictures, knick knacks, and a telephone. Both admitted breaking items to police and it was indeterminate who was the primary aggressor, though Donna appears to have initiated the physical violence.
Both seem to be in denial about the incident. The paper states that Donna claims the fight was only verbal, not physical. Raymond told the Gazette he is hopeful the domestic violence counseling will strengthen their marriage. Both seem to have a lot to learn and we suspect some lawyers will get richer in the learning process.
Abstracted from articles by Sean Kelly, Marilyn Robinson, and Sheba Wheeler, Denver Post Staff Writers
© 2003 Denver Post
Reproduced under the Fair Use exception of 17 USC § 107 for noncommercial, nonprofit, and educational use.
Tuesday, August 05, 2003, Aurora — A police officer shot and killed a woman outside an apartment at 1549 S. Galena Way after several people called 911 at 1:53 AM Tuesday to report a domestic disturbance.
Shortly after 1:30 AM loud booming sounds, yelling, and screaming emanated from the apartment, neighbors said. They said it looked like someone was being forced out of the apartment. Several kitchen chairs, boxes and other pieces of furniture were in the hallway in front of the door.
Police spokeswoman Kathleen Walsh told reporters 29-year-old Denise Washington was fighting with her father when the officer arrived.
Washington had threatened both her father and the officer before she was shot by Officer John J. Austin, according to a search-warrant affidavit filed by police.
“She was screaming at the top of her lungs, 'I' m going to kill you. I' m going to kill you,'” said resident Sherri Hickman, who called 911. “I heard a man talking to her, trying to get her to calm down. I think it was the police officer. He was talking loud to try and talk over her. He kept telling her over and over again (that) it was going to be OK, to just calm down.”
Neighbor Juanita Chapman said it seemed that the woman began to respond to the man, quieting and calming down for a few seconds.
“But then she started screaming again,” Chapman said. “We heard a chair coming down the stairs like she had thrown it at the man.”
Ms. Washington then hit the officer with a brass candlestick, cutting his arm open, and was raising it over her head, possibly to strike him again. The candlestick is 19 inches long, weighs 4 1/2 pounds, and has a 6-inch base, police said. The officer then fired in self-defense.
“I heard two quick sounds, one right after the other - pop, pop,” said neighbor Eyasu Kokebe, who lives in a nearby apartment building.
A shattered bottle of malt liquor was on the sidewalk and the blood was splattered down a stairway.
The woman had lived in the apartment for six or seven months, neighbors said, along with her father and her young son. The family was well-known because of loud parties, they said. Ms. Washington, according to her family, was being treated for mental problems.
Officer Austin has been on the force for 19 months. Following standard practice he will be placed on paid administrative leave pending an investigation.
According to police and witnesses this is how the shooting unfolded:
Russell Washington left the apartment he shared with his daughter, went to his cousin's house and told him that she was acting strange and was off her medications.
Russell Washington and his cousin, Norvelle White, returned to the apartment where Denise confronted them with the candlestick. White and a female neighbor then called police about 1:50 AM.
Officer Austin was dispatched to an unknown call at the address. En route, he was told that a man and a woman were fighting.
When police arrived, Russell Washington told them that his daughter “was going crazy” and had thrown a glass bottle at him.
As the officer tried to come up the stairs toward the second-floor apartment, Denise Washington pushed a chair down at him.
Austin, an Aurora officer for 19 months, told her to calm down and saw her in the apartment holding what he described as a brass lamp in her right hand. Washington was yelling, and the officer told her to drop the “lamp.”
According to Austin, she ran at him with the “lamp” and took a baseball swing, striking him in the left elbow, a wound which required stitches. The officer said he believed his elbow was broken, and he pushed Denise Washington away and stepped back.
White said late Wednesday that he was holding Russell Washington at the bottom of the staircase while they watched Denise and the police officer fighting.
“She may have cut the officer while they were tussling, but we didn't see anything,” White said. “At some point, she and the officer pushed away from each other. Then I saw the officer raise the gun.”
