Window 7.25.13
July 25, 2013
50 cents
A Colorado Community Media Publication
ourwestminsternews.com
Adams County and Jefferson County, Colorado • Volume 68, Issue 40
Judge rules to separate Sigg cases Individual trials for Ridgeway murder and Ketner Lake kidnap attempt By Ashley Reimers
areimers@ourcoloradonews.com Austin Sigg, the 18-year-old accused of murdering Jessica Ridgeway, appeared in court last week for two days of motions hearings. The hearings on July 18-19 covered a variety of issues, one resulting in the severance of charges involving the murder of Jessica Ridgeway from an attempted kidnapping charge involving a woman jogger in May 2012, whom Sigg allegedly attacked.
Originally the judge ruled to try all charges in one case, but after lengthy testimony from the defense on July 19, District Court Chief Judge Stephen Munsinger ruled to have separate trials, one for the charges involving Ridgeway including the murder charge and sexual exploitation charge, and one for the Ketner Lake jogger charges. The judge did not rule on which trial would happen first, or set a specific date on the attempted kidnapping Ketner Lake trial. Sigg The trial concerning the murder of Ridgeway was set for Sept. 20. The criminal counts for the Ridgeway case will not be allowed to be used during the Ketner Lake trial to allow Sigg to have a fair trial. But the prosecution in the Ridge-
way case may use the Ketner Lake accusations in their case. The judge also ruled that the prosecution can use introduce evidence that Sigg was using a computer to search and view child pornography as well as searching for other graphic information and images for over a year before Ridgeway’s murder. The prosecution told the judge they had found search terms on the computer such as child rape, torture, murder and dismemberment. Although the defense argued this evidence was irrelevant to the trial and was inflammatory, the judge ruled in favor of the prosecution. “The evidence is relevant and relates to the case,” Munsinger said. Earlier during the July 19 hearing, the judge denied a defensive motion that would have withheld the jogger’s identification of Sigg for the trial.
The jogger in the attempted kidnapping case, who was only referred to by her initials, V.N., testified that she had in fact picked Sigg’s photo out of a six-photo array. She said she wasn’t 100 percent the person in the photo was her attacked but she knew the photo had very similar characteristics to her attacker. The defense argued that the Sigg’s photo in the lineup was suggestive because there was a different background light used in photo, he was the only person wearing stripes and he was only one out of two people not wearing black. Munsinger disagreed and allowed the photo identification to be used in the trial.
July 18 hearing
For the first time, Sigg’s mother Mindy Sigg took the stand during the July 18 Sigg continues on Page 21
Whipping it up
Cycla employee Chris Suppes using a compacting machine to bale clothing in the Cycla warehouse. Cycla, a professional recycling company in Federal Heights, was recently named a Colorado Company to Watch. Photo by Ashley Reimers
Cycla one to watch Federal Heights recycling company named a Colorado Company to Watch By Ashley Reimers
areimers@ourcoloradonews.com For 40 years Patricia McCully worked in the thrift store business. It was her time and experience in that field that led to her next business venture in 2007 when she opened Cycla LLC in Federal Heights: An environmentally conscious recycling management company that connects buyers and sellers throughout the world to help them dispose of recyclable material. McCully’s business focuses on servicing thrift stores all over the world with their exA new art piece called Wild Ice has been installed at the Ice Centre at the Promenade in Westminster. The cess inventory. She also provides services bronze sculpture was done by Gregg Todd of Greeley and displays life-size children playing crack the whip to industries with post-consumer materion the ice. Another piece of art recently installed is called You Are Here, and is an abstract sculpture at the als and textile recycling needs, nonprofit Trimble Navigation building in the Westmoor Technology Park. That piece was done by artist Kathleen Caricof textile collection programs and commercial of Loveland, and features three folded, triangular metal pieces of different sizes that rise up from the ground laundries in hotels and correctional facilito form a circle. Photo by Ashley Reimers ties needing to retire linens and uniforms. She works closely with Recycle That LLC, a nonprofit organization that provides donation boxes throughout the community for POSTAL ADDRESS easy recycling of clothing, shoes, fashion accessories, books, CDs and DVDs. “I opened Cycla because I already knew Printed on recycled what needed to happen with textile recynewsprint. Please cling on the back end because I had been recycle this copy. working for years on solutions for clients and their recycling needs,” she said. “Recycling is big for thrift stores because they don’t sell everything. They sell their unsold items to us and we then sell the items to the secondary market.”
McCully’s unique business in recycling caught the eye of Colorado Companies to Watch program director Sam Baily, who announced last month that Cycla was chosen as a Colorado Company to Watch. “Colorado Companies to Watch is pleased to recognize Cycla as a 2013 Winner. Cycla has redefined recycling and identified new opportunities within the thrift store market,” Bailey said. “In addition, they have made investments in nonprofit organizations through their work with Recycle That. Cycla’s growth and commitment to the community make it an outstanding company in Colorado.” McCully admits she was quite surprised with the honor, but very excited to be recognized. She said she’s thrilled to be put in a category of companies identified for leadership, innovation and impact. McCully said Cycla couldn’t have made it this far without the commitment and dedication of her business partners and employees. To McCully, recycling is a no-brainer, a passion she’s had her entire life. With Cycla she is hoping to pass along some of her recycling efforts to the community. “Right now nationwide, 85 percent of everything in a household that is recyclable, as far as textiles, is going into a landfill,” McCully said. “So there is huge potential for home owners to recycle more, they just have to have the ability and know where to go, and that can be through thrift store or donations boxes. Just don’t throw it away because anything is recyclable if it’s a textile.” For more information on Cycla, or ways to recycle textile materials, visit www.cyclallc.com.