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Peyton place, infidelity, abuse, forgery, bigamy
Colorado Springs woman carjacks ex-boyfriend's car
Security man robbed after inviting chat room friend to home
Female soldier punches boyfriend and kicks cop in Colorado Springs
Soldier-mother kidnaps child in Colorado Springs while father is in hospital
Four Greeley women kidnap man, threaten him with AK-47
Colorado Springs woman falsely reports husband beat her, then slaps policeman
Colorado Springs woman shoots her way into ex-husband's apartment and is killed in self defense
Colorado Springs woman nearly shot by police after found sitting on boyfriend with a knife at his throat
Colorado Springs woman stabs husband in the back
Abstracted from story by John C. Ensslin, Colorado Springs Gazette, KKTV11News, and court records
March 18, 2010
— A 29-year-old Peyton woman has been charged with bigamy after police found she married another Fort Carson soldier while her husband was in Iraq.
Police said the case came to light when Army Sgt. Eugene Alton Patton Jr. came into the Sand Creek substation in Colorado Springs.
Patton, 35, told police he had been deployed to Iraq in late November 2008 for thirteen months. While he was away, he reported that he communicated regularly with his wife, Tammy Ann Patton, DOB 7/30/1980, by e-mail and telephone. Everything seemed to be fine, he said. The couple had been married since June 2008.
But when he returned home in January, Patton told police that he found things weren't quite right on the home front.
“Mr. Patton soon discovered that Tammy had several extra-marital relationships with other men while he had been away and that she had married one of them,” detective Gerald Yeager stated in an affidavit for Tammy Patton's arrest. Sgt. Patton testified that she had relationships with five different men and ran up bills that eventually forced him to file for bankruptcy and have his house foreclosed on.
While he was in Iraq Sgt. Patton said Tammy told him she was pregnant with twins and sent him ultrasound images. But when he returned home he found the images had been downloaded off the Internet. He also found some 30 letters he had sent home from Iraq were not even opened.
Eugene Patton told police that while he was deployed to Iraq his wife had married Kevin Donald Benson, 26. Records show that marriage occurred on September 14, 2009, less than a year after Eugene Patton deployed. Benson is also in the Army at Fort Carson. When Patton told his commanding officer what had happened Benson “was made to begin an annulment” according to the affidavit. Kevin Benson filed an invalidity of marriage action against Tammy Patton on February 16, 2010.
Kevin Benson said he dated Tammy for eight months before their marriage, their affair beginning just a few months after Eugene Patton was sent to Iraq. The two of them lived in her home in Peyton, while Benson said Tammy told him she had an ex-husband. When her story unraveled, and Kevin was ordered by commanders to begin annulment proceedings, he saw Eugene Patton's face for the first time.
But. Kevin Benson is technically still married to Tammy Ann Patton who was charged with felony bigamy. And although he has filed to end the “marriage” as of July 2010 he couldn't find Tammy Patton to serve her.
Just days before her “marriage” to Benson Tammy Patton was charged with cruelty to animals, a Class 1 misdemeanor, on September 6, 2009. A summons and complaint were filed September 24 th but Tammy failed to appear and a warrant was issued for her arrest on November 10, 2010.
On May 3, 2010, prosecutors filed Class 4 felony charges of bigamy, forgery, and attempt to influence a public servant against Tammy Patton.
Police said the last two charges stem from paperwork Patton filled out when she and Benson applied for a marriage license on September 14, 2009. On that date Tammy Patton used a fictitious Social Security number and misstated her father's name on the document. She also signed the form under oath stating that there was no legal reason why she and Benson should not be married.
On May 4, 2010, Eugene Patton filed for divorce from Tammy. On the same date he also filed a request for a domestic abuse restraining order against her. As typically happens, his request for a restraining order was denied by Magistrate William Trujillo. Note that such requests by females are almost automatically granted by Trujillo literally at the rate of one-a-minute.
On January 3, 2011, Tammy Patton pled guilty to forgery and misdemeanor animal cruelty. The felony bigamy charge was dropped. So female bigamy, or polyandry, is fine but you had better not lie to the county clerk.
For the horrific and disgusting actions outlined above Tammy Patton was sentenced to nothing more than two years probation and ordered to undergo a mental health evaluation by District Judge Larry Schwarz.
July 16, 2010 — A man who police say was carjacked by his ex-girlfriend near downtown was dragged almost 200 feet when he tried to save his car late Thursday.
According to police, the 54-year-old man was unloading his car when his ex-girlfriend, Lynette Ward, and an unknown man confronted him about the ownership of the car. Ms. Ward then jumped into the driver's seat of the car and started driving away. The victim reached into the passenger side of the car in an attempt to stop her. The victim was dragged over 200 feet before he fell and the car sped away.
Police continue to look for the car — a 1996 black Oldsmobile 88, with a license plate number 166UXE.
Abstracted from stories in Colorado Springs Gazette and police blotter
July 25, 2010
— A Security man told El Paso County sheriff's deputies that he had corresponded with Leeann Arroyo, age 30, through an online chat site and invited her to his home on Watson Boulevard. When she arrived, she was accompanied by two men, one of whom pulled a gun and demanded money.
