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Denver real estate agent has history of accusing ex-boyfriends of assault
Fort Collins woman stabs blind boyfriend
El Paso County woman shoots boyfriend in stomach with rifle
Colorado Springs woman arrested for attempted murder of her girlfriend
Stabbing investigation leads to woman's arrest in Colorado Springs
Denver woman charged in armed kidnapping attempt
Grand Junction woman tries to poison her husband with methamphetamine in his whiskey
Wife's jealousy leads to high-speed accident in Basalt by illegal alien
Colorado Springs woman stabs husband during argument
Two women arrested after conspiring to kill man at the Atwood Sinclair gas station in northeastern Colorado
Sixty-six-year-old Colorado Springs woman arrested after stabbing her husband
Firefighters battle blaze in Colorado Springs after wife gets mad and sets her house on fire
Nederland woman attacks boyfriend with flashlight and faces attempted-murder charge
Boulder district attorney dismisses attempted-murder case against Joy Carol Sorenson
Fremont County woman arrested after stabbing husband
Abstracted from story by David Migoya , The Denver Post
January 20, 2012 — Claiming he was just the latest in a string of “sugar daddies” lured by a woman later bent on revenge, Jeffrey Campos, former president of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Metro Denver, says he wants a jury to see that his accuser files empty charges against boyfriends when her relationships go sour.
Campos, 55, also says a police surveillance camera on a light pole shows him walking away from his accuser, real estate broker
Jennifer Reins,
and not attacking her.
Campos resigned his chamber post in July after his arrest on felony kidnapping charges. Ms. Reins was a member of the chamber and the two had an affair that Campos said he tried to end.
He was eventually charged with misdemeanor assault and was in Denver County Court on Thursday trying to prove Ms. Reins has a pattern of accusing boyfriends of crimes when they try to break up with her.
Campos asked Judge Doris Burd on Thursday to allow three of Jennifer Reins' ex-boyfriends to testify. Campos' lawyer, Gary Lozow, said the ex-boyfriends would say Ms. Reins accused each of attacking her after they tried to end their relationships and refused to help support her. In every case Ms. Reins later recanted the accusations.
Lozow's request to present evidence showing a pattern of behavior that discredits his defendant's accuser is unusual. Typically, prosecutors use the tactic to show a defendant has a propensity for a crime.
Lozow painted a picture of a woman “scheming to use the system to her best advantage.”
“She's put people in jail before, accused them of wrongdoing to get them back to the fold,” Lozow said. “It's her efforts to find not only a sugar daddy, but at least a pocket with money.”
According to the March 10, 2012, Denver Post (p. 1A) it took a six-person jury “less than 30 seconds” on Friday — following a four-day trial — to find Jeffrey Campos not guilty of assaulting his then-mistress last summer.
But jurors decided to have lunch and “talk it out” before delivering a verdict just 20 minutes after they were handed the case — less time than it took Denver County Judge Doris Burd to give them instructions on deliberating.
“This case never should have been prosecuted,” defense lawyer Gary Lozow said later. “It was a blatant misuse of the resources of the criminal-justice system. Four days, and the jury deliberates 20 minutes.”
February 4, 2012
— A Fort Collins woman has been arrested after stabbing her blind boyfriend.
Larimer County sheriff's deputies were called to Motel 9 at 3634 East Mulberry Street in Fort Collins Thursday at 3:23 PM on the report that a 43-year-old blind Fort Collins man had been cut.
“Upon arrival the male was bleeding profusely and was immediately transported to Medical Center of the Rockies with non-life threatening injuries. His condition is unknown.” Police said the man had been involved in an argument with his girlfriend when the alleged stabbing occurred.
Kayla Dawn Mondragon, 18, was arrested. She's being held at the Larimer County Jail on $7,500 bond.
March 15, 2012
— Sarah Rael, 23, was charged with attempted second-degree murder in a shooting involving domestic violence at 526 Griffith Way. in the Security-Widefield area of El Paso County
.
El Paso Sheriff's Deputies answering a shots fired call arrived at the scene and found a man with a gunshot wound to the abdomen. The victim was transported to a local hospital with serious injuries. He was later listed in serious but stable condition.
Deputies determined there was an argument between the parties and ultimately the victim was outside the residence when he was shot by the suspect with a rifle.
Ms. Rael is in custody at the El Paso County Criminal Justice Center without bail.
March 22, 2012 — A 31-year-old woman was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after police say she got high on methamphetamine and repeatedly beat her girlfriend.
