WEEK OF NOVEMBER 9, 2023
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The business of ballots
DA announced major drug bust in north metro area
VOLUME 35 | ISSUE 45
Nine indicted, drugs seized in a months-long operation BY JANE REUTER JREUTER@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
eventually be counted. People on the tours are welcome to look at it, but only from the outside. Access is extremely limited to only a few members of staff. Even Clerk and Recorder Josh Zygielbaum isn’t allowed in, Martinez said. “Nobody else has access to this room, not even the cleaning folks can go in there to clean- so it gets a little dusty between elections,” Martinez said. Martinez said the county only lets four individuals have access to the server room. While remote cameras monitor all of the election rooms, the server room works are constantly watched by two cameras. The room itself is physically isolated, too, protected by bullet-proof glass and tall walls.
As part of a months-long investigation with ties to a Mexican cartel, North Metro drug enforcement officers recently confiscated 84.3 pounds of fentanyl – an amount they said could save the lives of more than half the population of Adams County. Three people have been arrested and six more remain at large as part of the 47-point indictment. The nine members of the drug trafficking organization were indicted for helping distribute fentanyl, methamphetamines, and cocaine into the Adams County area and other parts of Colorado. They were allegedly part of Mexico’s Sinaloa Cartel, an international crime syndicate once led by the notorious El Chapo. Operation Dress for Less, so named because initial leads were discovered in a clothing store parking lot, began in May and ended with a late September grand jury indictment. Investigators went public with their months of work during a Nov. 1 press conference at the Adams County DA’s office. The operation involved the DA’s office as well as members of the North Metro Task Force and the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Rocky Mountain Field Division. In addition to the fentanyl, authorities also seized 66 pounds of methamphetamine, 1.4 kilos of cocaine, 14 grams of heroin, an active meth lab, five guns and $93,000. The nine cartel members allegedly funneled the drugs into Adams County, and other parts of Colorado,
SEE BALLOTS, P5
SEE BUST, P4
• Page 9
• Vestas to lay off 200 employees
Jamie Martinez gives a tour for about 15 people. They are in the room where the ballot box bags are brought in from being BELEN WARD picked up at the 24-hour ballot box, post office, or polling center.
BUSINESS
Adams County tours offer behind-the-scenes look at voting processes • Page 3
•27J Schools moves online-only Dec. 1
BY BELEN WARD BWARD@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
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LOCAL OBITUARIES LEGALS CLASSIFIED
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
LOCAL
The last week leading up to an election is usually busy for County Clerks, but Adams County workers know they have another job – hosting tours for people curious about how ballots are processed and votes tallied. “I think voter education is the most important piece of this for many individuals who don’t know the process,” said Jamie Martinez, Adams County deputy director of elections. “I’m happy to do these
tours. I do them every single election the week before Election Day.” Adams County typically opens the doors for public scrutiny for the week before the election, offering a glimpse of what goes on behind the scenes to groups of 15, one tour per day. The last tour of 2023 was scheduled for Nov. 3, the Friday before Election night on Nov. 7. “We do them in the afternoon so that you can see most of the process coming through because our ballots are returned at that point,” Martinez said. “The individuals that go on our tour, they are the advocates out there, or they might come to work our election and are still advocates.” Look, but don’t touch
Martinez usually starts the tours outside the county’s server room, where the ballots are made and will
BRIEFS: PAGE 2 | OBITUARIES: PAGE 4 | CLASSIFIEDS: PAGE 8 | LEGAL: PAGE 10
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TALKING RETAIL CRIME
Caraveo, Thornton Police discuss shoplifting P3