ALL POLITICS AREN’T LOCAL
State lawmakers take on Aurora, other cities meting out tough jail sentences
All this really happened last week. Only readers of real news media knew the truth.
Last Tuesday was a perfect example of why you need a strong, vibrant — and credible — news media.
After weeks of rhetoric, hyperbole and discredited assertions, President Donald Trump made good on threats to impose a chaotic and confusing mass of tariffs against most every nation outside the United States. Despite dire and consistent warnings from respected, non-partisan economics experts, Trump insists the exploding trade war will benefit the nation and all its taxpayers. Some day. If you watch Fox News, or just scroll through the social media posts of the president and his allies, you would think Trump had been right all along.
“Trump says tariffs going very well” Fox News headlined on its website last week. “Markets and the United States going to boom. Countries crawling back to negotiate.”
Beyond distortion, it’s all lies.
“Dow drops 1,600 as US stocks lead worldwide sell-off after Trump’s tariffs cause a COVID-like shock,” was the headline in the Sentinel later that day, on top of the deeply reported story by the Associated Press.
DAVE PERRY Editor
Since then, economic experts from across the political and industry spectrums, don’t-makeeye-contact billionaires and growing number of House and Senate Republicans are stepping up to warn all Americans, this will not end well for anyone, but especially those Americans who aren’t rich.
Louisiana GOP Sen. John Kennedy, a staunch Trump supporter, said he, like almost all of congress, wants to see better trade deals for the United States. But he’s worried that what Trump has called “good medicine” through tariffs and trade wars will ruin the economy.
“We don’t know if the medicine will be worse than the disease,” Kennedy told the Associated Press. “This is President Trump’s economy now.”
Whether you agree with Kennedy or Aurora’s Democratic Rep. Jason Crow — who said, “Donald Trump is crashing our economy and increasing the price of nearly everything you buy... Meanwhile, President Trump advances in a golf tournament. Complete failure of leadership.” — getting the straight story has never been more critical, for everyone.
Neither Fox News nor any of the Trump propaganda organs are going to seek comment and information from the hundreds of experts that work for multi-billion-dollar companies and disagree with what Trump and his sworn allies are doing. You have to look to real journalism and undaunted
news media for truthful reporting.
These aren’t relatively esoteric quagmires that Trump is trotting out so fast it makes you queasy. This is your money he’s messing with now. Your jobs. Your healthcare, and even your rights.
As a measles outbreak — here in the United States, not some far away remote place on the globe — kills a third child and moves into Colorado, the most ludicrous person ever appointed as Health Secretary, John F. Kennedy Jr., will bend only slightly to absolutely rock-solid, decades-strong proof that the measles vaccine is safe and critically effective. Rather than tell misguided parents to run to get their children vaccinated, long a staunch anti-vaxxer, he said it’s a “personal” choice.
It’s child abuse.
Instead, he offers that big doses of Vitamin A are a suitable treatment.
Every real doctor here and across the nation are adamant that there is no treatment for measles. None. Zip.
Now, children in Texas, where the measles outbreak is worst, are being taken to hospitals with not just measles, but suffering from Vitamin A overdoses as well.
With Trump’s approval, Kennedy’s quackery reached new heights this week when he announced that he would tell the Centers for Disease control to quit recommending drinking water fluoridation as a decades-long way to prevent tooth decay.
He does this with absolutely no definitive proof of human danger at prescribed levels of fluoridation. Here in Aurora, the drinking water has now, and has always had, therapeutic levels of naturally occurring fluoride that, if Kennedy were correct about, would cost millions every year to remove from the water, water experts say.
Trump, and those who he allows positions in the government only if they swear allegiance to him, are anxious to ignore or disengage from decades of miraculous scientific progress, without any valid scientific proof.
Because this is your life and health at risk, you want and need a news provider that is determined to vet sources and seek out people and institutions whose mission it is to stand fast to critically important scientific standards and methods. Infomercials, influencers and Trump’s “they say” rhetoric are not dependable places to get information affecting your life, your money and your wellness.
Trusted news sources that seek out data-driven expertise not only assure you of what the world really knows at the time, but that kind of journalism acts preventatively, putting government officials on notice that behavior like Kennedy’s or Trump’s will be outed and scrutinized.
It happens close to home, too.
Whether the Sentineland other legitimate me-
dia are covering back-to-back and exhausting crises, or just telling you when you can expect to get your street cleaned, you want accurate news based on reality.
Over the past several days, the Sentinelhas offered factual accounts and details about a growing domestic violence court-system conundrum in Aurora. Most local news sources ignored the issue. Or provided a “he said, she said” account of arguments around the choice of closing the city’s domestic-violence court system to save some money. The Sentinel, however, brought readers expert opinion, data, and facts from city and county sources to help the community understand what’s really at stake, and what’s not.
The Sentinelhas helped the community understand the details and nuance behind months of regular protests inside city council meetings.
Last week, the Sentinel shed light on how a 19-year-old Venezuelan refugee ended up in a notorious El Salvadoran prison, without any provable cause at all.
Also last week, the Sentinelexplained in detail how the owners of embattled apartments in northwest Aurora are trying to defend themselves against criminal nuisance complaints by saying Aurora officials pursue them because they’re Jewish.
And at the end of last week, the Sentinel provided a comprehensive look at the battle between state lawmakers refusing to allow cities like Aurora and Pueblo disregard 14th Amendment protections against unfair and unequal prosecutions and what Aurora and other cities say is their right to local control, even of the courts.
It doesn’t matter what your opinion is about those and hundreds of other controversial and consequential stories are, you need facts.
You need trusted news.
The Sentinelneeds you to help us keep providing all that to you, and everyone, without a paywall or requirement.
Whether you prefer the Sentinel, or any of the dozens of reliable, credible news sources across the state, support them.
Buy advertisements. Subscribe. Donate.
If you’ve generously contributed to the Sentinel, a community-guided, non-profit news group, thank you.
If you can add to your contribution, thank you again.
If you just haven’t seen a good enough reason to contribute $5 or more, this week’s headlines were convincing.
Go to sentinelcolorado.com/were-different-soare-you for details and to contribute.
Follow@EditorDavePerryonBlueSky,Threads, Mastodon,TwitterandFacebookorreachhimat 303-750-7555ordperry@SentinelColorado.com
President Donald Trump is seen on the television as traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Monday, April 7, 2025. AP Photo/Seth Wenig
Aurora asylum seeker from Venezuela faces 20th birthday in El Salvador prison
“A
19-YEAR-OLD BABYSITTER WITH NO CRIMINAL RECORD IN ANY COUNTRY WAS NOW JAILED IN A CAGE, IN A COUNTRY WHERE HE HAS NO STANDING, WITH NO ACCESS TO
COMMUNICATE WITH
THE
OUTSIDE WORLD OR HIS LEGAL TEAM.”
BY CASSANDRA BALLARD, Sentinel Staff Writer
Ayoung man from Venezuela who came to Aurora seeking asylum and his chance at the American Dream will be spending this month celebrating his 20th birthday in an El Salvador prison.
“My friend Nixon, a 19-year-old babysitter with no criminal record in any country, is now jailed in a cage, in a country he has never been to, with no access to communicate with the outside world or his legal team,” said V Reeves, spokesperson from Housekeys Action Network Denver. “We don’t know if he is alive. His family and I have scoured the few photographs and videos and see no sign of him anywhere.”
Immigration and Customs Enforcement initially detained Nixon Azuaje-Perez and his brother, Dixon Azuaje-Perez, after they were arrested and accused of tampering with evidence after a shooting at the apartment complex where the two brothers lived. The charge came after a July 28 shooting at the Aspen Grove Apartments on Nome Street.
The brothers and other family members came to the United States on a CBP One application, the application migrants fill out when entering the United States. They made an appointment to cross the border and sign up for an immigration hearing to seek asylum. Nixon filed for and was granted a workers’ permit application to be accepted, according to immigrant activists who helped him obtain it.
The Sentinel previously agreed not to name Nixon’s mother nor other family members, because they fear harassment by federal officials or anti-immigrant activists.
Although Aurora police say Nixon and his brother were not involved in the shooting, they moved some of the shell casings away from their front door to avoid having the police think they were involved, according to police reports and the account of people who know him. Aurora Police officers investigating the shooting saw Nixon and his brother on video moving the shells and arrested them two days later, according to the affidavit.
“In many areas of South America, people move bullet casings or other evidence to avoid being questioned by a corrupt police force who might attempt to accuse you of the crime
and to avoid being targeted by violent gang members who observe you being questioned by the police,” according to a statement from The American Friends Service Committee.
Several of his neighbors wrote letters to a county court, vouching for them after they were arrested, even though they were very afraid of being targeted themselves, according to the statement.
One letter reads: “They are two young boys, innocent of all this that is happening; they are being blamed for crimes that they did not commit. They are young men who still wanted to get ahead and continue studying. I swear on my word and my family that they are good people who lived with me in Nome St for about 10 months, and with my hand on my heart, I ask you to do your investigations well. I am not stopping your work as police officers, but please, they are humble, hard-working people who are not guilty of absolutely anything.”
When Aurora Police posted the mugshots of those arrested after the Nome Street shooting, the brothers were labeled as suspected Tren de Aragua members of the Venezuelan prison gang. Although the Aurora Police Department later said they had no evidence either was a member of the gang, ICE kept them under that label, according to an ICE spokesperson.
“They have not been tied to TdA or any other specific gang at this time,” Sydney Edwards wrote in an email on Oct. 18, which was reconfirmed multiple times after.
Federal immigration officials have not produced any evidence of a gang affiliation.
Nixon complied with his arrest July 30, and his Adams County bail was set at $1,500, which his family paid Aug. 2, and he, and his brother, were released from jail with ankle monitors the same day. During his preliminary hearing Sep. 13, Nixon asked the judge about having it loosened because it was hurting him.
The judge gave the brothers Commerce City court services location to get their ankle monitors adjusted and told them they could go whenever they wanted.
Nixon took the paper with the address and put it in his wallet.
The brothers went from the courthouse directly to the address
on the paper because a friend was driving them and they didn’t want to waste his time, according to Jennifer Piper, interfaith organizing director at the American Friends Service Committee’s Denver Immigrant Rights program, who also spoke to the friend who drove them.
They arrived at the Adams County probation office, as instructed, to have Nixon’s ankle monitor adjusted and were told to wait for assistance. They waited 20 minutes and were instead taken to waiting ICE officers. Both were arrested and taken to the GEO ICE detention center in Aurora.
After that, Nixon was essentially held in the ICE detention center, and Dixon was held in Adams County jail, according to county and federal records and sources. Neither county jail, Aurora police nor federal officials offered explanations why. Dixon is currently awaiting a trial hearing.
Nixon had no legal counsel because immigration hearings don’t require public defenders, like in state or municipal criminal court cases.
“People must either hire an immigration attorney for upwards of $10,000 or represent themselves,” Piper said. “It’s a nearly impossible task to argue a complex case in a second language while being denied freedom and access to resources.”
His chances of maintaining his status in an immigration hearing without an attorney and while already detained were less than 10%, according to Piper and the ICE spokesperson.