On Tuesday, police spoke to the victim near Carefree Circle North and Oro Blanco Drive. She told police that her girlfriend, Vanessa McMillan, had gotten high and beat her repeatedly with a handgun.
Ms. McMillan had also held the gun to the victim's head and pulled the trigger several times, threatening to kill the victim and commit suicide, police said.
The victim was taken to the hospital and was treated for a broken nose. Doctors told police that she possibly had other broken bones as well.
Vanessa McMillan was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of attempted murder and first-degree assault. She was being held without bond at the El Paso County jail.
March 28, 2012 — Cristybelle Lambert was arrested Tuesday night for a stabbing that occurred on March 18.
More than a week of investigative work on a stabbing case has resulted in the arrest of Cristybelle Lambert.
Colorado Springs Police say Lambert, 24, was responsible for stabbing another woman in the arm in the parking lot of 3490 Afternoon Circle early on the morning of March 18 th . The stabbing victim suffered serious, but non-life threatening, injuries and was taken to the hospital for treatment.
Investigators identified Lambert as a suspect and executed a search warrant at 3518 North Carefree Circle during the evening of March 27. She was arrested at that time on the charge of first degree assault.
Police say that Lambert knew the victim, but are not elaborating on the nature of that relationship.
Abstracted from story posted by CBS4 Denver
March 30, 2012 — A woman was formally charged after trying to kidnap her daughter earlier this month.
Adolfina Waters is charged with solicitation to commit kidnapping and two counts of child abuse. Prosecutors claim Ms. Waters, 24, worked with an accomplice, Jose Rodriguez.
Rodriguez, 24, is charged with second degree kidnapping, solicitation to commit kidnapping and child abuse as well.
Prosecutors claim that Rodriguez agreed to help Ms. Waters take her 5-year-old daughter from the child's father during an armed kidnapping attempt.
When they tried to carry out the kidnapping the child's father tried to disarm Rodriguez but the gun went off. The bullet struck Ms. Waters in the chest. Ms. Waters was rushed to a nearby hospital and is in custody.
Rodriguez's bond was set at $150,000, three times the bond of $50,000 set for Adolfina Waters, who instigated the crime.
Abstracted from article posted by NBC11news.com and other news stories
April 6, 2012
— According to an arrest affidavit, several weeks ago, Deone Marie Graham, 45, admitted to a friend that she had crushed up morphine and other unknown pills, and added the concoction to her husband's whiskey, causing him to be sick and partially blind for three days.
The affidavit states that her friend told investigators Graham said she didn't feel badly for her husband, because he had been cheating on her with another woman.
After he failed to fatally succumb to her homemade concoction, investigators say Mrs. Graham asked her friend to find her some methamphetamine, which she intended to use to spike his drink, this time in the hopes of finishing him off.
Instead, Grand Junction police were contacted. Undercover video showed her buying what she believed to be meth, but in actuality was epsom salt from a police agent.
Police say after that her husband's seemingly accidental death, Mrs. Graham intention was to collect his 401K and retirement money.
Deone Graham was charged with criminal solicitation to commit murder in the first-degree, and controlled substances- inducing consumption by fraudulent means.
In August she pled guilty to solicitation to commit first-degree murder and on October 22, 2012, she was sentenced to twenty-four years in state prison.
Abstracted from article by Scott Condon, The Aspen Times
June 1, 2012 — A domestic dispute between a midvalley couple escalated into a high-speed car chase — with speeds reported at 110 mph — that ended with a five-vehicle crash in Basalt that law enforcement officials said easily could have led to tragedy.
Jesenia Alvarez, 32, and Carlos Diaz, 36, both of the Blue Lake subdivision in Carbondale, are facing multiple charges in connection with the incident, which closed the eastbound lanes of Highway 82 at Willits Lane for 3 1/2 hours, according to the Basalt Police Department. They are being held in Pitkin County Jail.
Basalt Sgt. Penny Paxton said Diaz and Alvarez are married. Mrs. Alvarez apparently became upset when Diaz gave a 16-year-old girl a ride to Basalt High School. Mrs. Alvarez followed Diaz to the school in a separate vehicle. Diaz sped away on a school road when he realized his wife was tailing him and then halted for a stop sign at South Side Drive with the girl still inside. Mrs. Alvarez then rammed the 2006 Honda Odyssey van she was driving into the back of the van Diaz was driving.
