Arvada Press 082621

Page 1

FREE

August 26, 2021

JEFFERSON COUNTY, COLORADO

A publication of

INSIDE: VOICES: PAGE 10 | LIFE: PAGE 12 | CALENDAR: PAGE 15 | SPORTS: PAGE 16

VOLUME 17 | ISSUE 10

Female dead after officer involved shooting Destinee Thompson, 27, killed following Target robbery BY RYAN DUNN RDUNN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

A child runs in the potato sack race at Arvada Days.

PHOTO BY RYAN DUNN

Arvada Days held at Clear Creek Valley Park Fishing derby, potato sack races, carnival games included in festivities BY RYAN DUNN RDUNN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

On a sunny Saturday at Clear Creek Valley Park, kids of all ages

cast fishing lines, run potato sack races and play carnival games at the 2021 Arvada Days festival. The Aug. 21 festivities marked the fourth time Arvdada Days had been held. The COVID-19 pandemic shuttered the 2020 event. It returned this year alongside the Ralston House .5k Endurance Challenge. Arvada Days is a free event open to the public and funded by the

city of Arvada along with a host of sponsors. Arvada Days began in 2017 and is organized by the Arvada Festivals Commission and Highlands Hills Parks and Recreation District. The festival included live music, vendor booths and a number of activities for children. “I think people are just looking SEE ARVADA DAYS, P4

Arvada Harvest Festival up in the air after permit snafu Carnival and midway denied from special events permit, parade approved BY RYAN DUNN RDUNN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

In advance of the 95th anniversary of the Arvada Harvest Festival, the city of Arvada recently announced it was denying the carni-

val and midway components of the special events permit application. The city still approved the festival’s application for the parade. The Arvada Harvest Festival dates back to Oct. 1925 and has primarily been hosted by the Arvada Jaycees and the Arvada Junior Chamber Foundation with the support of the city. The festival was cancelled last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This year’s Harvest Festival is scheduled for Sept. 11, but festival

organizers are now mulling if hosting the event is feasible because the carnival and midway game and food booths are typically key revenue streams for the festival, according to Rick Nelson, Harvest Festival executive committee member. Nelson said the committee found out about the permit issues on Aug. 19 and met that night to determine if there is a way to save the festival. SEE FESTIVAL, P6

Arvada Police shot the suspect of an armed robbery at the Super Target on Kipling Street in Wheat Ridge on Tuesday, Aug 17. Destinee Thompson, 27, was shot by an APD officer at the American Motel on I-70 at around 1 p.m. and was pronounced dead after a motor vehicle crash following the shooting. No other injuries were reported. Arvada Police initially responded to reports of a female suspect wielding a knife threatening people and stealing merchandise from the Target on Kipling. Officers tracked the suspect to the nearby American Motel, where she had fled on foot. Officers attempted to apprehend her and an altercation ensued, at which time they fired on Thompson. Thompson was able to flee the motel in a vehicle but crashed shortly after leaving the parking lot. She was pronounced dead at the scene. Two men at the Napa Auto Parts store near the scene of the vehicle crash, one of whom identified himself as Robert Kunshier, said they heard between eight to 10 gunshots shortly before a white van was seen speeding down the I-70 frontage road. The van clipped a curb to the west of the Sinclair station and careened into a field behind the gas station and eventually came to rest in a ditch behind the gas station. Kunshier said that he saw one person in the vehicle, but they were not moving. Thompson had a criminal history dating back to 2016, according to CBI records. She had at least one active warrant for her arrest at the time of her death, according to Arvada Police. One APD officer involved in the shooting has been placed on administrative leave while the incident is investigated by the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department, which is standard procedure.


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.
Arvada Press 082621 by Colorado Community Media - Issuu