At his second immigration hearing inside the detention center, the immigration judge asked Nixon if he would be filing for asylum. Nixon said he would not, Piper said in a statement. He was ordered removed by the immigration judge.
“The night before his second immigration hearing without representation, Nixon told loved ones he was going to stop fighting his asylum case, knowing the judge would issue
him removed,” the statement said.
“He hoped that since deportation flights were not running to Venezuela, he would have time to clear his name in criminal court and then eventually be released into the US or accepted back to Venezuela or Peru.”
He didn’t appear for his March 11 Adams County court date to start a defense against what he and his attorney said were bogus Aurora police charges. His attorney, Leslie Barnicle, told Adams County Judge Jeffrey Dean Ruff that Nixon had been deported.
The week of March 12, in the morning, Nixon called his family and said he thought he would be included in a group for deportation, the statement said. He called twice a day and later contacted family from the Rio Grande Processing Center in Texas on March 13. He told family members he had been shackled in Denver and flown to Texas. He said he was only given only a slice of bread and a 4 ounce bottle of water for the day.
Nixon was still listed on the ICE website at that time.
He called family again on March 14 in the evening. He told his family that, “at 2 a.m. they shackled us and placed us onto buses. We sat there for a long time. Finally, the buses started driving. Suddenly, the driver received a call, and we overheard them say, ‘Return to the detention center. The climate has shifted.’ We were returned here to the Rio Grande processing center.”
In early March, the Trump administration made a deal to pay El Salvador $6 million to imprison about 300 alleged members of the Venezuelan Tren de Aragua gang for one year, in one of the first instances of the Central American country taking migrants from the United States.
On March 15, the ACLU sued the government in an emergency hearing to prevent the Trump administration’s use of the Alien Enemies Act with respect to immigrants broadly and to keep the government
from illegally moving people to a third country’s prison.
Four days later, family members were able to determine that Nixon was on the flight that US District Judge James Boasberg issued an order to return. The flight was already in the air, which the Trump Administration later claimed they no longer had jurisdiction over.
Nixon’s family waited a couple of days to hear from him before the news broke that the Administration had violated a court order and flown people to a prison in El Salvador, according to the statement.
U.S. courts are still trying to determine whether the Trump administration broke any laws claiming the flight to El Salvador had already left or was unable to return after being ordered to do so by Boasberg.
“We frantically called the Texas Rio Grande processing center, the local Colorado field office, and checked WhatsApp groups,” the statement said. “Days went by where no one would tell us anything, and we became more certain he had been illegally transferred–disappeared — to a foreign country’s notorious prison.”
The United States sent what El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele called “238 members of the Venezuelan criminal organization Tren de Aragua” to El Salvador and they were immediately sent to its maximum security gang prison.
Immigrant rights groups have levied numerous complaints that federal officials have not provided proof to the public or courts that immigrant suspects are linked to any gang.
On March 17, CBS News published a list of names, and Nixon’s name was on the list.
“We all collectively grieved together at the time he was detained,” Reeves said. “The pain from knowing something so atrocious could happen to such a soft soul is unbear-
Nixon Azuaje-Perez
›› ASYLUM, from 3
able most days.”
A central outstanding question about the deportees’ status is when and how they could ever be released from the prison, called the Terrorism Confinement Center, as they are not serving sentences. They no longer appear in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s online detainee locator and have not appeared before a judge in El Salvador.
The Trump administration refers to them as the “worst of the worst” but hasn’t identified who was deported or provided evidence that they’re gang members.
The U.S. government has acknowledged that many do not have such records.
El Salvador’s Attorney General’s Office and Presidential Commissioner for Human Rights and Freedom of Expression did not respond to requests from the Associated Press for comment about the
status of the Venezuelan prisoners.
Nixon is described as a young man with a good education, Piper said, sending testimonies to the Sentinel from family and friends, including her own experience of knowing him.
“He is respectful and likes to play soccer with his friends,” Piper said. “He often spends his time working because he is very responsible. He is always looking out for his younger siblings. He is sensitive, honest and honorable in everything he does. He has a dream to study more and loves to learn. He has aspirations for a good future for himself.”
Many people, including Piper and his family, said children are fond of him and he makes time to play with them and be a good leader.
They also said he is very religious and deeply believes in God, often praying for the good of himself, his family and the world.
— The Associated Press contributedtothisstory.
AROUND AURORA
Community College of Aurora stops citizenship classes after grant is canceled by Trump administration
The Community College of Aurora will no longer offer citizenship classes after the U.S. Department of Homeland Security terminated a grant that funded the program, the college’s president announced April 3.
In an interview, CCA President Mordecai Brownlee said he has ended the program, which helped participants prepare for the naturalization test, with a “heavy heart.”
Brownlee said these classes help students realize a path to citizenship and feel more security living in the United States. Students must have a green card to participate in the classes and be able to demonstrate an intermediate level of English proficiency, such as the ability to hold a conversation and write and speak clearly.
The college is a sub-awardee of the Homeland Security grant that was given to Lutheran Family Services Rocky Mountain. Brownlee said the organization notified the school earlier this week about the Trump administration’s decision.
ARAPAHOE COUNTY
Starting or Growing a Veteran-Owned Small Business?
Boots to Business Reboot provides an overview of business ownership fundamentals. Veterans of all eras, active-duty service members, and spouses are eligible to participate.
April 18 | 8 a.m.–5 p.m. | CentrePoint Plaza 14980 E. Alameda Dr. | Aurora, CO 80012
For more information, call 719-310-7262 or email CHundley@mtcarmelcenter.org
The Trump administration has stepped up immigration enforcement and canceled student visas and green cards, which can serve as pathways to citizenship.
Brownlee said this decision will make it harder for the college to fulfill its mission of serving the Aurora community, which is one of the most diverse in the state. Students turn to the school for a variety of educational opportunities, he said.
“You have individuals now that are beginning to feel a lost sense of value for themselves and their families,” he said. “They saw this pathway as a viable option towards realizing an American Dream.”
As part of the agreement with Lutheran Family Services, the school taught the 10-week citizenship class and, if necessary for the student, offered English-language skills courses. The community college was supposed to receive a total of $101,000 to teach those classes over two years.
Students paid about $30 per class, according to a college spokeswoman.
Meanwhile, Lutheran Family Services Rocky Mountain also offered students legal assistance to become citizens, Brownlee said
The faith-based nonprofit provides various services for families, including adoption, disaster relief, foster care, older adult guardianship, family support, and refugee and immigration services.
It’s unclear if any other Lutheran Family Services programs are affected.
officials echoed these antisemitic sentiments.”
Lawyers for Baumgarten indicated they were seeking to prove the date of the phone conversation, but they did not indicate the conversation was recorded. Aurora officials said this was all news to them and denied the allegation.
“The city has compiled extensive documentation over the last several years to validate the numerous problems at the properties connected to CBZ Management and its principals, including Mr. Baumgarten,” Ryan Luby, Aurora spokesperson, said in a statement. “We have shared those records publicly. The city only learned of Mr. Baumgarten’s latest accusations against the city in the last 18 hours. Despite many interactions with Mr. Baumgarten and his teams of attorneys over the years, this is the first time the city has heard these new claims. We have no indication that any of them hold any merit.”
New York-based CBZ Management owns three apartment buildings in Aurora that have drawn national attention, and that of President Donald Trump, after a viral video depicted armed men breaking into apartment units. The video and ensuing developments drew a faction of local lawmakers insisting the apartments were overrun by Venezuelan gang members. City and other government officials insist malfeasance and mismanagement by CBZ were to blame for squalid living conditions and increased crime.
After months of controversy, protests, allegations of gangs, vermin and even allegations of torture, the Dallas buildings were shut down by the city Feb. 18.
A spokeswoman for the organization did not immediately return a call for comment. The Rocky Mountain arm of the organization serves several states, including Colorado, New Mexico, and Montana.
The school has referred students to other area organizations that offer these services.
The Trump administration’s revocation of the grant is part of its widespread cancellation of various federal funding programs. For example, in February, the administration announced billions in funding cuts to health research grants nationwide. That order has especially impacted four-year research institutions, although a federal judge has halted the cuts.
The Trump administration has announced other actions, such as its push to end all race-conscious policies, that could reshape higher education.
During the Friday Aurora criminal court code violation hearing, CBZ lawyers from Garnett Powell Maximon Barlow and Farbes argued that the reason the apartments fell into such disrepair was because of a conspiracy among city code enforcement officials and police to harass Baumgarten because he was “Orthodox Jewish.”
Lawyers said Baumgarten regularly wears a yarmulka, long beard and Jewish prayer shawl. Lawyers said the city has been subtly and outright antisemitic on multiple occasions, spelled out in the court filing.
“Mr. Baumgarten is conspicuously of the Orthodox Jewish faith,” lawyers said.
Seed Starting Workshop
Learn how to grow your own veggies and flowers from seed in this free workshop at Aurora Central Library, April 17, 4–5 p.m. Attendees will plant seeds of their choice in small pots to take home. Register now at https://bit.ly/ACCSUSS
Brownlee said he is unsure if the Community College of Aurora could financially support the citizenship classes without the grant. And before he seeks funding, he also wants to get a clearer picture of whether the Trump administration limits pathways to citizenship, given its stance on immigration.
“The last thing that we want to be engaged in is offering classes and preparing people for a test that potentially they can’t even take,” he said. “And so I think we’re really at a standstill.”
— Jason Gonzales of Chalkbeat Colorado
Embattled Aurora apartment official claims city targeting him because he is Jewish
Besides the unrecorded recollection of Mayne’s comment to Baumgarten, lawyers said other city comments were striking as well.
During a July 8, 2024, settlement conference between defense lawyers and the city, an assistant district attorney suggested that a two-month jail sentence would be warranted in the case because Baumgarten “comes from East Coast money, and a fine” alone would not suffice as punishment, lawyers said in the motion.
“The thinly veiled allusion to Jewish east coast wealth was not lost on Mr. Baumgarten’s counsel,” lawyers said.
April is Child Abuse Awareness Month
The saga of The Edge at Lowry and Whispering Pines apartments in Aurora added a new twist April 4 when lawyers for the embattled apartment owners alleged in court that the city has harassed them because they are Jewish.
Lawyers alleged that despite Baumgarten not being a property owner or, technically, the property manager, he was targeted by city officials as the apartments began to become increasingly problematic.
Arapahoe County Human Services urges you to join the fight against child abuse
If you suspect child abuse, report it immediately to Arapahoe County at 303-636-1750
Allegations of antisemitism were made in a motion filed in Aurora Municipal Court, where CBZ corporation owners and principals, specifically Zev Baumgarten, face criminal nuisance charges in an ongoing battle and controversy over squalid conditions and crime problems in apartments shut down by the city over the past several months.
“During a phone call with Breezy Maynes, the Supervisor of the Aurora Code Enforcement Officers for the City, (Zev) Baumgarten pointedly asked Ms. Maynes to explain why she was being so hard on him,” lawyers for the defendant, Baumgarten, said in a court motion filed April 4. “Ms. Maynes retorted, ‘because you are an Orthodox Jew,’ an alarming and disturbing statement. Other City
“Mr. Baumgarten’s religious affiliation has not gone unnoticed by the City and may even be the motivating factor behind its aggressive enforcement of municipal ordinances against Mr. Baumgarten,” the motion said. “Numerous incidents give rise to this inference. In late 2022, the City started issuing code enforcement violations against Mr. Baumgarten personally, instead of the owners of the building – a tact that is not only bereft of legal justification but odd.”