The resident gave them $20, then ran into a bedroom and the three robbers left. He then called the El Paso County Sheriff and gave them Ms. Arroyo's address in Colorado Springs and a description of her two male accomplices.
Sheriff's deputies then contacted Colorado Springs police and officers from the Gold Hill Division responded to 1547 E. Fountain Place.
Upon arrival, officers observed a white male standing near the front of the residence. His general description matched one of the suspects involved in the crime. The suspect ran into the house and was never contacted. Officers attempted to contain the residence to prevent the escape of this male suspect and the removal of possible items of evidence.
Seconds later, officers made contact with Leeann Arroyo, who was at one point inside of the residence. A brief struggle with Ms. Arroyo occurred in the front yard of the residence after which she was taken into custody.
Officers on the scene continued to contain the residence thinking that the male suspect and items of evidence were inside. A search warrant was then obtained. Because of the nature of the call the Colorado Springs Tactical Enforcement Unit was called to assist.
The SWAT team entered the house at 1547 E. Fountain St. about 4:30 AM, eight hours after the standoff began Sunday at 8:08 PM. A search of the residence was completed but no evidence was recovered and no additional arrests were made. The investigation into the robbery is ongoing and is being conducted by the El Paso County Sheriff's Office. The two male suspects remain on the loose.
Ms. Arroyo was arrested on suspicion of aggravated robbery and is being held in the El Paso County jail on $25,000 bond.
According to the Colorado Springs police blotter, officers working extra duty in the 00 block of N Tejon on August 14, 2010, were advised of a domestic disturbance at 11:40 PM where a female punched a male in the head. The disturbance occurred at the intersection of Pikes Peak and Tejon.
When officers contacted the female suspect, Kimberly Adino-Grant, age 29, she became combative. When handcuffed she repeatedly kicked the officer.
Kimberly Adino-Grant, a solider at Ft. Carson, was charged with harassment-domestic violence and second-degree assault on a peace officer and booked into the El Paso County Jail.
According to the Colorado Springs police blotter, on August 16, 2010, officers from the Falcon Division were dispatched to 5426 N. Nevada Ave., #103, at 11:07 PM regarding a possible parental kidnapping. The officers spoke with the witness who indicated the suspect, Savanna Bowyer-Jackson, entered the father's apartment, #206, without permission through an unlocked sliding glass door.
The witness stated she is staying at the apartment to care for the five-year-old daughter of the suspect and the victim, due to the father being in the hospital. The witness stated the suspect entered the father's bedroom and eventually took her biological daughter who was staying in the bedroom. Once the suspect had custody of the child she left the residence.
The investigation revealed that both the father and the suspect share joint custody of the five-year-old child. During the investigation officers learned the suspect has made statements she going to take the child out of the state. Savanna Bowyer-Jackson is currently stationed at Fort Campbell, Kentucky.
Officers were able to locate Savanna Bowyer-Jackson and the child in Cañon City. An arrest warrant was issued for her on charges of first-degree criminal trespass. Once the warrant was signed, Officer Varnell and Sgt. Henrichsen responded to Cañon City and the suspect was taken into custody. The five-year old was given back to the witness and Bowyer-Jackson was booked into the El Paso County jail.
September 15, 2010 — Police arrested four Greeley women who are accused of kidnapping a man, demanding cash and threatening him with an AK-47 rifle and a knife.
The incident occurred in Greeley over the weekend, and arrest reports and an affidavit released Tuesday showed the women are facing numerous charges:
• Jesenia Heynez, 21, is being held on $200,000 bond and charges of kidnapping, conspiracy to kidnapping, aggravated motor vehicle theft and menacing.
• Shelli Loya, 36, $500,000 bond, kidnapping, conspiracy and menacing.
• Gabriela Christine Luna, 22, $200,000 bond, kidnapping, conspiracy, menacing and auto theft.
• Mandie Marie Valencia, 32, $500,000 bond, kidnapping, theft, menacing and conspiracy.
The two women with the highest bonds — Loya and Valencia — were held on higher bond because of their direct threats to the victim, according to affidavits.
Two men may also be involved in the incident, police said, but they haven't been arrested yet.
According to a court affidavit, the victim, a 27-year-old Greeley man, was at a drive-in restaurant on West 10 th Street when Valencia blocked his car with her own vehicle, and told him to get in her car because she needed to talk with him.
They went to Valencia's apartment in the 800 block of 37th Avenue, where the victim saw an AK-47 lying on a bed, and the victim later told police the rifle was there to scare him, because the women usually keep it in a closet.
Affidavits stated Valencia and a man in the room then told the victim to empty his pockets. They took his cell phone and turned it off, then Valencia told him, “Don't try anything stupid, because you're not leaving here.”
All four women were in the apartment, along with two men. One man had a baseball bat, and a woman had a knife, both threatening the victim if he tried to leave, the affidavit said. They accused the victim of stealing a computer from Loya, and Loya demanded $500 cash from him. He told them he would have to go to another person to get the money.
So, three of the women took the victim in his own car to the other man's home, where the victim went inside. He didn't come back out, and the women eventually left in his car.