Diaz fled the scene, zipped through streets in the Southside subdivision to Highway 82 and then headed west at a high rate of speed, according to authorities.
The following are details of the accident supplied by Paxton and the Colorado State Patrol:
Diaz allegedly ran a red light at the Highway 82 intersection with Willits Lane, close to the Willits Town Center. Mrs. Alvarez also ran the light as a 2008 Audi was turning toward Aspen on Highway 82 from the north side of the intersection. Mrs. Alvarez swerved at the last moment, according to witnesses, and struck the front of the Audi. She then sideswiped a 1995 BMW stopped at the traffic signal in the left eastbound lane of Highway 82. Alvarez's van continued westbound and collided head-on with a 1997 Dodge Stratus that was slowing as it came to the intersection. The Stratus was knocked backward into a stopped 2005 Toyota Tundra pickup.
Two people were transported to an area hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, Basalt Fire Chief Scott Thompson said. A total of nine people in five vehicles were checked for injuries.
Sgt. Paxton, a veteran police officer, said she has never seen an accident with so much vehicular carnage that didn't result in serious injuries.
The young female driver of the BMW that was struck while waiting at the traffic signal said she saw the van approaching her on two wheels after striking the Audi. It was fortunate the BMW wasn't struck head-on, Paxton said. By the time Mrs. Alvarez's vehicle struck the Dodge, its speed was reduced, she said.
Immediately after the accident, Diaz reportedly turned around in the City Market area and took the juvenile back to Basalt High School. He did not stop to check on the condition of his wife, according to Sgt. Paxton.
The incident is even more strange because the mother of the 16-year-old girl riding in Diaz's vehicle was riding with Mrs. Alvarez. Alvarez suspected that her husband was having a relationship with the juvenile girl, who is 16, However, reportedly both the 16-year-old and her mother live with Alvarez and Diaz in their Blue Lake home.
Sgt. Paxton opened a separate investigation as information was reported about Mrs. Alvarez ramming Diaz near Basalt High School. She said Mrs. Alvarez's story changed numerous times and that Diaz was initially uncooperative when she contacted him at his home in Blue Lake.
After investigating, Sgt. Paxton charged Mrs. Alvarez with felony menacing with an add-on charge of domestic violence for ramming her vehicle into the back of husband's. She was also charged with misdemeanor reckless endangerment for putting so many lives at risk by her driving. Colorado State Patrol handled the accident investigation and ticketed Mrs. Alvarez for careless driving causing bodily injury.
Mr. Diaz was charged with reckless endangerment, speeding, and false imprisonment, according to Sgt. Paxton. He allegedly refused to let the juvenile female out of his van as she requested after it was rammed by Mrs. Alvarez.
Alvarez and Diaz were booked in Pitkin County Jail because the ramming near the high school occurred in Pitkin County, Paxton said. The five-vehicle accident happened in Eagle County. Both Alvarez and Diaz are are reported to be in the country illegally, Sgt. Paxton said. That means that even if they can post bond, they will remain detained until U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement explores their cases. That also suggests they have no insurance as well.
The state patrol reported Mrs. Alvarez's name as Ivania Alvarez Lopez. The discrepancy with the name she was booked into jail under wasn't immediately explainable.
Abstracted in part from TheDenverChannel.com
June 10, 2012
— Dawn Wallingford, 49, was arrested after stabbing her husband during a fight.
Colorado Springs police received several calls around 5:30 PM of a stabbing at the Aspen Creek Apartments, 319 E. Brookside Street,. Arriving officers found the husband of Mrs. Wallingford with a stab wound in his hand.
The ensuing investigation determined that an argument between husband and wife escalated into a physical fight. During the fight the woman armed herself with a knife and cut her husband's hand. She was arrested at the scene and he was transported to the hospital for treatment of the stab wound.
Abstracted from article by David Martinez in Fort Morgan Times
August 13, 2012 — Two women have been arrested in connection to the shooting at the Sinclair Station on Highway 63 in Atwood Sunday, August 12 th . Both face charges of attempted first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit aggravated robbery, and conspiracy to commit first-degree assault.
According to a Logan County Sheriff's Office news release, deputies responded to a report of shots fired at the Sinclair Station at about 12:30 AM on Sunday. Upon arrival, deputies located Eric Morales, 30, and Jared Sanchez, 24, with multiple gunshot wounds. Neither are employees of the Sinclair Station. Both were transported to the Sterling Regional Medical Center, and Sanchez was later airlifted to a Denver-area hospital. Their conditions are unknown at this time.