Denise Washington raised the “lamp” over her head with both hands according to a police affidavit. Austin, thinking she was going to hit him again, fired multiple times.
Russell Washington said that his daughter either suffered from bipolar disorder or was schizophrenic. He said she was not taking her medicine because she was waiting for a refill.
Ms. Washington was reportedly was on the prescription medicine Paxil, an anti-depressant typically used to treat anxiety disorders. The drug is similar to Prozac, said Sondra May, a pharmacist at University Hospital.
Prior to her death Denise Washington had been a teacher's aide for a special needs class at Aurora Central High School from November through May, when she resigned for personal reasons, school officials said.
She passed a criminal background check and an interview, but federal law prohibits the district from asking about a physical or mental disability, said Aurora Public Schools spokeswoman Georgia Duran.
“As long as it doesn't interfere with work performance, it's not an issue,” Duran said.
Denver Post staff writer Kieran Nicholson contributed to this report.
Sunday, September 21, 2003 — According to the Colorado Springs Gazette (p. Metro3) and the Denver Post (p. 6B) El Paso County deputy sheriff Kevin James Jiles, age 41, and his mistress of the past year-and-a-half, Natasha Naomi Sharp, age 24, were both charged with harassment, a Class 3 misdemeanor ( Table 97) , involving mutual domestic violence. Both spent Friday night, September 19 th , in the El Paso County jail.
Jiles, married but not to Ms. Sharp, and a six-year veteran of the sheriff's department, was released on Saturday on a personal recognizance bond after a night in solitary confinement. Ms. Sharp, who has a series of arrests on check fraud, theft, reckless driving, failure to appear, and violating bond conditions, was released on just $800 bail despite her many prior arrests and convictions.
Deputy Jiles met Natasha Sharp while she was an inmate in the El Paso County jail from January to May of 2002 where he worked as a jailer. They began an affair soon after she was released. Ms. Sharp claims Deputy Jiles fathered her 3-month-old daughter and that she is presently carrying a second child sired by him.
It would seem Deputy Jiles attempted to break off the relationship beginning in mid-July of 2003, which, as is often the case, resulted in a series of arguments that sometimes became physical with pushing and shoving.
After August 1 st it appears Ms. Sharp continued to call or harass Deputy Jiles. On September 16 th Deputy Jiles sought a restraining order against Natasha. Apparently Ms. Sharp was in court that day and saw Deputy Jiles getting the restraining order. According to an affidavit filed by Deputy Jiles, she called him repeatedly that evening, eleven times between 5:35 PM and 10:53 PM (Gazette, Friday, September 26, 2003, p. Metro2) after he told her not to contact him at 4:41 PM. Ms. Sharp was then arrested on September 19 th for DV/harassment based on Deputy Jiles complaint.
In apparent retaliation, Ms. Sharp then filed an affidavit claiming that she and Jiles had been arguing between July 12 th and August 1 st . She claimed Deputy Jiles was mad at her because she called him a name over the phone. Ms. Sharp also stated that Deputy Jiles had come to her house during July and August on three occasions and argued with her, grabbed her, choked her, pushed her into a wall and then on to a bed, during which she apparently got pregnant with the second child (we are surprised Jiles wasn't accused of rape as well). Her complaint led to Deputy Jiles arrest also on September 19 th .
On Monday, September 22 nd , Deputy Jiles pled guilty to the harassment charge (Gazette, September 24, 2003, p. Metro2). He was given a deferred sentence of 90 days in jail, fined $159, and must complete 36 weeks of domestic violence classes within 11 months. On Thursday, September 25 th Deputy Jiles was fired by the El Paso County Sheriff's Department for a variety of reasons, including his DV conviction, according to the Friday edition of the Gazette (p. Metro2). Most men involved in domestic violence complaints lose their jobs.
Natasha Sharp is quoted by the Gazette as saying: “I am the victim in this.”