Lawyers in the brief also stated that city data shows that of some apartments in northwest Aurora near CBZ’s properties, other complexes were not cited as frequently as the CBZ complexes.
The data was limited and not substantiated by complete city records.
Lawyers for Baumgarten revisited past arguments made that the apart›› See METRO, 11
ment units were overrun by Venezuelan gang members, and that pleas for help to Aurora police were unanswered or that police were unresponsive.
Aurora officials have consistently said substantial police and city records make clear that problems were well documented and that CBZ virtually abandoned managing the properties, inviting a variety of criminals to flourish in the complexes, including some members of the Venezuelan prison gang Tren de Aragua.
Defense lawyers said that on Aug. 22, 2024, Maynes and a host of code enforcement officers and Aurora police went to the Edge properties for an inspection.
“The properties are obviously in a state of disrepair caused by third parties,” lawyers said in the motion. “At this time, the APD knew the damage was caused by members of TdA, but the City had not yet admitted this to the Properties’ owners.”
Lawyers said Aurora police body camera video obtained by defense attorneys “reveals the extent of the animus toward Mr. Baumgarten and the Properties’ owners.”
Attorneys said the video depicts the complex’s former owner appearing at the apartments and having an extensive conversation with police and city inspectors.
“The City employees acknowledge that the damage has been done by “gang kids,” attorneys allege. During the video, the former owner “acknowledging that he has seen (gang members) standing around the Dallas Street properties with guns in their hands.”
Later in the video, the man said he is “waiting” for the city to “red tag” the complex so he can re-purchase it on the cheap.
The Sentinel has requested the police body cam video.
Lawyers for Baumgarten made clear in Friday’s motion that they plan to focus their not-guilty defense on what they allege was the city’s anti-semitism and harassment.
Garnett requested additional time for discovery and a motions hearing on June 11. A date for a jury trial has not
been set.
Aurora Judge Brian Whitney said he would allow the request, but it was “above and beyond” discovery, while Garnett said he has never had a case like this and needed the extra information.
Whitney also said that Baumgarten needed to be present at the next hearing, as he was absent Friday, to which Garnett said that he would be, but there was a concern for his safety in Colorado.
Baumgarten last year said he was physically assaulted by residents in one of the apartment buildings and injured.
— Cassandra Ballard, Sentinel Staff Writer
COPS AND COURTS
Man charged with fatally shooting woman at Aurora strip-mall parking lot
Police say a man accused of fatally shooting a woman at a northwest Aurora strip-mall parking lot faces first-degree murder charges.
The Arapahoe County jail shows that Stanley Daves, 59, has been charged with first-degree murder in the case and remains in jail without bail.
Officers were called to 630 block of Peoria Street at about 5:15 p.m. after reports of a shooting there.
Police said Daves and the woman were inside a vehicle together “when a dispute broke out and escalated into a shooting.
“When they arrived, they found the (Daves) with a weapon near him and a victim with a life-threatening gunshot wound,” Aurora police spokesperson Sydney Edwards said in a statement.
Daves “was inside a vehicle. The victim was outside of the vehicle,” Edwards said. “Officers made requests for the suspect to come out of the vehicle, and he did so without incident.”
The woman was taken to a nearby hospital and later died from her injuries on Saturday, police said.
Officers arrested Daves without incident, Edwards said.
Police said it’s unclear what the relationship is between the man and the woman.
Daves is scheduled for a court hearing Monday at 9 a.m. in Arapahoe Coun-
ty court. The shooting victim will be identified at a later date by county coroner officials.
— Sentinel Staff
Teenager seriously injured in drive-by shooting at Aurora gas station
An unidentified teenage boy was shot and seriously injured late Friday during what police said was a drive-by shooting at a gas station in northwest Aurora.
Police said they were called to the Conoco gas station at 3202 Peoria St. at about 11 p.m. after reports of a shooting there.
“When officers first arrived, they found a teenaged male suffering from a gunshot wound,” Aurora police said in a social media post. “The juvenile was transported to the hospital with serious injuries.
Peoria was closed for a brief time in both directions as police investigated.
Police said no suspect information was available and no other details were released.
Police said anyone with information can call Metro Denver Crime Stoppers at 720-913-7867. Tipsters can remain anonymous and still be eligible for a reward of up to $2,000, police said.
— Sentinel Staff
2nd escapee from Aurora immigration detention center arrested in Denver
The second person who escaped from the Aurora immigration detention center March 18 was arrested Monday, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials.
Geilond Vido-Romero was arrested by police and federal agents after being found on a bus at East Colfax Avenue and Cherry Street in Denver. He was arrested by the Colorado Violent Offenders Task Force, Deputy U.S. Marshals, Immigration and Customs Enforcement Officers, Douglas County sheriffs and Englewood police.
A post on social media from the U.S. Marshals Service Denver said that Vido-Romero is a suspected Tren de Aragua associate and has an active fed-
eral criminal arrest warrant for his escape, as well as a criminal warrant from Douglas County for failure to appear on charges of resisting arrest and theft.
Vido-Romero, 24, escaped with one other man, Joel Jose Gonzalez-Gonzalez, 32, from the ICE facility in Aurora after a power outage that evening.
The escape led to a public dispute between ICE officials and local police after Homeland Security officials accused local police of failing to properly respond to the escape.
Aurora dispatch and police reports show that the power went out at the GEO ICE facility at 3130 Oakland St., at about 9:30 p.m. “causing the doors of at least one exit to become unlocked,” police said in a statement.
Police records show that GEO ICE employees didn’t contract Aurora police for almost four hours after the escape.
Aurora officer Ryan McCallian said in a report that he contacted GEO prison Assistant Facility Administrator Mohamed Bennani at about 5:30 a.m. Wednesday to get details on the escape of Gonzalez-Gonzalez, 32, and Jose Geilan Vido-Romero, 24.
Gonzalez-Gonzalez, 32, was found by a sheriff’s deputy about 12 miles away in Adams County.
An Adams County Sheriff’s Office deputy approached Gonzalez-Gonzalez around 4:30 a.m. March 21 because
he was acting suspiciously, sheriff’s spokesperson Sgt. Adam Sherman said.
When it was determined he was one of the two men who escaped from the detention center in northwest Aurora, he was taken into temporary custody until U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrived, Sherman said. Court and police documents show Vido-Romero had lived at the now closed Edge of Lowry apartment complex in Aurora where some armed members of the gang were seen entering an apartment on a viral video that caught Trump’s attention during last year’s presidential campaign. Some members of the gang were also later accused of kidnapping and assaulting two residents there in December.
Vido-Romero was originally arrested Feb. 26 by police at the Park Meadows mall, accused of running from officers in the parking garage, according to an arrest affidavit. He was suspected of misdemeanor theft for allegedly stealing a white puffer jacket and jewelry that was stuffed into one of its pockets, it said. ICE officials said they found him in the nearby jail and arrested him the next day.
He does not have an attorney listed as representing him in that case.
—
Cassandra Ballard, Sentinel Staff Writer
• GreatBurgers
• GreatBurgers
• GreatCheesesteaks
• GreatCheesesteaks
• 20 TV’s
• 20 TV’s
• Open St age EveryThursday
• Open St age EveryThursday
• Saturdays:11:30AM-3PM FreeDomesticBeeror Soda With SandwichOrder
• Saturdays:11:30AM-3PM FreeDomesticBeeror Soda With SandwichOrder
Taste buddies
COOKING WITH KIDS TEACHES HEALTHY EATING, LIFE SKILLS AND MORE
BY TRACEE M. HERBAUGH, Associated Press
To raise adventurous, self-sufficient and health-conscious eaters, get kids in the kitchen.
It may sound too simple, but those are just a few of the benefits when kids learn to cook. Cooking builds life skills, promotes healthy eating, boosts confidence and strengthens family bonds — all while making mealtime fun.
“It helps to think of it as less of a chore and more of an opportunity to be together as a family,” said Jessica Battilana, staff editor at King Arthur Baking Company, which offers adult and children’s cooking classes.
The food doesn’t need to be fancy, and it doesn’t all have to be homemade.
“The investment parents make early on to encourage their kids to participate in mealtime will pay dividends later, when they’re able to handle kitchen tasks independently,” Battilana said.
Whether your child loves to cook or has never held a knife, it’s not too late to start building these skills.
Some of the rewards:
If the COVID pandemic taught us anything, it was the importance of knowing how to cook.
During the lockdown, Becca Cooper Leebove, a mom of two in the Denver area, began teaching her children how to do simple tasks in the kitchen. Just 3 and 8 at the time, they began by dumping ingredients into a stand mixer, rolling out dough, or icing a cake.
Five years later, their skills continue to grow.
“My ultimate goal has always been family time — something to do together that’s engaging, but also important to get them off their phones or iPads,” Leebove said.
“They also love to brag when it’s done and we all eat their masterpiece together,” Lee-
bove said.
They clean up after cooking and know how to set the table. Now that Leebove’s son is 13, he helps chop veggies and sauté meat.
“It can feel special to kids to be included in an adult activity,” said Cristi Donoso, 38, from Alexandria, Virginia. Donoso is a speech therapist and encourages her clients to cook with their kids in age-appropriate ways. She’s also the mother to a 5-year-old, who has been baking with her since toddlerhood.
“There’s a lot of real-world learning involved,” Donoso said: math concepts, language skills and self-control. Kids learn by reading and following a step-by-step recipe. It takes concentration and other executive functioning skills. They also learn how to be safe in a kitchen, requiring self-control.
Exposure and sensory experience with food help kids become well-rounded eaters, she said.
“Your food experience isn’t just about sitting down to eat. It’s about making a list, going to the store, and feeling the fruit,” she said.
Eric Brown, along with his wife, Elizabeth Brown, opened Third Space Kitchen in August 2023. At their two Massachusetts locations, they offer cooking classes for kids, often through day camps, birthday parties or as a school-break activity.
“One thing I see a lot is that they’re willing to experiment,” Brown said, and knowing what’s in the food helps kids get over any squeamishness. Or perhaps the common aversion to veggies.
Younger kids might start by making pizza dough from scratch or decorating cupcakes. Older kids have participated in full-cake icing competitions.
“As the programs progress, I hear less of
‘Eww, I won’t touch that’ and more of ‘What is that? I’ll try it,’” said Brown, who has four kids of his own.
Childhood obesity rates have been rising for decades, and studies have show a positive correlation between healthy eating and home cooking, which can be a good alternative to ultraprocessed foods.
Jennifer Schittino, a Maryland-based working mom of two young children, wants to help them shape healthier habits for the future.
“It’s both healthier and cheaper to cook from scratch,” she said. She also wants her children to “understand the fundamentals so they can make healthy and nutritious meals on a limited budget.”
Her kids know how to use knives and rolling pins, as well as hand-crank pasta, separate an egg, cut an avocado and toss pizza.
