Northglenn Thornton Sentinel 0825

Page 1

August 25, 2016

VO LU ME 53 | ISSU E 2 | 50 ¢

SEE SPECIAL CENTER SPREAD INSIDE THIS PAPER!

Northglenn-ThorntonSentinel.com A D A M S C O U N T Y, C O L O R A D O

A publication of

Man sentenced to 36 years in triple homicide Judge calls one of two defendants charged with multiple murders in 2014 incident a ‘criminal’ Staff report An Adams County judge tasked with sentencing a man convicted of accessory to murder and other charges offered up a concise motive for the man’s actions at a sentence hearing Aug. 19. “You are a criminal. That’s what you know and that’s what you like,” Adams County District Judge Thomas Ensor told Furmen Lee Leyba, 32, one of two men indicted on murder charges after three men were shot dead in 2014 in unincorporated Adams County. Leyba was convicted by a jury in June of one count of

aggravated robbery, one count of robbery and three counts of accessory to firstdegree murder in the death of Jason Quijada, 37, Jayson Figueroa, 17, and Johnny Gutierrez, 18. The three were shot and killed Dec. Leyba Flores 10 at 21 Cragmore Street, near the intersection of I-25 and Highway 36, by Leyba and Gabriel Flores, 42. Flores will be in court for a competency hearing Aug. 26. According to a 2014 Westminster Window report, Leyba also shot an Adams County Sheriff’s deputy who was among a group of law enforcement attempting to take Leyba into custody two days after the shootings. The deputy was treated and released a short time later. Flores had been arrested the day of the incident, which

took place at about 7:20 a.m. Jefferson County Sheriff’s deputies had spotted Flores’s vehicle, at which time Flores led police on a high-speed chase that started in Golden and ended off C-470, near Morrison. Once they caught up with Flores, police said he was taken into custody without incident. Both Leyba and Flores had dozens of prior arrests, prompting Judge Ensor to come to the conclusion that rehabilitation was not an option for Leyba. “I have to protect this community and the only way I can do that is to lock you up,” the judge said. Ensor ordered that the sentence be served consecutive to a six-year sentence previously imposed in two other cases in 2015. Flores is charged with three counts of first-degree felony murder after deliberation, three counts of felony murder (F1), one count of attempted first-degree murder (F2) and three counts of aggravated robbery (F3) in the case.

ROMER TALKS SENIOR LIVING

RETRACTION A Chalkbeat Colorado story about an increase in the state’s school suspension rates — with claims that Adams 12 Five Star Schools led the way in student suspensions — appeared in the Aug. 18 print edition of the Westminster Window and the NorthglennThornton Sentinel. In light of the new details suggesting erroneous data, Chalkbeat has retracted its original story about the Padres report. That retraction was discovered after the newspaper went to press.

Suspension story retracted after district contests data Democratic Congressman Ed Perlmutter, whose 7th Congressional District includes Westminster, has a quick word with former Gov. Roy Romer before the two spoke Aug. 20 at the Colorado Senior Lobby’s annual meeting. More on page 7. Photo Stefan Brodsky

Perlmutter doesn’t take re-election for granted EDITOR’S NOTE This is the third and final of three profiles of the candidates for the 7th Congressional District of Colorado, who will face off in November’s general election. A profile of Libertarian candidate Martin Buchanan was published April 18; Republican candidate George Athanasopoulos’s profile was published June 30. Both are available online at www.westminsterwindow.com or www.northglenn-thorntonsentinel.com. Have an opinion on the candidates? Send your endorsements and letters to the editor to jsumner@coloradocommunitymedia.com.

Sitting congressman said he’s working his district to ensure support By Jeremy Johnson jjohnson@coloradocommunitymedia.com Congressman Ed Perlmutter said the difference between him and the two other candidates for the 7th Congressional District of Colorado isn’t just party affiliation or policy preferences, but actions over words. “The difference is I am actually doing these things I talk about,” the incumbent said in an interview late June, at his campaign office in Wheat Ridge. Just days before, the five-term incumbent had spoken before hundreds at the

Adams 12 reps say an ‘upload error’ is the reason for inflated suspension numbers By Melanie Asmar Chalkbeat Colorado

Jefferson County Economic Development Corporation’s Aerospace and Defense Small Business Industry Day. Space is one of Perlmutter’s favorite frontiers: He is among the leading legislators behind the movement to put a man on Mars by 2033, and he touts the economic and educational value of the aerospace industries in his district in Adams and Jefferson counties. Before that, Perlmutter was in Washington, D.C., joining other Democratic legislators in an unsuccessful “sit-in” to force a vote on what he and others in his party call “commonsense” gun control measures. And just a few days before that, the Wheat Ridge High School graduate and longtime Colorado attorney hosted one

A claim that the state’s suspension rate spiked after years of decline is now in doubt after two Colorado school districts raised concerns about data included in a recent report. The Adams 12 Five Star school district was highlighted in a report published Wednesday by the advocacy group Padres & Jovenes Unidos for posting a big increase in the number of out-of-school suspensions in the 2014-15 school year. But district spokesman Joe Ferdani told Chalkbeat the state data cited in the report is wrong. In light of the new details, Chalkbeat has retracted its original story about the Padres report. The error originated with the district. Ferdani said Adams 12 provided incorrect data to the state last summer due to an “upload error.”

Perlmutter continues on Page 8

Retraction continues on Page 5

NORTHGLENN-THORNTON SENTINEL (ISSN 1044-4254) (USPS 854-980) OFFICE: 8753 Yates Dr., Ste. 200, Westminster, CO 80031 | PHONE: 303-566-4100 A legal newspaper of general circulation in Adams County, Colorado, the Northglenn-Thornton Sentinel is published weekly on Thursday by MetroNorth Newspapers, 8753 Yates Dr., Ste. 200 Westminster, CO 80031. PERIODICALS POSTAGE PAID AT WESTMINSTER, COLORADO and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address change to: 9137 S. Ridgeline Blvd., Suite 210, Highlands Ranch, CO 80129 DEADLINES: Display: Thurs. 12 p.m. | Classifieds: Mon. 2 p.m. | Obits: Mon. 2 p.m. | Legals: Thurs. 11 a.m.


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.