Witnesses reported seeing three or four masked men enter the Sinclair station. Jared Sanchez was apparently among this group. An account in court said Morales, the intended victim, and Sanchez had each been shot twice during what was apparently a gun battle.
Leticia Lilly Hernandez, 27, of Greeley, and Monica Isabel Baray, 28, of Evans, fled the scene after the shootings but later gave statements when they were caught. Both were formally charged at an advisement hearing in Logan County District Court, where they received a combined bond of $1.5 million.
According to accounts from the hearing, Ms. Hernandez and Ms. Baray had conspired with other suspects to kill Eric Morales at the Sinclair Station.
Though neither woman fired any of the rounds in the confrontation that would send Morales and suspect Sanchez to the hospital, both allegedly helped plan a fake drug operation in Denver that would lead Morales to the gas station en route, where he would then be shot.
Susan Medina, spokesperson with the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, said neither her department nor the Sheriff's Office could release specifics about what led to the shooting, as the incident is still under investigation. Both her and Logan County Sheriff's Officer, Lieutenant Joe McBride, also could not confirm how many other conspirators were being investigated or when they would be charged.
Ms. Hernandez could face up to 48 years in prison if convicted of attempted murder — a class 2 felony.
But Ms. Baray (who also goes by the last name Pena) could face a life sentence. A lengthy criminal history stretching to 1999 denotes her as a habitual offender. She also faces an additional accessory to a crime charge out of Weld County after apparently provided ammunition to a man who instigated a fire fight with officers in that county. She has an additional $100,000 bond from that case.
Leticia Hernandez wept during her hearing, but Monica Baray looked stoic, even cool-headed through most of hers. But she, too, cried when Judge Charles Hobbs confirmed that she faced the possibility of a life sentence and set her “unusually high” bond at $1 million for the poor dear.
August 21, 2012 — A 66-year-old woman is facing assault and felony menacing charges after Colorado Springs police say she stabbed her husband early Tuesday morning.
Police responded to a call at 3:04 AM on the 3000 block of Moonbeam Circle North, where Constance Black had used a large kitchen knife to stab and poke her husband in his hand, back and thigh.
Mrs. Black was arrested and taken to the El Paso County Criminal Justice Center.
Abstracted from story in Colorado Springs Gazette
August 25, 2012 — Firefighters battled a house fire at 2113 Chalmers Street Saturday afternoon after a man's wife got mad at him and set their house on fire.
A neighbor, Rudy Negrette, said the homeowner, who is listed as Stephen Duckett, 48, had pounded on the door asking him to call the fire department because his wife, Jacquelyn, age 47, had set their home on fire. Negrette then called 911 for Duckett and reported seeing the wife drive away when he went back outside to watch the flames.
The blaze was reported at 3:30 PM and police were called to the scene on reports of a domestic dispute that preceded the fire. The fire was out by 4 PM.
The fire was contained to one or two rooms, and no one was in the home at the time of the fire, Fire Lt. Jeff Seivers said. He also stated that gasoline in the house may have stoked the fire.
Abstracted from story by Mitchell Byars, Boulder Daily Camera
November 5, 2012
— A Nederland woman was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder and first-degree assault Saturday after police say she repeatedly hit her boyfriend in the head with a flashlight because he threatened to leave her.
According to the affidavit, Nederland police responded at 4:50 AM Saturday to a house at 170 E. Second Street after dispatchers said a woman — later identified as Joy Carol Sorenson, 57, — told them she hit a man in the head several times with a Maglite flashlight.
When an officer arrived on scene, he found the victim — identified as Tyrone Lee, 53, — lying in a large pool of blood coming from the back of his head. Lee was conscious but unable to move due to the pain in his neck and head, according to the report.
Ms. Sorenson was sitting in an armchair about 5 feet from Lee and had what appeared to be blood spatter on her legs and clothes, according to the report. She told the officer that she hit Lee with the flashlight five or six times.
Lee was taken to the Boulder Community Hospital by ambulance. At the hospital, Lee told an officer that Ms. Sorenson — whom he was in a relationship with — had called him over earlier in the day, but that he had told her he was breaking up with her because of the “crazy way she acts sometimes.”