Even if you’re not a skilled home cook,
don’t be intimidated teaching kids to be one. Start simple. Make a list of 10 things that kids can learn to master, Battilana suggested. It might include scrambled eggs, a quesadilla with guacamole, or pasta with steamed veggies.
“Practice making those 10 things often so you get good at them, can shop for them easily, and make them without a recipe,” she said. (King Arthur has a kids’ baking cookbook due out in September, “Sweet and Salty!”) Cooking and shopping for fresh foods become a lot less intimidating the more you do it.
“I think kids are far more capable in the kitchen than we give them credit for,” Battilana said. “They may be slower, messier, but they’re capable of a lot, and usually pretty eager to try new foods — especially if they’ve had a hand in making them.”
Danielle McWilliams cooks with her daughters Reese, 7, right, and Remi, 4, at their New Jersey home on Oct. 27, 2021. Danielle McWilliams via AP BELOW: This undated photo provided by King Arthur Baking Co. shows a pan of gingerbread rolls. Rick Holbrook/King Arthur Baking Co. via AP
scene & herd
World Premiere of ‘Collecting Myself’
And Toto too Theatre Company celebrates 20 years of championing women’s voices with the world premiere of *Collecting Myself*, a one-woman musical by Denver playwright Paula Jayne Friedland. Featuring original songs and personal storytelling, the show explores the search for meaning and purpose with humor and heart. Through humor, vulnerability, and soulful melodies, Friedland unpacks the highs and lows of her search for direction, asking: “What does it really mean to find your purpose?” Funny and uplifting, Collecting Myself celebrates the courage to follow your passions and the beauty of finding your own way.
IF YOU GO
Tickets: $27.38-$32.64 for general admission
When: 7:30 p.m. April 10-12, April 17-19
Where: The Roaming Gnome Theatre, 10522 E. 25th Ave.
Details: www.andtototoo.org
Holocaust Survivor Osi Sladek to share his story in virtual event
The Mizel Museum, in partnership with the City of Aurora, invites the community to hear the powerful testimony of Holocaust survivor Osi Sladek in a free virtual event o Sladek will recount his harrowing escape from persecution and the desperate measures families took to survive. His story will offer insights into historical and modern-day antisemitism, inspiring attendees to recognize and combat hate in their own communities.
IF YOU GO
When: Noon, April 10
Where: This online event is open to all, but registration is required at tinyurl.com/MMETHAurora25. A link to the program will be provided upon registration.
Details: officeofoee@auroragov.org
Aurora Fox — ‘The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time’
The Aurora Fox Arts Center brings the Tony Award-winning drama ‘The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time’ to the stage through April 13. Adapted by Simon Stephens from Mark Haddon’s best-selling novel, the show follows 15-year-old Christopher
Boone, a brilliant but socially challenged teenager, as he investigates the mysterious death of his neighbor’s dog. What begins as a detective story quickly evolves into a deeply moving journey of self-discovery, perception, and resilience. Directed by Richard R. Cowden, the production features striking visual effects that immerse audiences in Christopher’s unique perspective. “This play is a deeply moving exploration of perception, trust, and resilience,” said Cowden. “It’s a story that resonates as both a mystery and a profound coming-of-age journey.”
Recommended for teens and older, the production includes strong language, mature themes, and sensory-sensitive effects.
IF YOU GO
When: Through April 13, with curtains on Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m.
Where: Aurora Fox Mainstage Theatre, 9900 E. Colfax Ave.
Tickets: $17-$42
Details: AuroraFoxArtsCenter.org and 303-739-1970.
’Grand Horizons’ at the Vintage Theatre
The Vintage Theatre is set to take audiences on an emotional rollercoaster with its upcoming production of Grand Horizons, a sharp and poignant play that explores love, identity, and the realities of long-term marriage. Written by acclaimed playwright Bess Wohl and directed by Bernie Cardell, the production boasts a compelling blend of humor and heartfelt drama.
Set in a retirement community, Grand Horizons begins with a bombshell: Nancy, after fifty years of marriage, announces she wants a divorce. The revelation throws her adult children into turmoil as they struggle to comprehend their parents as individuals with unfulfilled desires and personal needs. As the story unfolds, the audience is taken on a journey through the complexities of love, compromise, and self-discovery.
Since its Broadway debut, Grand Horizons has been praised for its witty dialogue and touching exploration of relationships.
IF YOU GO
IF YOU GO
When: April 12 at Cleo Parker Robinson Theater, 119 Park Avenue West and April 26-27 at the Lakewood Cultural Center 480 S. Allison Parkway.
Tickets: $20-$35
Details: www.balletariel.org or call 303-945-438
’Something Rotten!’ in Northglenn at the
All invited to JCC annual
The Staenberg-Loup Jewish Community Center invites all in the community to its annual “Queer Seder.”
The inclusive event blends traditional Passover rituals with a celebration of LGBTQIA+ identity and resilience. Passover, is observed this year from April 12 through April 20 and commemorates the Jewish people’s liberation from slavery in Egypt. The holiday is marked by a special meal, the Seder, where participants retell the Exodus story and reflect on themes of freedom and justice. At Queer Seder, attendees will explore these themes through a modern lens, acknowledging both the progress and ongoing struggles of the
Led by *local rabbis and LGBTQIA+ leaders, the evening will feature Passover traditions, readings, songs, and prayers honoring both Jewish and LGBTQIA+ identities. The event is open to all individuals and families of all ages, with tickets available on a sliding scale to ensure accessibility.
IF YOU GO
When: 6:30 p.m. - 9:30 p.m.
April 17
Where: Staenberg-Loup Jewish Community Center, 350 S. Dahlia St.
Cost: $15-$35
Details and tickets: www.jccdenver.org/
When: Through April 27. Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, curtains vary.
Tickets: $20-$36
Details: vintagetheatre.org and 303-856-7830
Where: Vintage Theatre, 1468 Dayton St.
Ballet Ariel presents ‘A Night in Spain Featuring Carmen Suite and The Three Cornered Hat’
Ballet Ariel closes its season with A Night in Spain, a captivating double-bill featuring Carmen Suite and The Three Cornered Hat. Resident choreographer Gregory Gonzales re-imagines Carmen Suite, a tale of love and betrayal set to Bizet’s timeless music. Artistic Director Ilena Norton presents a fresh take on The Three Cornered Hat, a comedic ballet blending Spanish dance and classical ballet.
¿BEBÉ A BORDO?
Los chequeos posparto son gratuitos con Medicaid.
Cuidar de usted misma es tan importante como cuidar de su bebé. Health First Colorado (el programa Medicaid de Colorado) y Child Health Plan Plus (CHP+) cubren la atención médica posparto (chequeos, anticonceptivos y apoyo a la salud mental) sin costo alguno.
¡Programe su chequeo hoy mismo!
¿Necesita encontrar un médico? Llámenos al 303-368-3313 o visite coaccess.com/findaprovider.
Obtenga más información sobre sus beneficios y los servicios de coordinación de cuidados aquí.
STATE LAWMAKERS TAKE
ON AURORA, OTHER CITIES
METING OUT TOUGH
JAIL SENTENCES
“It’s critical that we recognize that we have two distinct systems of justice happening side by side.” – Rep. Javier Mabrey
BY CASSANDRA BALLARD, Sentinel Staff Writer
The standing question in legislation this season is whether cities like Aurora have the legal right to impose harsher penalties than those set by the state for crimes like shoplifting and trespassing.
Municipal proponents adamantly insist they should, and some cities, like Aurora and Pueblo, already do.
Some state lawmakers and critics of Aurora and Pueblo enhance jail sentencing measures say, absolutely not, and the U.S. Constitution expressly forbids it under the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment.
After hours of testimony in both House and Senate committee hearings, House Bill 1147 passed narrowly out of the House Judiciary Committee, then it was approved mostly on party line 37-27 on the House floor and 24-10 on the Senate floor April 4. Republicans have opposed the bill, and some Democrats.
The bill now goes to Gov. Jared Polis for consideration.
At issue is whether cities and counties should have the ability to impose jail sentences for crimes like shoplifting, car theft or trespassing that are more harsh than sentences under state law.
Aurora over the past two years has imposed mandatory minimum jail sentences for anyone convicted of shoplifting $100 or more. State law has no such minimum sentence. Proponents of HB 1147 say the harsher sentence in Aurora for the same crime committed anywhere else in Colorado triggers 14th Amendment Equal Protection Clause conflicts. Critics of the House bill say it usurps local control of a home-rule city and the ability of local lawmakers to create anti-crime measures they deem necessary.
A regular feature among arguments in both the House and Senate judiciary committee hearings focused on disparate criminal sentences imposed by committing the same time on different sides of a Colorado road.
“I also absolutely cannot bring myself to support a resolution with the question that I have now asked multiple people: What is the difference in the crime on one side of Arapahoe Road
versus the other?” said Rep. Chad Clifford, D-Centennial, Feb. 26 during the House judicial hearing.
Walking out on a $15 restaurant tab on the Aurora side of Arapahoe Road can get convicts mandatory jail time. On the unincorporated side of Arapahoe Road, it’s a different story. There is no mandatory jail sentence for the crime outside of Aurora.
The City of Pueblo, which is also opposing the bill, has also created enhanced sentencing for crimes outside of state parameters.
The measure is being fiercely fought by officials from both cities.
“Home rule municipalities, by the essence of Article 20 of the (State) Constitution, along with their elected city councils, have the authority to address the specific needs of their communities,” Aurora City Attorney Pete Schulte told the House committee in February. “That is why we strongly oppose this bill. It infringes on our home rule authority.”
The Colorado Constitution enumerates the power of cities to set up home rule. It does not directly address the ability to supersede criminal sentences for crimes delineated in statute, the bill’s proponents say.
House Bill 1147 proposes to restrict municipal court sentences at state limits, and it requires specific standards for public defenders. This measure would directly challenge Aurora’s harsher sentencing practices.
The bill is part of a broader push to reform Colorado’s municipal court systems and would address sentencing disparities and potential constitutional violations that critics say disproportionately impact vulnerable and minority populations.
“It’s critical that we recognize that we have two distinct systems of justice happening side by side,” Rep. Javier Mabrey, D-Denver, said. “People who are in the same county, charged with the same conduct, housed in the same jail, can face vastly different sentences and receive different protections.”
By aligning municipal court sentencing with state standards, the legislation would aim to ensure 14th Amendment-guaranteed equal protec-
tion for all defendants, regardless of where they are charged, proponents say.
Schulte said all convicts are already treated equally in Aurora, and that, he says, was the intention of the framers of the state Constitution.
“If you want to choose to commit a crime in a municipality and you get caught, you’re going to be subject to the laws of that particular city,” Schulte said.
Critics point out no state law or amendment can run contrary to the U.S. Constitution, which mandates equal protection — and equal prosecution — inside a state.
Schulte said Aurora is prepared to litigate if the measure is signed into law.
Equal for whom?
Under HB 1147, municipal court sentences would be capped at the maximum state law sentence for the same offenses. If there is no state-level comparable offense, the maximum period of incarceration is capped at the maximum for a state-level petty offense, generally about one year.
State law currently allows for up to a year in jail for shoplifting convictions for stealing up to $1,000. Aurora lawmakers, during the last few years, have imposed minimum sentences, requiring at least three days in jail for a conviction of stealing $100 or more in merchandise.