Heeding the clarion call of “I am a victim,” victim's assistance groups sprang to Ms. Sharp's defense. Experience with the courts matters, and Natasha Sharp has plenty of that, so she wisely pled not guilty to the charges against her and is awaiting trial while free on bond.
According to the Sunday, September 28 th edition of the Gazette (p. Metro 1 & 5) on Saturday former deputy Jiles was arrested again after Ms. Sharp claimed he violated the restraining order against him. She claims he called her Friday night and threatened her. (Hint: Always make allegations of violating a restraining order late Friday. That guarantees the bum will spend at least a weekend in jail.)
Natasha also sought help from one of the professional victim's groups in Colorado Springs. She was then given state and federal funds to hire a private investigator to disprove the telephone harassment charges against her.
Of course, the claim now is that Natasha Sharp is “afraid for her life,” as a result of the threats allegedly made against her (have we heard these lines before?).
Perhaps Natasha Sharp should be afraid? She has destroyed a man's life, career, marriage, put him in jail twice, and ruined any future he might have had. What more has Kevin Jiles left to lose? And we provide numerous examples of the fact that restraining orders provide no protection but act, instead, as a catalyst for violence.
Published with permission of the author
I am writing on behalf of my friend William.
William was involved in a relationship with Marion that became increasingly violent for about 8 to 9 months. Upon trying to escape this situation he filed a restraining order against her for hitting, slapping, punching, and kicking him in the groin. Marion also threw wine bottles at him. The order for her to vacate the home was difficult to serve as she would leave and return frequently. She had previously threatened him with a restraining order and told him she would tell the judge anything he wanted to hear. She stated that she would make sure he went away and she also stated she had applied to take custody of his children away from him.
Marion came home and they argued about the restraining order and her leaving. She sat at a computer desk where William kicked a desk drawer closed. It nicked her in the knee and she filed charges against him the following evening more than 24 hours later. She waited to file these charges until after she had been served the order.
William has been in contact with me for approximately the last 6 to 8 weeks asking for help to get out of this home. I am an ex-girlfriend of his but came into this situation well after much of the violence had already began. Coincidentally, Marion waited to call police until I had gone to the home to get him and help him get papers together for the permanent orders hearing.
Upon William's arrest, for which I was present, his children were put in my custody by William and the police officer. A few moments after their departure, Marion's daughter came to William's home, blocked my exit, and threatened me. I called 911 but the police officers seemed much more interested in protecting her than listening to the other side as well.
William is scared to death of Marion and has actually sought treatment from Boulder County mental health. The stress and panic attacks he has began to have are affecting his ability to work.
I don't know where to turn. William is in jail and I cannot bond him out. Marion took his money out of the checking account in his name and she also stole every valuable tool he had the day before the arrest. She is not being held accountable for a single thing she has done but he is. Any suggestions? He is now completely indigent and homeless.
Published with permission of the author
In November 2003 a friend from high school called me from Boston. He was visiting a woman we'd gone to high school with and put Terri on the phone. Amazingly, she told me she'd been in love with me since high school and needed to come to Denver and “see what this was all about.” She was living in Cambridge after graduating from Harvard and becoming an assistant professor there. I was 43 she was 42.
She explained that she had avoided Colorado because she was raised here and her father had abused her. She felt that with my love and support she could finally return home. As a result Terri moved to Denver in February 2004.
I asked Terri once to marry me, we set a date but never made it that far. She later told me that she wanted to have a child but never discussed it with me. I had no idea she had stopped taking birth control and was surprised when she got pregnant. She was living in a $2,000 a month high-rise condo and I owned a home where I was raising my then 7-year-old son from a previous relationship.
We decided Terri should move into my house where we could share expenses, be a family, and raise our newborn child and my son there. Terri had perfect credit, and mine had some dings, so we refinanced the home in her name in order to remodel it. Terri told me she couldn't be comfortable living in “your” home but if it was “our” home, and newly remodeled. she could consider it her's as well. Terri moved in November 2004 and gave birth to our daughter on Christmas Day.
