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December 18, 2014 VOLU M E 6 | I SS UE 51 | 5 0 ¢
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BrightonBanner.com A D A M S C O U N T Y, C O L O R A D O
A publication of
Two arrested for triple homicide Aiming
higher Adams County exploring spaceport potential By Vic Vela
vvela@coloradocommunitymedia.com
Adams County deputies and investigators covered the neighborhood around 21 Cragmore northwest of Interstate 25 and U.S. 36 the afternoon of Wednesday, Dec. 10, after three bodies were found earlier in the day when a woman called 911 to report a disturbance. Photo by Mikkel Kelly
Suspects caught after high speed chase, gunfire By Vic Vela
vvela@coloradocommunitymedia.com
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An Adams County Sheriff’s deputy was shot while taking a homicide suspect into custody on Dec. 12, capping a week of violence that included the loss of three lives. The officer, a detective who survived the shooting, was arresting Furmen Lee Leyba in north Denver when he was greeted with gunfire. The deputy, whom the sheriff’s office is not identifying, was transported to an area hospital for the treatment of non-life threatening injuries and later released, according to the sheriff’s office. Sgt. Aaron Pataluna, a sheriff’s office spokes-
man, said the Denver Police Department is handling the case involving the wounded deputy. “As far as I know it is still an active investigation,” Pataluna said. “We will not know who shot our detective or if the charges will be filed in connection with the shooting until Denver PD completes their investigation.” Leyba, 30, was taken into custody at the scene. Law enforcement officers had previously arrested Gabriel Lee Flores, 41, in connection with the Dec. 10 deaths of three men, whom authorities found shot inside a house on Cragmore Street, located in an unincorporated area of Adams County. The two suspects were formally charged with felony murder on Tuesday. Authorities arrived at the residence shortly receiving a phone call about the incident, at 7:20 a.m. Homicides continues on Page 2
Quick selected to serve as judge AG candidate will serve in county where he was prosecutor By Vic Vela
vvela@coloradocommunitymedia.com Don Quick may have lost the state attorney general’s race in November, but he ended up receiving a pretty nice consolation prize. The former Adams County district attorney will soon preside over the same courtrooms where he once argued after he received a judicial appointment from Gov. John Hickenlooper on Dec. 9. “It’s a great opportunity,” said Quick. “Serving on the bench has Quick always been an interest of mine, a way to serve the public and still be in the courtroom.” Quick will fill a bench seat in the 17th Judicial District that is being vacated by retiring Judge Chris Melonakis. Quick will take over judicial duties on Jan. 12. A judicial commission sent the names of three finalists to Hickenlooper, who ultimately selected
Quick “after receiving broad support from both sides of the aisle and from all parts of the legal community for Don’s application,” the governor said in an emailed statement. “This support and his extensive legal experience, including as district attorney for the 17th Judicial District itself, makes him the best fit for the job,” Hickenlooper said. Quick served as Adams County DA from 2005 through 2013, after having held other positions in the office. While serving in Adams County, he brought forth numerous convictions in what is known as the Quality Paving scandal, and he took time to work on increasing graduation rates in high schools. Prior to that, Quick served as chief deputy attorney general under former attorney general Ken Salazar. Quick will serve two years as a divorce court judge, before he rotates to preside over other areas of law that will include civil and criminal justice. Quick, a Democrat, lost an attorney general’s race to Cynthia Coffman in the fall, in a contest where he recieved numerous endorsements including the Denver Post, Grand Junction Daily Sentinel and Durango Herald. “I just feel very lucky that I am able to continue public service,” Quick said.
It’s up, up and away for new Front Range Airport Manager Dave Ruppel, who hopes to bring flight possibilities to Adams County that are out of this world. Ruppel, who took over airport operations a month ago, oversees operations at the Auroralocated, 3,600-acre airfield that has potential for outward commercial growth. But it’s the site’s upward potential that has generated buzz since 2011, when Gov. John Hickenlooper requested that the federal government designate the airport “spaceport” status, which would allow for suborbital launches. “It’s the logical next step if Colorado wants to be an aerospace leader,” Ruppel said during a recent interview. “For us to continue to be competitive in the field, I think we need to do it.” Aerospace is big business in Colorado and the state is among the nation’s leaders in the field. The state has the third largest aerospace economy, with more than 400 companies supplying about $3.2 billion in annual payroll here. But the state is not among the nine currently-licensed spaceport states in the U.S. And Adams County Economic Development president and CEO Barry Gore said that seven other states are in the process of obtaining spaceport licenses. “Why not be able to offer the ability to launch (orbital transportation) here and get that business in Colorado?” Gore said. “We want to provide as much as possible in the state instead of seeing business going out of state.” Kristin Sullivan, the economic development manager for Adams County, seconds that. “In order for us to become the number one aerospace economy in the country, we need to make sure we have all options on the table and that the companies here have access to a spaceport,” she said. But it appears that Colorado is well on its way toward becoming a spaceport state. Ruppel said the state’s spaceport application has cleared two divisions of the Federal Aviation Administration and is a couple of months away from receiving final comments from a third. After that, the lengthy process will continue, with Ruppel hopeful that the FAA will reach a decision by years-end. But Ruppel doesn’t anticipate the agency seeing anything in the application that would hurt Colorado’s chances. “At this point, I don’t think so,” he said. “I think we’ve done everything that’s required, so I don’t see any showstoppers.” As for airport business outside of the spaceport application process, Ruppel said there is about 6,000 acres of space around the airport that is ripe for potential new commercial tenants. “There’s a lot of opportunity for development there and that’s exciting,” Ruppel said. “There’s a lot of things there that are just about ready to break.”
Front Range Airport Manager Dave Ruppel Courtesy photo