If HB 1147 were to become law, mandatory minimums and increased penalties for prior convictions would be prohibited if the penalty is more harsh than that imposed by state law.
The bill also requires cities to provide “in-custody defendants” immediate public defense, and those public defenders cannot be “flat-fee” contract attorneys.
Aurora became the target of state legislation last year after trying to shutter the city’s public defender unit and put the services out for a contract to the highest bidder. The city received no bids after issuing a request for proposals. Instead, Aurora lawmakers agreed to close the city’s domestic violence program in municipal court and send cases to Arapahoe or Adams county courts.
The bill also requires that all municipal court proceedings be open to the public and requires virtual access for in-custody hearings.
Two amendments added to the bill this week were offered by state Sen. Mike Weissman, D-Aurora. The first, which he called the “Steamboat Amendment,” would allow local governments to continue to impose monetary fines that would exceed the $300 petty threshold for municipal offenses defined not to have any jail time.
“We are happy to preserve the zone of some sort of local discretion for offenses of a purely monetary nature,” Weissman said.
The second amendment was the “Denver Amendment,” which postponed the effectiveness of the change to domestic violence cases until April 1, 2026, Weissman said. This would give Denver time needed for research, drafting and a local legislative process.
Sentencing disparities
Lawmakers and legal advocates mentioned various cases in court sentencing disparities between local municipalities and state sentencing maximums.
In Rifle, a couple, Jeremiah and Michelle Mobley, were sentenced to 30 days in jail for stealing two t-shirts priced at $30, according to Rep. Elizabeth Velasco, D-Glenwood Springs. The sentence was far longer than the sentence for the same crime if tried in county court, rather than Rifle’s city court.
In Longmont, a woman received a 30-day jail sentence for a probation violation and trespassing charge, which was three times longer than the maximum sentence allowed in state court, according to Mabrey.
In Aurora, a man was charged with a maximum sentence of 364 days in jail for trespassing when state law would have capped the sentence at 10 days, Mabrey said.
There were more examples given during committee testimony of harsher sentences in local municipalities, including Pueblo, Westminster and Denver.
“If somebody commits a crime on one side of Sheridan (Boulevard) or the other,” Mabrey said.
“The Constitution mandates that they should be treated in the same way. That’s what we are talking about here.”
Aurora shoplifting laws include a “dine and dash” penalty with a mandatory three days in jail for walking out on a $15 bill or higher. Dine and dash is a term for when people leave without paying for their meal after eating at a restaurant.
The law also includes a mandatory three days in jail for retail theft of $100 or more on the first offense; a mandatory 90 days in jail on the second offense; and a mandatory 180 days on the third offense.
Colorado state law considers a retail theft of less than $300 a petty offense, which could receive as much as 10 days in jail but has no mandatory minimum, according to statute.
Aurora also allows up to 364 days in jail for a trespass offense, which would be capped at 10 days in state court.
“This risk is compounded by the fact that those accused people tend to be society’s most vulnerable: the unhoused, the mentally ill, the extremely poor, and the disabled,” Mabrey said.
“Even for the most minor municipal offenses, people can be jailed, and they can lose their jobs, their housing, their driver’s license, their immigration status or their gun rights. Even short stays in jail have grave consequences.”
Aurora’s defense for local law
Aurora lawmakers have for the past few years pushed for harsher sentences for a variety of crimes, reacting to what they said was a uniquely local increase in theft and shoplifting.
State records show that crime in Aurora closely mirrors that of municipalities across the entire metro area. Most types of crime spiked during the pandemic, a phenomenon that also occurred across the nation.
For the last two years, violent and non-violent crimes have been ebbing in Aurora and across the metro region.
Aurora’s overall crime rate in 2024 declined to below 2020 levels after a spike in 2022. Theft climbed from about 7,500 incidents in 2020 to 8,100 incidents in 2022 and has now gone back down to 7,300 incidents in 2024.
Year-to-date, year-over-year, city crime statistics for the beginning of 2025 showed an increase in shoplifting each week through January and February, and only started to show a slight decrease during the last three weeks, compared to last year, according to Aurora Crime statistics.
Some Aurora lawmakers say the increase in sentencing has helped drive down theft. The city has not made public any analysis of theft metrics, and the city’s theft and car theft cases closely mirror the same rates of communities across the metro region.
Critics of the “harsh on crime” philosophy said the metrowide metrics and numerous national studies show that tough sentencing laws do nothing to prevent crime and, instead, saddle taxpayers for bigger jail and court costs.
Aurora proponents maintain, however, that sentencing for local crimes is a local matter.
Schulte insisted that state law not only allows for local control, but that such control is responsive to and reflective of local communities’ needs.
“If citizens don’t like it, all the city councils are elected,” Schulte said. “Just like all the represen-
tatives in the assembly, if someone doesn’t like what the city council is doing, there are remedies at the ballot box, and that is, again, why we are so firm against this because it is approaching our home rule authority.”
Jeremy Schupbach, Colorado Municipal League legislative and policy advocate, also sent out a statement of position for the coop of Colorado towns and cities, saying that municipalities require flexibility to respond appropriately to the needs of their communities.
Although this may differ from the needs of the state, municipalities should be able to impose harsher sentences to reflect their individual communities, according to the CML statement.
He said, at best, the measure is premature as courts are already scrutinizing some critical cases.
“The Colorado Supreme Court is reviewing cases challenging this very issue, making legislative action premature,” Schupbach said in the statement. “Deferring action on sentencing until the Court issues a ruling may avoid costly litigation and ensure judicial decisions inform future legislative decisions.”
He pointed to a bevy of cases before the state’s Supreme Court exploring the issue of potentially excessive sentencing by Colorado municipalities
Bruce Eisenhower, legislative liaison for the Department of Local Affairs, also testified in opposition to the bill, agreeing with Schulte’s arguments for Home Rule Authority.
The argument of 14th Amendment rights
Broomfield lawyer Amy Trenary testified that the state Constitution does spell out special powers for “home rule” cities, but that it does not provide municipalities with unrestricted power, especially over the U.S. Constitution.
“Home Rule Authority is much more tightly constricted than many believe,” Trenary said. “Municipal ordinances cannot conflict with state laws, and when a state law exists, municipal regulation is only permissible to the extent that it does not contradict statewide statutes.”
Trenary said that the home rule language is also deciphered by the charter of the local municipality.
La Plata Sheriff Sean Smith said city overreach on sentencing in his county has had a real negative impact on the Durango community and La Plata County jail. He said harsher sentences have created jail crowding and big expenses for county residents who are affected only by those who live in the cities.
Sentencing disparity affects more than just taxpayers, other critics told state lawmakers.
Aurora Chief Public Defender Elizabeth Cadiz said the numbers behind those receiving the harsher Aurora sentences are important.
“Through efforts to reform low-level sentencing, we identified 47 offenses that are identical in our municipal code to state statutes but carry a potential 364 days versus caps of 10 or 120 days under the state law,” Cadiz said. “In a sample of 150 cases involving only these kinds of comparable charges, 42% were theft, 19% were trespass, 4% were prostitution and 9% were police charges, meaning resisting or obstruction.
Of those receiving the harsher Aurora sentences, “the demographic data showed that
1.31% were Asian, 27.45% were white, 26.14% were Hispanic or Latino, and 45.1% were Black or African American.”
She said the numbers made clear that minorities were being impacted by the sentences far greater than their white counterparts in Aurora.
Cadiz told the committee she was testifying separately from the City of Aurora, and she said approving the bill would help end what she called unconstitutional practices in municipal courts.
“This bill doesn’t say you can’t prosecute thefts if you’re a municipality or enforce identical criminal laws,” Cadiz said. “It doesn’t say you can’t put people in jail and max them or run your own court and run your own docket and your police department and direct where your resources can go. It just sets a precedent and guarantees fairness.”
Aurora lawyer Anne Moorhead said that the bill would also enshrine the full right to counsel, which she said Aurora denies some people in court.
“Aurora Municipal Court treats weekend and holiday courts differently than other in-custody dockets run Monday through Friday,” she said. “By prohibiting in-person access to clients, expressly prohibiting the entry of a plea, expressly prohibiting plea negotiations, prohibiting appointment of counsel for future hearings, substantially limiting communication with the client prior to the hearing in automatic PR bond cases, and only allowing conditional appointment of counsel for clients held on bond, unnecessarily delaying the case just to reset the arraignment several weeks out to then allow full appointment of counsel.”
Some critics of the bill said during the hearings that the statewide change could push tens of thousands of city-court cases into the county courts, putting additional strain on the counties.
Schulte said he would consider sending all criminal cases to the county if the bill passed.
His threat held enough weight for the 18th Judicial District Attorney, Amy Padden and Arapahoe County Commissioners Rhonda Fields and Jessica Campbell, to testify for new amendments to the bill. Padden said her judicial district system cannot take the additional case loads from Aurora’s municipal courts.
The state did not grant the 18th Judicial District additional funding to take on domestic violence cases from Aurora, which the Aurora City Council already voted in 2024 to move to district court to save money on court funding. The court requested additional funding for a judge, probation, pretrial and public defender resources, which they did not receive.
Aurora officials estimated up to 1,300 cases will be brought to the Arapahoe County courts for domestic violence cases starting July 1. In the hearing, Padden said that taking on all of Aurora’s municipal cases would add an additional 5,000 cases to the court.
“We simply can’t absorb those additional cases right now,” she said. “We are going to have cases that are pending, that are delayed, that could potentially be dismissed for speedy trial issues, and it’s going to put an extreme burden on our court system.”
Fields requested the bill sponsors to “address the financial impact of this unfunded mandate,” and to roll out more time for them to put all of the standards, qualifications and processes in place to ensure they “can do it right.”
“This is a political threat aimed at holding this body and other stakeholders hostage for fear of potential costs,” Councilmember Alison Coombs said. “Nothing in this bill requires Aurora to stop prosecutions. This would be a choice made by Aurora City Council with full knowledge that the district courts have inadequate resources, and they should be held responsible for choosing a petulant and craven reaction to being told that they have to uphold an equal system of justice.”
Weissman referred to a 2024 DenverPost report in which Marc Sears, president of the Aurora Fraternal Order of Police, said that officers in Aurora are encouraged to write tickets to municipal courts instead of county court to bring the money directly back to the municipality.
The article claims that Aurora receives a lot of necessary funding from their municipal court system, but Schulte said that is not the whole truth.
“90% of all revenue generated in Aurora’s municipal court is from the prosecution of traffic citations,” Schulte told the Sentinel. “We actually lose money on many criminal cases prosecuted in municipal court. It doesn’t generate enough fines in court costs to come anywhere close to covering the city’s expenses on the money we spend to prosecute those cases.”
He said that municipal court cases are not designed to make money, especially domestic violence cases. They are a service the city provides, and even traffic cases aren’t designed to make money. Traffic cases just require far fewer resources.
Critics also argue that Colorado’s municipal courts operate with minimal oversight, allowing for unchecked sentencing disparities and no assurance of Constitutionally guaranteed defense counsel. Municipal courts are structured, funded and supervised by the same cities that bring charges.
Aurora has its own judicial review system, and the courts are overseen by an administrator who reports to the city council, not the city attorney’s office.