He said he planned on leaving but Ms. Sorenson told him to stay the night and said that he could sleep in her bedroom while she slept on the couch. But as he was getting ready for bed, Lee told police Ms. Sorenson told him “I want you out here with me.” When he walked out into the living room, he told police, Ms. Sorenson ambushed him from behind and started beating him on the back of the head with the flashlight.
Lee told police Ms. Sorenson stood over him shouting, “You should be dead now,” and, “All men should be dead, (expletive).” When asked why he thought she attacked him, Lee said, “Because I was going to leave and she did not like that.”
Ms. Sorenson told police that she and Lee were sleeping together on the couch when Lee tried to put his hands down her pants. But later, according to police, she changed her story and said they were walking to the kitchen when he tried to put his hands down her pants and she reached for the nearest object and started to hit him.
The officer reported that Joy Carol Sorenson was “well-known to Nederland police” and that she became agitated when she was questioned. She also appeared to be intoxicated, according to the affidavit.
Lee said Ms. Sorenson was very jealous of Lee's 27-year-old female roommate “Marchella.” Police noted that when Ms. Sorenson was questioned, she said, “Why don't you ask him about Marchella,” and “it's her and her (expletive) dog's fault,” according to the affidavit. She also mentioned a Trish, though Lee did not mention her to police.
According to the affidavit, Lee's sister had contacted police saying she thought Lee was not in a safe relationship. No action was taken as a result of the call. Joy Carol Sorenson has no prior criminal history in the state, according to Colorado court records.
Ms. Sorenson was held in custody at the Boulder County Jail on $250,000 bond.
Lee was released from Boulder Community Hospital, according to officials. He suffered nine deep lacerations to his skull and two fractures to his vertebrae.
Abstracted from story by Mitchell Byars, Boulder Daily Camera
April 9, 2013 — Boulder County prosecutors have dismissed attempted-murder and assault charges against a Nederland woman accused of hitting her boyfriend in the head with a flashlight last November, saying they did not think they could get a conviction in the case.
As described above, Joy Carol Sorenson, 57, was charged with first-degree attempted murder, first-degree assault and felony menacing. But in a motion dated April 2, 2013, and approved by a judge Tuesday, the Boulder County District Attorney's Office said it did not believe there was a reasonable likelihood of a conviction in the criminal case, the ethical standard the office should [but often doesn't] abide by.
“The people have conducted extensive follow-up investigation, which has revealed information which would significantly impair the people's likelihood of succession on the merits of this case,” the motion read. “It is not the people's position that the allegations of the victim in this case are untrue, or that the defendant acted in self-defense, but simply that the people cannot ethically proceed with this case, at this time, in light of the requisite burden of proof in a criminal case.”
While the case made it through a preliminary hearing in January, District Attorney Stan Garnett said all cases are constantly being reviewed to make sure there is enough evidence to move forward. DA Garnett said:
“We are constantly evaluating the evidence because we have an ethical obligation not to proceed with a case at trial unless there is a reasonable likelihood of conviction by a jury beyond a reasonable doubt.
That's what happened here. This was a significant case, a significant charge with first-degree attempted murder, and our investigators working the case concluded, based on the information they got, was that this case could not be proven at trial.
We felt that anything short of dismissal was not appropriate in this case.
Ultimately it's the jury that gets to decide guilty or innocent,” Garnett said. “But we have an obligation not to subject a person to a criminal trial unless the evidence meets the standard the Supreme Court requires.”
Garnett said prosecutors talked to both the victim and the Nederland Police Department before making the decision.
[EJF comment: Under current laws and dogma it seems inconceivable that a man who battered his girlfriend so severely would have his case summarily dismissed!]
Abstracted from story by Rachel Alexander, Cañon City Daily Record
December 28, 2012
— A 48-year-old woman was arrested after stabbing her husband Wednesday during a domestic fight at their home on Navajo Drive in southern Fremont County.
Kelly Dooley is being held on a no-bond hold in the Fremont County Jail on charges of second-degree assault and domestic violence.
The Fremont County Sheriff's Office was notified of the stabbing at about 11:10 AM Wednesday, after Mrs. Dooley had gone to a neighbor's house asking for help.
Mrs. Dooley told the neighbor that she had stabbed her husband during a physical altercation. The neighbor transported Dooley's husband into Cañon City, where they met deputies and an ambulance. The husband was then transported to St. Thomas More Hospital where he was treated for a non-life-threatening stab wound to the back.
Mrs. Dooley was taken into custody by deputies at her home and transported to the jail. She received treatment for minor injuries received during the altercation.
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