We started couple counseling almost immediately after she moved in as things started getting strange very quickly. Terri would isolate herself from my son and I. The moment my son (an athlete and straight-A student who received the highest possible marks by his teachers for his behavior) went to bed each night she would tell me how broken he was and how dysfunctional. We attended our counseling — about five sessions — with a highly recommended individual and, in fact, saw him on a Tuesday two weeks following the birth of our daughter. We had another session scheduled for Thursday.
On Tuesday the counselor suggested that I felt somehow responsible for Terri's happiness and had to back off a little and let her go through her moods and fluctuating behavior. The next evening — Wednesday — my son went to bed and I was sitting on our couch with our two week old baby sleeping on my chest. Terri wanted to get into it about my son again.
I asked her if we could save it for our session the next day and discuss it in front of the counselor. Terri looked me in the eye and said “You want to play hardball — I'll show you hardball” she picked up the phone, called the police and stated that she “had two tenants that refused to leave her property.”
The police arrived at 11:30 PM. My son was sound asleep and it was 5°F outside. Terri told them she wanted me and my son out. The cops asked if I had hit her. She stated “No — it's mental abuse.” The cops told me to leave even though I explained the situation. As a result I had to wake my son up and leave the house immediately.
My son and I then rented a home.
Over time Terri and I decided to try to work things out. We had a newborn child, we were both miserable, and so we tried. But her behavior got worse and worse. She refused to acknowledge what she'd done was wrong in any way; she continued to berate my son; and refused to contribute emotionally or in any other manner to our relationship.
Nearly a year went by before I finally realized there was no hope of ever getting beyond what had happened and no way I could subject myself or my son to her erratic, selfish, unreasonable behavior.
I stopped taking her calls for about a week in December 2005. She called on December 6 th and asked if I would put her and my daughter on my company's health insurance program. I told her our daughter was already on the plan and Terri asked why I didn't put her on. I told her that would make us common law married and she said: “So?” I then told her I didn't think I wanted to be involved with her anymore.
Terri hung up and called back about a half-hour later and told me she was committing suicide. I thought she was just being dramatic and told her it wasn't going to help or work. Then her entire family called me, one after another, and asked what they thought we should do. She had called them all. I told them our baby girl, Sophia, was in the house alone with her and we had better call 911.
The paramedics and police took Terri to a hospital and checked her into a suicide ward. I took our daughter to my home that night.
One day after her 72-hour suicide watch Terri went to the police station and filed a temporary restraining order claiming I had mentally abused her, threatened to kill her, and was a danger to our child. The police came to my home, served me the restraining order, and took my daughter away.
Months after Terri filed this restraining order she admitted that when she went to file it the desk clerk told her she had to write down what I'd done to her to justify a restraining order. Terri said she hand-wrote an entire page of what she felt was abuse and the woman looked at her and said: “Sorry, that's not considered abuse and we can't allow the restraining order.”
The woman then said to Terri: “Try again.” So Terri wrote yet another page of anything and everything she could think of that she felt might be considered abuse.
The woman read it and stated again: “Sorry, none of that is abuse and we cannot file the order on it.”
Terri told me the woman then coached her on what to write. It ended up saying that I told her a year ago that if she ever dated anyone else I'd kill her, that “this relationship will never be over,” and that I stalked her.
Terri then held my daughter hostage from me and refused to let me see her. Two weeks later she called me over and over again, and hung up each time. I thought she was attempting suicide again so called her home and cell phone hoping to hear her voice and find out if she was okay. She photographed my caller ID on her phone, called the police and told them I called and threatened her, and that I'd come to “her” home and was pounding on the door. In fact, I never spoke to her, left no messages, or went to her home that night.
As a result of my calls I was arrested for domestic violence and violating a restraining order and thrown in the Denver jail. She had me over a barrel and again included our baby girl in the case.