There has been some talk of the governor planning to veto the bill even though Weissman said he had not heard anything from the governor’s staff so far.
“I had a conversation with the Governor yesterday,” Mayor Mike Coffman said. “I believe that he has publicly stated, as he did in the call, that he will veto HB 1147 when it gets to his desk.”
Different members of staff and city council have stated in Federal, State and Intergovernmental Relations that the governor will veto the bill.
A spokesperson for Polis did not commit to a likely veto.
“The Governor is focused on making Colorado one of the top ten safest states,” Ally Sullivan, spokesperson for Polis, said in an email. “And while he is skeptical of actions that may limit local governments’ ability to keep Coloradans safe, he will carefully review any bill that reaches his desk.”
OPPOSITE PAGE LEFT: Adams County deputy carries handcuffs used for transporting inmates Oct. 31 at Adams County Jail in Brighton. Aurora Sentinel File Photo
OPPOSITE PAGE RIGHT: A pod is deserted at the Arapahoe County Jail. Inmate populations in jails has decreased during the pandemic. Photo provided by Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office
ABOVE: The House of Representatives chamber.
Aurora Sentinel File Photo
Spring break is in the rearview mirror for all districts and the weather — hopefully — has cleared a bit as the spring prep sports season finds its stride.
Last week’s inclement weather brought a bit of a halt to the momentum gained by local teams in double-digit sports, which is set to resume in full force.
Here’s a look at the status of each of sport going into the week of April 7:
to three wins already during a 3-2-1 start. Regis Jesuit scored just 17 goals last season in 15 games, but also has 11 with five players who have scored twice. Hinkley leads the area with a 4-1-1 record that includes three wins against other area teams (Aurora Central, Overland and Aurora West College Prep Academy plus a tie with Gateway) with help of a big start from sophomore Alexsandra Ortiz, who has three hat tricks and 14 total goals.
Spring forward
BASEBALL
Grandview, a Class 5A semifinalist last season, is off to a great start with the city lead in wins at 8-2, which has coach Scott Henry’s team sitting in the No. 2 spot in the Colorado High School Activities Association’s Class 5A rankings.
BY COURTNEY OAKES Sports Editor
The Wolves’ two losses came to No. 3 Arvada West by one run in the season opener and to No. 1 Castle View by two runs April 2, defeats that were sandwiched around an eight-game winning streak.
The other area team in the 5A top 10 is Regis Jesuit, which has a 4-2 mark in Colorado play as it takes a break to compete in the USA Baseball National Invitational Tournament April 9-13 in Cary, N.C. Coach Matt Darr’s team dropped a one-run contest to rival Cherry Creek — which defeated the Raiders twice on the final day of the season to claim last season’s 5A state title — and lost at Mullen in close game as well. Not far out of the top 10 is Cherokee Trail, which has an 8-4 mark thanks to one of the top pitching staffs in the state. Senior Carter Wilcox, an Iowa signee, has struck out 40 hitters in 20 innings of work and allowed just four early runs in that span, while senior Brody Ceyrolles (an infielder by trade) is 2-0 with a 1.52 ERA since joining the rotation.
Rangeview (7-3), Vista PEAK Prep (6-7), Smoky Hill (5-6) and Eaglecrest (3-5) have had their highlights early in the season. Hinkley — which has a program again for the first time since the 2020-21 season — is still looking for its first win seven games in.
GIRLS SOCCER
Aurora area teams haven’t been able to crack the Class 5A top 10, but a few are off to good starts. Regis Jesuit won just two games last season, but Rick Wolf (who coaches the school’s boys program) took over as head coach and has guided the Raiders
Cherokee Trail owns a 3-1-2 mark in the early going, Gateway sits at 3-2-2 (with help from seven goals from sophomore Sa’mya Shazier) and Grandview bounced back from three straight one-goal losses to open the season with two wins by a combined score of 8-0, while the rest of the area programs are currently battling to get back to .500.
BOYS SWIMMING
The Regis Jesuit boys swim team — last season’s Class 5A state runner-up — is off to an undefeated dual start and also took the title at the Dick Rush Coaches Invitational back before spring break.
Coach Nick Frasersmith’s Raiders has been boosted by young talent such as freshman Spencer Greene — who has posted 5A’s top time in the 100 yard butterfly — and Trevyn Krauss, while seniors Reid Magner and Hugh Boris and junior Nolan Kohl have provided plenty of experience. Regis Jesuit will again try to overcome rival Cherry Creek — which it faces in a dual meet April 10 — without a state scoring diver.
Grandview Oliver Schimberg — a two-time 5A state champion in the 100 backstroke — has posted the third-fastest time in that event early in the season, but has also been delving into other events. He is second in 5A in the 50 freestyle, while coach Dan Berve’s Wolves also have the classification’s fastest 500 freestyler thus far in senior Gherman Prudikau.
Cherokee Trail junior Tyson Walker has rewritten the program recordbook in the 100 yard butterfly, 100 backstroke and 100 breaststroke and combines with senior Bronson Smothers to give coach Kevin Chatham a powerful duo to go with quality depth. Smoky Hill has a new addition in freshman Cooper Walkup — younger brother of girls program star Cameryn Walkup — who has been a boost to coach Scott Cohen’s Buffaloes, who already had one of the state’s top returning talents in senior Ian Noffsinger, who has designs on a state title in the 500 freestyle.
TRACK & FIELD
The Aurora area’s strength in track & field has not ebbed since last season, when area boys and girls programs combined for a team state championship and 10 event crowns at the Class 5A state meet at Jefferson County Stadium.
Coach Chris Faust’s Cherokee Trail boys seek a third straight 5A state title and have looked good in the early going this season as the Cougars won the Aurora City Championship meet and Chaparral Invitational, while they were second at the Broomfield Shootout and ThunderRidge Invitational. Senior sprint star Peyton Sommers (who has signed with Penn State) is taking it easy in the early going, but has state’s top time in the 400 meters thus far. Cherokee Trail has shown it has a major strength in the field events, as Nurudeen Diallo (long jump) and Taylor Waters (pole vault) lead their events in the state.
On the boys side, Overland senior Jarrius Ward — last season’s 5A state champion in the discus and state meet record holder — took the state lead with his performance at the city meet and remains atop the rankings and Rangeview senior Kimi Bulto (a state cross country qualifier) has 5A’s top time in the 800 meters.
On the girls side, defending 5A state triple jump champion Kaeli Powe of Cherokee Trail leads the classification in that (with a wind-aided effort of 42 feet, 1 3/4 inches) as well as the long jump (19-2), while rival and defending champion Zenobia Witt of Eaglecrest sits second. Witt is also part of the Raptors’ 4x200 meter relay team that leads 5A.
BOYS LACROSSE
Regis Jesuit holds the No. 7 spot in CHSAA’s 5A rankings with a 5-2 record that would be spotless if not for one-goal losses to No. 3 Arapahoe and Cathedral Catholic, a 10-win team in California. Coach Ross Moscatelli’s Raiders have reeled off three straight wins and look to continue to build toward an April 22 clash with parochial school rival and No. 2 Valor Christian. Cherokee Trail owns five wins in the early going — which already puts coach Matt Cawley’s team over last season’s win total of four — with help from senior
SPRING SPORTS
ABOVE: The Grandview baseball team is currently No. 2 in the Colorado High School Activities Association’s Class 5A rankings in the wake of an 8-2 start that includes only losses to No. 1 Castle View and No. 3 Arvada West. BELOW: Senior Brooke Metcalfe (13) has two goals and two assists and has helped the Regis Jesuit girls soccer team to a 11 goals through just six games after the Raiders scored a total of 15 goals in 17 games last season. Photos by Courtney Oakes/Aurora Sentinel
GIRLS BASKETBALL
Sienna Betts earns MVP award at girls McDonald’s All-American Game
Sienna Betts scored 16 points as the UCLA commit led the West to a 104-82 win over the East April 1 in the McDonald’s All-American girls game played at Barclays Center in New York.
Betts, a senior at Aurora’s Grandview High School and younger sister of UCLA All-American Lauren Betts, earned Most Valuable Player honors, as she grabbed also had seven rebounds and handed out two assists. Breanna Stewart, whose WNBA’s New York Liberty play at the Barclays Center, presented Betts with the award after the win.
The West roster also featured guard Aaliyah Chavez, the top girls’ prospect in the nation according to 247Sports and an Oklahoma commit. Colorado’s other selection — Alexandra Eschmeyer of Peak to Peak — also played with Betts on the West roster.
On March 30, Betts received the Morgan Wootten Player of the Year honor, which has been given out since 1997 and recognizes the McDonald’s selection that best “exemplify outstanding character, exhibit leadership, and embody the values of being a good citizen in the classroom and the community.”
Betts became the fourth Aurora area selection for the McDonald’s All-American girls game, joining sister Lauren (2022) and Michaela Onyenwere (2017) from Grandview’s program along with Regis Jesuit alum Fran Belibi (2019).
Sienna Betts had the best performance among locals in the actual game with her MVP performance, as Lauren Betts finished with two points, eight rebounds and two blocked shots in the 2022 game and Belibi — who was also a finalist for the Wootten award — finished with six points and 10 rebounds in the 2019 game. In her final prep game in Colorado, Betts led Grandview to a 61-39 victory over Legend in the 6A final.
BASEBALL Regis Jesuit heads to National High School Invitational April 9-12
The Regis Jesuit baseball team is set to compete in the USA Baseball National High School Invitational tournament scheduled for April 9-12 in Cary, N.C. Coach Matt Darr’s Raiders — currently off to a 4-2 start in play in Colorado — is one of 16 teams from across the country invited to play in the 12th annual tournament, which will be contested at the Natoinal Training Complex. The field also includes programs from Arizona, California, Floriday, New York, North Carolina and Tennessee.
Regis Jesuit — which opens against Wesleyan Christian Academy of High Point, N.C. on April 9 — played in the tournament in the 2021-22 and 2022-23 season as well.
SOCCER
Cherry Creek partners with new NWSL franchise
Officials plus high school student athletes from Cherry Creek Schools were onhand March 27 at the Cherry Creek Innovation Campus for an announcement made by the incoming National Womens Soccer League (NWSL) franchise.
The franchise plans to have a new stadium in Denver ready to go for the 2028 season, but will play its 2026 and 2027 seasons at a 12,000-seat temporary stadium set to be built on a 43-acre site in Centennial. The project also will include a state-of-the-art training center.
Once the franchise moves to play at its future home, the temporary stadium will be reduced to a capacity of 4,000 and will be available for use by athletic programs from Cherry Creek Schools. The Denver franchise (the 16th in the NWSL) announced April 7 that it had received deposits for more than 10,000 season tickets, which is a NWSL record.
TOP: Setter Devan Hall (9) puts up a pass during the Grandview boys volleyball team’s four-set loss to Littleton Public Schools April 3 . ABOVE: Evan Kelly (3) slides safely into second base ahead of the throw in the Vista PEAK Prep baseball team’s 10-0 home win over Montbello April 5.