Police said the car was later found abandoned in the downtown Safeway parking lot.
The victim called police from his friend's home, and police arrested the four women at Valencia's apartment. All four remain in the Weld County Jail. [It is reasonable to assume the women are illegal aliens.]
© 2010 by Jakob Rodgers, Colorado Springs Gazette
October 9, 2010 — A 53-year-old woman was arrested after allegedly lying to police about being held at gunpoint and then smacking an officer when police questioned the truth of her story.
Nine Colorado Springs police officers and two police dogs were called about 10:45 PM Friday to help the woman, Debra Cordova, who told police she was beaten and was being held at gunpoint by her husband.
After helping her escape through the back of the house, though, she started giving several different versions of what happened.
Then her husband walked out of the house and told police she had lied about the hold-up when he had asked her to stop drinking, police said.
No gun was found in the house.
While she was being arrested on suspicion of false reporting, police said she slapped an officer.
She was also taken into custody on suspicion of second-degree assault on a police officer.
Abstracted from stories on October 11, 2010, October 12, 2010, and October 23, 2010, Colorado Springs Gazette and court records
Early on the morning of October 9, 2010, Cristen Ann Cox, 46 (DOB 9/21/1964), shot her way into the apartment of her ex-husband, Richard Lynn Cox, 43 (DOB 4/25/1967).
Police were called about reports of gunshots at 1:08 AM Saturday and found Mrs. Cox dead shortly after arriving at apartment I of 2555 Paragon Drive, an apartment building on the south end of the Windtree Apartment Homes near Union Boulevard and Vickers Drive.
Mrs. Cox had a .44-caliber revolver with which she destroyed the lock of the apartment's front door by firing four bullets into it. She then entered the apartment and fired another shot in the living room before heading for the bedroom. Alerted and woken by the gunshots, Richard Cox grabbed his shotgun and fired one shot at a silhouette he could see entering his bedroom. Only after turning on the lights did he discover he had killed his ex-wife.
The El Paso County coroner ruled Cristen Ann Cox, 46, died from a single shot to her torso.
The district attorney determined that Richard Cox acted in self defense and will not be prosecuted. The Colorado statute commonly called the “Make My Day Law” protects people from any criminal charge or civil suit if they use force — including deadly force — against someone invading their home. This case clearly fell under that statute.
Cristen Cox legally changed her name from Cris Ann Elwell in 1994 when she and Richard Cox were married. She was 30 and he was 27. Records show she purchased a home on Chelton Road in February 2004 and added Richard L. Cox to the deed in May 2005. The couple sold their home in November 2009 after separating in October.
Apparently after nearly 15 years of marriage Cristen began an emotional breakdown, likely as she entered perimenopause around age 44. According to court documents in early 2009 Cristen Ann Cox had pointed an unloaded gun at her husband's head and pulled the trigger. She told him she “just wanted to know what it felt like.”
Following that incident and after their separation, Richard Cox filed for a restraining order against Cristen on January 13, 2010.
In his motion for the permanent restraining order, Richard Cox wrote that Cristen Cox said in one voicemail, “A restraining order never stopped a bullet so you better watch your (expletive) back.” In the same message, she warned Richard Cox she was in his apartment complex with a .357 Magnum in her pocket.
He was granted a permanent restraining order against his wife by Magistrate Robin Chittum on January 26, 2010. Richard then filed for divorce on February 3 rd and the decree was granted on June 4, 2010, just four months before she shot her way into his apartment and was killed.
Abstracted from Colorado Springs Gazette and the CSPD blotter
December 5, 2010
— Officers from the Sand Creek division were dispatched at 10:00 AM to the 1000 block of Zamora Circle to investigate a domestic violence in progress where it was being reported that the female is armed with a knife and the male possibly with a handgun.
On arrival officers found the front door open with crying children in the living room, pointing to a bedroom where loud arguing was heard. Officers went to the room and found Tangeray Mayhorn, 29, sitting on top of her male partner holding the point of an 8-inch butcher knife to his throat.
At gunpoint officers commanded the female to drop the knife, but Ms. Mayhorn remained irate and did not comply. As another officer began to ready his taser for deployment, a second command to drop the knife was given as the primary officer prepared to intervene with deadly force.
Fortunately, Ms. Mayhorn complied with the second command. She dropped the knife and was taken into custody. She was booked into the county jail for felony menacing and child abuse because their two children witnessed the violent events. The officers showed great judgement and restraint in the use of deadly force and resolved the situation with a positive outcome.
December 26, 2010 — According to the Colorado Springs police blotter officers from the Gold Hill division were dispatched to a domestic disturbance at 2300 Hagerman Street at 4:44 AM.
Upon arrival officers found 29-year-old Joseph Cooper had been stabbed in the back by his wife, 28-year-old Angela Cooper. Mr. Cooper was taken to a local hospital where he was treated for non-life threatening injuries.
Mrs. Cooper was arrested for multiple domestic violence charges including attempted murder.
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| Chapter 12 — Stories Of Violent Women And Abused Men In Colorado |
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| Back — Violent Colorado women-Year 2009 |
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