I had no money left and went to court alone. The female DA looked at me with disgust and stated that I could not plea bargain the case and they had more than enough evidence to convict me. She offered probation. She said if I fought it and was found guilty I would go to jail. I have a son I raise alone and could not afford to take the chance. As a result I pled guilty.
Because of my conviction I was forced to pay to see my daughter at a supervised parenting facility for months — for one-and-one-half hours a week.
In March 2006 I was ordered by Judge Rivera to pay $8,200 for a Child Family Investigator (CFI), Dr. Robert LaCrosse.
Dr. LaCrosse testified in our 12-hour Parental Responsibilities Hearing on December 6, 2006 before Judge Rivera, emphatically stating that Terri had fabricated her stories to the police and the courts, that she was using the law to abuse me in order to try to set things right within herself from her childhood, and that she was bipolar and suffered from post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Further, Terri was taking four times her prescribed medication and I was in danger of her fabricating more stories in the future to try to get me arrested and “punished.” Doctor LaCrosse stated that it is inevitable that Terri will do everything in her power to “bring me down.”
The next day, December 7, 2006, I had to attend a permanent restraining order hearing before yet another judge. Apparently it was this judge's first day and just about his first case. Of course I had to hire yet another law firm to represent me. Even though in the 12-hour hearing the day before both the evidence and the CFI showed and stated clearly that Terri had fabricated her entire story to the police on two occasions the county court judge granted her a permanent restraining order, stating: “Mr. Hansen lied about being wrongfully evicted from his home therefore I find him not credible”
My attorney and I have in our possession a document signed by Terri, her attorney, the district court clerk, and I, where Terri stated: “I wrongfully evicted Greg and his son from their home”. The county court judge did not see that document, nor were we allowed to refer to the findings of Judge Rivera the day before because they had not been filed yet.
Terri continues to abuse my family and I and plays every game she can to withhold our daughter from me. She stated she earns $1,333 a month but subpoenaed financial records show she is spending over $120,000 every year.
I now pay $1,100 a month in child support, get to have my daughter every other weekend and one day a week during the off week.
Terri just sold what was my home for a very nice profit and lives in a $2,000 a month apartment. She just purchased a brand new Volvo with cash and doesn't work. Her family is extremely wealthy and supports her.
I can't express the heartache and pain I've experienced from watching my son go through being evicted from his own home and being berated and degraded by this woman, watching his father get arrested, and suffering through the financial hardships this has caused us.
I've spent $52,000 in attorney's fees, domestic violence classes, random urinalysis testing, fines, court costs, etc., and my legal fees are still growing.
Cañon City — Pamela Dickens, age 47, was arrested December 12, 2003, for solicitation for first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder, and unlawful sexual contact with an inmate at the Territorial Prison in Cañon City.
An investigation of Mrs. Dickens was begun in July, 2003, by a Department of Corrections official, Alex Wold, after authorities received a tip that Ms. Dickens was having an affair with a prisoner.
In September, the inmate confirmed he had a sexual relationship with Mrs. Dickens, and that she wanted her husband, also a prison guard, killed so she could cash in a $1 million life insurance policy according to a May 6, 2004, Associated Press article. In addition to her sexual favors, she also promised the inmate $250,000 from the insurance.
The inmate cooperated with authorities and several of his telephone conversations with Mrs. Dickens were recorded. During a documented phone conversation on December 4 th , the inmate encouraged Mrs. Dickens to call “Bill,” who was described as a “hit man,” but was, in fact, an undercover Pueblo police detective.
Mrs. Dickens was arrested at a Pueblo restaurant after making a down payment for the contract killing to “Bill.” She also showed him the insurance policy, pictures of her husband, and the location their home in Florence.
Despite the redfem liturgy that Pamela Dickens had become vulnerable when her marriage began to deteriorate, and that she had been manipulated by the inmate, Mrs. Dickens was sentenced to 16 years in prison on May 5, 2004, after pleading guilty to solicitation for first-degree murder. The conspiracy and unlawful sexual contact charges were dropped as part of a plea bargain.