RIGHT: Rangeview’s Jillian Monzon-Novoa (4) clears a ball in front of Littleton’s Sofia Roth during the Raiders’ 2-1 girls soccer loss April 5. (Photos by Courtney Oakes/Aurora Sentinel)
WEEK PAST
The week past in Aurora prep sports
MONDAY, APRIL 7: The Grandview boys track team finished in third place at the Legend Track Clash, which was rescheduled from the weekend due to weather, as it was led by the 4x400 meter relay championship from Jericho Andrews, Braydon Candelarie, Revano Plummer and Quincy Cousin plus Derek Williams’ win in the discus. Cherokee Trail finished fifth (as Taylor Waters took the pole vault), Rangeview (which got a win from Kimi Bulto in the 800 meters) and Smoky Hill 13th. The Cherokee Trail girls finished in third place with help from Ka’Moyyah Allen’s win in the 400 meter dash and Alexandria Carelock’s tie for first in the long jump, while Kiyah Enoch won the 100 meter hurdles to help Smoky Hill place fifth.
For more on these stories, visit sentinelcolorado. com/preps
Ninth-place Grandview got a 4x800 meter win from Alexis Fischer, Emersen Hensler, Lillian Carll and Destiny Rodriguez and triple jump winner Maddie Kilmer led 13th-place Rangeview Brinnon Cook and Haylee Clark both shot plus-6 78s to tie for first place in the Centennial League tournament held at Foothills G.C., which helped the Cherokee Trail girls golf team finish a close second behind Cherry Creek in the team standings. Jean Lim finished sixth to lead the way for Grandview with an 83.
SATURDAY, APRIL 5: The Vista PEAK Prep baseball team earned a 10-0 home win over Montbello that included runs driven in by Karter Robinson, Jace Franklin, Brody Brancato, Evan Kelly and Eli Garcia Eric Houser pitched two hitless innings of relief to get the victory.
Zuleyka Perez gave the Rangeview girls soccer team a goal lead less than five minutes into its home contest against Littleton, but the Lions rallied for a 2-1 victory. ...The Eaglecrest boys lacrosse team welcomed Thompson Valley to Legacy Stadium and came
away with a chilly 13-8 victory. ...The Smoky Hill boys lacrosse team defended its home turn with a 15-11 victory over Palmer. ...The Regis Jesuit boys volleyball team played at De Smet Jesuit in Missouri and lost to the host Spartans 25-17, 25-13, 25-18, while the Raiders defeated Rockhurst (Missouri) 27-25, 25-21, 16-25, 25-22. ...FRIDAY, APRIL 4: The Hinkley girls soccer team broke a halftime tie with Regis Groff with two goals in the second half of a 3-1 victory. ...The Rangeview boys lacrosse team doubled up visiting Thomas Jefferson 12-6 on a big game from Conner White, who scored six goals. Jelani Smith added a goal and four assists, Jackson Long had three goals and Santiago Pina Martinez made 19 saves for the Raiders. ...The Cherokee Trail boys volleyball team survived a challenge from visiting Regis Groff in a 25-21, 22-25, 25-13, 24-26, 15-13 home victory. ...THURSDAY, APRIL 3: In an increasing snowstorm at Aurora Public Schools Stadium, the Aurora Central and Gateway girls soccer teams played to a 1-1 tie in a game halted at halftime due to the conditions. ...The Regis Jesuit boys swim team defeated Heritage 182-106 in a Continental League home dual meet in which the Raiders swept the relay events and also got individual wins from Trevyn Krauss, Hugh Boris, Spencer Greene and Nolan Kohl Tyson Walker set the Cherokee Trail pool record in the 100 yard breaststroke of 58.57 seconds and joined Bronson Smothers as two-event individual winners for the Cherokee Trail boys swim team in a 92-78 Centennial League home dual loss to Arapahoe. Walker and Smothers combined with Jacob Mueller and Ian Madigan to win the 200 yard medley relay as well for the Cougars. ...Oliver Schimberg and Gherman Prudnikau posted two individual event wins apiece for the Grandview boys swim team in a 215-96 Centennial League dual loss at Cherry Creek.
Schimberg took the 200 yard individual medley and 100 butterfly, while Prudnikau claimed the 200 and 500 yard freestyles. ...The Eaglecrest boys volleyball team earned a 25-18, 25-21, 25-17 Centennial League home win over Cherokee Trail in a match that saw Jackson Shaw rack up 16 kills and Ashton Bond add 12. Will George recorded 30 assists for the Raptors. ...Ayon Hammond had eight kills and four blocks and Aidan Johnson added 10 kills for the Rangeview boys volleyball team in a 25-12, 25-19, 25-20 victory at George Washington. ...Sanip Rai recordeed 18 assists and five service aces while Sike Rot had 10 kills as the Hinkley boys volleyball team downed DMLK 25-13, 25-27, 25-17, 25-16. ...The Grandview boys volleyball team dug in late, but fell to visiting the Littleton Public Schools co-op team 28-26, 25-17, 22-25, 25-17. WEDNESDAY, APRIL 2: Brody Ceyrolles struck out 10 hitters over 6 2/3 innings for the Cherokee Trail baseball team in a 7-1 road win at Heritage. Ceyrolles helped himself with two RBI, while Landon McWilliams had three hits, including one of the Cougars’ four triples. ...A 20-hit attack keyed the Vista PEAK Prep baseball team to a 21-1 home win over Aurora Central that saw Karter Robinson drive in five runs. Domenic Montoya joined Robinson with three hits, while Zach Varner picked up three RBI for the Bison to back Eli Garcia, who allowed a single run in three innings on the mound. ...The Grandview girls soccer team had all of its offensive production in the opening half of a 3-0 road win at Air Academy. Allie Smith had two goals and Mia Forsythe added the other for the Wolves. ...The Regis Jesuit boys lacrosse team posted a 10-3 road victory at Colorado Academy on the strength of a 13-save performance from goalie Jackson Large Will Cornell tallied three golas, while Rocco Biviano and Austin Ryan had two apiece. ...The Grandview boys lacrosse team downed Monarch 11-8 in a road contest that featured four goals apiece
from Cameron Festi and Mason Kelly in addition to 14 saves from Drew Parrish. ...The Regis Jesuit girls lacrosse team earned its first ever win over Colorado Academy with an 11-6 road victory that included five goals and an assist from Madisyn Jokerst plus two goals apiece from Addison Kindy and Morgan Neir. ...The Grandview girls tennis team got a singles sweep from Shriya Ginjupalli (No. 1), Marin Shutter (No. 2) and Ava Stubbs (No. 3) plsu wins at Nos. 2, 3 & 4 doubles in a 6-1 Centennial League dual win over Cherokee Trail which got its win at No. 1 doubles from Elizabeth Brossart and Leila Harrison Vista PEAK Prep’s Sophia Capua shot a plus-1 73 at City Park G.C. to finish one stroke out of the medalist spot at the City League Invitational, at which Cherokee Trail led local teams with a thirdplace finish. The Cougars were paced by Brinnon Cook (81) and Haylee Clark (85), who took fifth and eighth, respectively. ...TUESDAY, APRIL 1; The Grandview baseball team got four innings of 1-hit baseball from starting pitcher Justin Dean in an 11-0 home win over Vista PEAK Prep Kayden Bohmeyer drove in three runs, while Josiah Giron plated two more for the Wolves, who held the Bison to only one hit (from Evan Kelly). Luke Reasbeck threw four shutout innings on the road to help the Regis Jesuit baseball team to an 11-0 win over Valor Christian. Chase Massey and Christian Lopez knocked in two runs apiece for the Raiders, who got two hits apiece from Reasbeck and Diesel Bernosky. ...A 12-strikeout performance from Ryan Luevanos in five innings helped the Rangeview baseball team to a 10-0 home win over Hinkley. Sebastian Heredia-Ruiz, William Stevenson, Jaxon Miller and Fabian Amaya drove in runs for the Raiders. ...Three-run rallies in the second and fifth innings pushed the Gateway baseball team past visiting Aurora Central 6-5. Anthony Rubio threw six effective innings for
PREPS
the Olys, while Yanndy Aguayo escaped trouble in the final inning for the save. Aguayo and Mervin Loya drove in runs for Gateway, while Kalai Bentosino and Kirby Colbert-Olsen had RBI for the Trojans, who got a 13-strikeout effort on th emound from Alberto Avila Lindsey George scored two goals to lead the way for the Grandview girls soccer team in a 5-0 win over Eaglecrest at Legacy Stadium in which Isabella Limas-Villers, Katie Reynolds and Maya Sandler also scored. Paige Jasinowski had two assists, while Ivy Daniel needed to make just two saves for the shutout. Ashley Hernandez put the Gateway girls soccer team on the scoreboard early in the second half of its visit to Overland and Sa’mya Shazier added two goals as the Olys earned a 3-0 win over the Trailblazers. Carla Silva made seven saves for the shutout and also assisted on a goal. ...Nora Sheirbon scored twice in the second half for the Regis Jesuit girls soccer team in a 2-2 tie with Rock Canyon. ...The Rangeview boys lacrosse team picked up its first win of the season with a 13-6 home victory over Palmer that featured six goals and three assists for Conner White. Jelani Smith added three goals and three assists, while Santiago Pina Martinez notched 18 saves for the Raiders. ...The Eaglecrest girls lacrosse team rolled to a 16-4 road victory over Denver North. ...The Overland boys volleyball team rode a 17-kill effort from Vincent Johnson to a 26-28, 25-23, 25-19, 2527, 15-13victory over Cherry Creek. ... Fourteen kills for Alex Garcia and 11 more from Connor Deickman (who also had five aces) plus 36 assists for Devan Hall aided the Grandview boys volleyball team to a 25-9, 25-16, 25-21 Centennial League road sweep of Mullen. ...Triple-digit kills for Ayon Hammond and Aidan Johnson — 12 apiece — and 10 for Yahir Moreno Sanchez helped the Rangeview boys volleyball team to a 26-28, 25-19, 25-20, 21-25, 15-12 road victory at Westminster. Johnathan Broderick added 28 digs and Felipe Prieto Sanchez dished out 20 assists for the Raiders. ...The Hinkley boys volleyball team defended its home court with a 25-19, 25-11, 25-21 home sweep of DSST:Conservatory Green as Luis Rangel Cepeda had 10 kills, 12 digs and three service aces, while Jayden Dotson added seven kills. ... The Regis Jesuit boys volleyball team secured a 25-22, 18-25, 25-21, 25-22 Continental League home match win over Chaparral. ...Despite 18 kills and 17 digs from Jackson Shaw and 17 kills from Ashton Bond the Eaglecrest boys volleyball team fell to Littleton Public Schools 25-19, 18-25, 23-25, 25-21, 15-8. ...The Eaglecrest girls tennis team earned a chilly 5-2 Centennial League dual win at Smoky Hill that concluded with a 5-7, 7-5, 6-4 victory for Raptors’ No. 2 singles player Paige Rauen over the Buffs’ Kalene Bassett. Eaglecrest won at Nos. 1 and 2 singles plus Nos. 1, 3 and 4 doubles, while Smoky Hill’s victories came at No. 3 singles and No. 2 doubles. ...The Vista PEAK Pre girls tennis team defeated Hinkley 6-1 with straight set victories in every match save No. 4 doubles, which went to the Thunder duo of Zakariee Mosley and Citlali Guarneros
Bruce Pfeiffer, who is just outside 5A’s top 10 in total points scored with 29, while Grandview is off to an outstanding offensive start that has helped produce a 4-4 record. The Wolves feature 5A points leader Mason Kelly, a junior who has tallied 30 goals and dished out 20 assists, along with senior Cameron Festi (who has amassed 32 points).