Monday, December 29, 2003 — Today I waited for my ex to drop off my two children for my holiday week with them as is written in the court-approved parenting-time stipulation that my ex and I follow, at least I thought we did. My calls to my sons haven't been returned for a day and when I called the house today nobody picked up the phone.
I figured that my ex was probably playing games but thought maybe something had happened to them, or they had left Colorado without telling me. I decided to stop by the house, where I found a police car waiting.
I knocked on the door and a very rude, obnoxious female officer told me I couldn't have the kids even though she had a copy of the court order right in her hands.
The whole time this was happening I was on my cell phone with my attorney. I was very polite to the officer and explained why I should have the kids and pointed out to her the words in the agreement that allow me to have my children for a week at Christmas.
Before I knew it there were three police officers there, brandishing their billy clubs, treating me like a criminal. The focus for the police, of course, was not that my ex had my children in contempt of the court order, but that I had been harassing her by making repeated phone calls to her.
When I told the police I was worried that something might have happened to them, or they might have left Colorado, they responded contemptuously, “Yeah, you were worried all right.”
Despite being on my best behavior, police accused me of being belligerent and threatening to them. They told me to leave, which I had intended to as soon as I met the first officer, but was not allowed to by her. The policewoman also told me to get a criminal attorney.
Later that day I went to the Aurora Police Station to speak to a supervisor there, since I felt that the officer handled the situation incorrectly, and had violated my human rights as a father. In effect the police allowed my ex to violate the court order, and the law, thereby making her a party to a criminal act.
Of course the female police sergeant did not agree and told me that the officer acted appropriately. I brought further evidence to substantiate why I should be allowed to have the children and asked if they would assist me in picking the kids up. Her response was that the police do not get involved in civil matters.
That's funny because there were three officers on the scene when my ex called.
The police supervisor then told me that they were called to the scene because my ex had told them I was harassing her by making repeated phone calls to her. The fact that none of my calls to my children were returned by them, the fact that I was worried that they might have been involved in an accident, or taken out of the area by my ex seemed irrelevant to the police. And of course the fact that I had a court order giving me a legal right to have the children that day was worthless in their opinion.
When I asked the sergeant at the desk if I could call my children, she responded I could, but I might face criminal charges of harassment. When I asked why, she told me that according to Colorado laws calling someone more than three times the same day is grounds for harassment and criminal charges [Apparently the female police officer misinterpreted C.R.S. § 18-9-111 to fit her misandrist agenda].
I feel that I was the one harassed, of course, and have been on numerous occasions with similar problems. But hey, I'm a guy, so tough luck for me. She [the police sergeant] told me don't blame them, blame the state legislators [ignoring the fact that the female officer misinterpreted or was ignorant of the law].
I gave up and left the station knowing I had just wasted my time arguing with a ridiculous group of people. I'm leaving out some details, of course, but please know that this did in fact happen, that I truly did, and still do have a right to my children as I sit here alone.
What type of society do we live in where a father risks his personal freedom and all he has worked for just because he wants to, and is entitled to spend one week of Christmas time with his children. I took a weeks vacation to be with my sons, I purchased tickets to take them to an Avalanche game, and had the presents I gave them for Christmas all set up ready for them the minute they would have walked through the door.
My attorney is filing contempt of court charges but that will take months to resolve and cost me money I could have spent on my children. Colorado might have nice views, mountain peaks, and great skiing, but its a lousy place to be a father in.
I guess things could be worse, I could be in jail like Dr. Emerson, all my life's work ruined with little hope for the future but now, more than before, I realize that at any time my freedom can be taken from me for the most ridiculous of reasons, that my life can be instantly destroyed by the state simply by some obscure words written by legislators.
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| Chapter 12 — Stories Of Violent Women And Abused Men In Colorado |
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