Eaglecrest has an even 3-3 record that includes a big win in The Hammer rivalry game against Smoky Hill, while coach Neil McCarthy’s Raptors suffered two losses by three goals or less, while the Buffs have dropped to 4A this season and own a 4-3 mark (just one off last season’s win total), while the Rangeview co-op team has seen senior Conner White (17 goals) get hot lately and is now 2-3 after an 0-3 start.
GIRLS LACROSSE
Regis Jesuit has been very strong at the outset of the season with a 5-2 record that includes the program’s first-ever win over annual powerhouse Colorado Academy. Coach Crysti Foote’s Raiders sit third in CHSAA’s 5A rankings after just two defeats, one against No. 2 Valor Christian and the other a two-goal loss to visiting St. Ignatius, a California team that is off to a 10-0 start. Regis Jesuit has a tone-setter in senior Madisyn Jokerst, who ranks seventh in the state with her 25 goals, plus abundant young talent.
Cherokee Trail has made the move from 4A to 5A and is off to a 1-4 start as it tries to replace some high scoring graduates (though senior Lorelei Gearity and sophomore Abby Bieker have lit up the scoreboard), while Grandview is 1-5 despite a hot start from sophomore Brynn Goodwin (12 goals).
BOYS VOLLEYBALL
Aurora has one double-digit win team already in Overland, which is off to a 10-2 start that included an eight-game winning streak. Senior Vincent Johnson’s arrival has aided the competitiveness of coach Diane Swan’s Trailblazers, who sit No. 10 in CHSAA’s 5A rankings.
Overland has one more win than No. 4 Eaglecrest (9-2), which has lost only to No. 1 Legacy and No. 2 Littleton Public Schools thus far. Senior Jackson Shaw paces the Raptors with 112 kills, which puts him ninth in 5A, five spots behind senior Tristan Rowley (143), who has helped Vista PEAK Prep to a 6-4 start. Coach Jeffry Ransom’s Bison have won five straight matches since a 1-4 start with Rowley leading the way in virtually every category. Grandview returns much of its talent from lats season’s state qualifying team and that has coach Scott Nugent’s team off to an 8-4 start.
GIRLS TENNIS
Coach Jennifer Armstrong’s Regis Jesuit team is off to a 5-0 start in dual match play, while the Raiders also won the Fairview Invitational and placed second at the Western Slope Invitational. Grandview won the Tom Moore Invitational to open the season and since has gone 3-2 in dual matches, which is the same win total held by Rangeview, which has good numbers and has been able to play on a new set of courts on the school campus this season. Eaglecrest has a returning state qualifier in junior Natali Marshall, who is 9-2 at No. 1 singles.
GIRLS GOLF
Individually, Vista PEAK Prep junior Sophia Capua has been the area’s top player, while Cherokee Trail — which features sophomore Brinnon Cook and senior Haylee Clark — has been the top local team in the weather-disrupted season.
(Photos by Courtney Oakes/Aurora
›› SPRING, from 16
10, 2025 Sentinel
NOTICE OF CANCELLATION OF ELECTION AND CERTIFIED STATEMENT OF RESULTS POWHATON ROAD METROPOLITAN DISTRICT NO. 1
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN, pursuant to §1-13.5-513(6), C.R.S., that, at the close of business on March 4, 2025, there were not more candidates than offices to be filled, including candidates filing affidavits of intent to be write-in candidates, for the Powhaton Road Metropolitan District No. 1 (the “District”). Therefore, the election for the District to be held on May 6, 2025 is hereby cancelled.
The following candidates for the District are declared elected by acclamation: JAMES SPEHALSKI Until May 2029
The following offices remain vacant: VACANT Until May 2029 VACANT Until May 2029
/s/ Ashley B. Frisbie Designated Election Official
Contact Person for the District: Kristin J. Bowers, Esq.
WHITE BEAR ANKELE TANAKA & WALDRON
Attorneys at Law 2154 E. Commons Avenue, Suite 2000 Centennial, Colorado 80122 (303) 858-1800
Publication: April 10, 2025 Sentinel
NOTICE OF CANCELLATION OF ELECTION AND CERTIFIED STATEMENT OF RESULTS POWHATON ROAD METROPOLITAN DISTRICT NO. 2
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN, pursuant to §1-13.5-513(6), C.R.S., that, at the close of business on March 4, 2025, there were not more candidates than offices to be filled, including candidates filing affidavits of intent to be write-in candidates, for the Powhaton Road Metropolitan District No. 2 (the “District”). Therefore, the election for the District to be held on May 6, 2025 is hereby cancelled.
The following offices remain vacant:
VACANT Until May 2029 VACANT Until May 2029 VACANT Until May 2029
/s/ Ashley B. Frisbie Designated Election Official
Contact Person for the District:
Kristin J. Bowers, Esq.
WHITE BEAR ANKELE TANAKA & WAL-
DRON
Attorneys at Law 2154 E. Commons Avenue, Suite 2000 Centennial, Colorado 80122 (303) 858-1800
Publication: April 10, 2025 Sentinel
NOTICE OF CANCELLATION OF ELECTION AND CERTIFIED STATEMENT OF RESULTS POWHATON ROAD METROPOLITAN DISTRICT NO. 3
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN, pursuant to §1-13.5-513(6), C.R.S., that, at the close of business on March 4, 2025, there were not more candidates than offices to be filled, including candidates filing affidavits of intent to be write-in candidates, for the Powhaton Road Metropolitan District No. 3 (the “District”). Therefore, the election for the District to be held on May 6, 2025 is hereby cancelled.
The following candidates for the District are declared elected by acclamation: JAMES MITCHELL Until May 2029 JAMES SPEHALSKI Until May 2029
The following offices remain vacant: VACANT Until May 2029
/s/ Ashley B. Frisbie
Designated Election Official
Contact Person for the District: Kristin J. Bowers, Esq.
WHITE BEAR ANKELE TANAKA & WALDRON
Attorneys at Law
2154 E. Commons Avenue, Suite 2000 Centennial, Colorado 80122 (303) 858-1800
Publication: April 10, 2025 Sentinel
NOTICE OF CANCELLATION OF ELECTION and CERTIFIED STATEMENT OF RESULTS Powhaton Road Metropolitan District No. 4
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN, pursuant to §1-13.5-513(6), C.R.S., that, at the close of business on March 4, 2025, there were not more candidates than offices to be filled, including candidates filing affidavits of intent to be write-in candidates, for the Powhaton Road Metropolitan District No. 4 (the “District”). Therefore, the election for the District to be held on May 6, 2025 is hereby cancelled.
The following candidates for the District are declared elected by acclamation:
JAMES SPEHALSKI Until May 2029
The following offices remain vacant:
VACANT Until May, 2027 VACANT Until May, 2029
/s/ Ashley B. Frisbie
Designated Election Official
Contact Person for the District: Kristin J. Bowers, Esq. White Bear Ankele Tanaka & Waldron
Attorneys at Law
2154 E. Commons Avenue, Suite 2000 Centennial, Colorado 80122 (303) 858-1800
Publication: April 10, 2025 Sentinel
NOTICE OF CANCELLATION OF ELECTION AND CERTIFIED STATEMENT OF RESULTS
POWHATON ROAD METROPOLITAN DISTRICT NO. 5
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN, pursuant to §1-13.5-513(6), C.R.S., that, at the close of business on March 4, 2025, there were not more candidates than offices to be filled, including candidates filing affidavits of intent to be write-in candidates, for the Powhaton Road Metropolitan District No. 5 (the “District”). Therefore, the election for the District to be held on May 6, 2025 is hereby cancelled.
The following candidates for the District are declared elected by acclamation:
JAMES SPEHALSKI Until May 2029
The following offices remain vacant:
VACANT Until May 2027
VACANT Until May 2029
/s/ Ashley B. Frisbie
Designated Election Official
Contact Person for the District: Kristin J. Bowers, Esq. WHITE BEAR ANKELE TANAKA & WAL-
DRON
Attorneys at Law
2154 E. Commons Avenue, Suite 2000 Centennial, Colorado 80122 (303) 858-1800
Publication: April 10, 2025 Sentinel
NOTICE OF CANCELLATION OF ELECTION AND CERTIFIED STATEMENT OF RESULTS
POWHATON ROAD METROPOLITAN DISTRICT NO. 6
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN, pursuant to §1-13.5-513(6), C.R.S., that, at the close of business on March 4, 2025, there were not more candidates than offices to be filled, including candidates filing affidavits of intent to be write-in candidates, for the Powhaton Road Metropolitan District No. 6 (the “District”). Therefore, the election for the District to be held on May 6, 2025 is hereby cancelled.
The following candidates for the District are declared elected by acclamation:
CHRISTOPHER KIRST Until May 2029
ROGER G. HOLLARD Until May 2029
The following offices remain vacant: VACANT Until May 2027 VACANT Until May 2027
/s/ Ashley B. Frisbie
Designated Election Official
Contact Person for the District:
Kristin J. Bowers, Esq.
WHITE BEAR ANKELE TANAKA & WAL-
DRON
Attorneys at Law 2154 E. Commons Avenue, Suite 2000 Centennial, Colorado 80122 (303) 858-1800
Publication: April 10, 2025
Sentinel
NOTICE OF CANCELLATION OF ELECTION AND CERTIFIED STATEMENT OF RESULTS
POWHATON ROAD METROPOLITAN DISTRICT NO. 9
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN, pursuant to §1-13.5-513(6), C.R.S., that, at the close of business on March 4, 2025, there were not more candidates than offices to be filled, including candidates filing affidavits of intent to be write-in candidates, for the Powhaton Road Metropolitan District No. 9 (the “District”). Therefore, the election for the District to be held on May 6, 2025 is hereby cancelled.
The following candidates for the District are declared elected by acclamation: JAMES SPEHALSKI Until May 2029
The following offices remain vacant: VACANT Until May 2027
VACANT Until May 2027
VACANT Until May 2027
VACANT Until May 2029
/s/ Ashley B. Frisbie
Designated Election Official
Contact Person for the District: Kristin J. Bowers, Esq. WHITE BEAR ANKELE TANAKA & WAL-
DRON
Attorneys at Law
2154 E. Commons Avenue, Suite 2000 Centennial, Colorado 80122 (303) 858-1800
Publication: April 10, 2025 Sentinel
NOTICE OF CANCELLATION OF ELECTION and CERTIFIED STATEMENT OF RESULTS SADDLE ROCK METROPOLITAN DISTRICT
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN pursuant to § 1-13.5-513(6), C.R.S., that, at the close of business on March 4, 2025, there were not more candidates than offices to be filled, including candidates filing affidavits of intent to be write-in candidates, for Saddle Rock Metropolitan District (the “District”).
Therefore, the election for the District to be held on May 6, 2025 is hereby cancelled.
The following candidates for the District are declared elected by acclamation:
Richard King Until May 2029 Robert Miller Until May 2029
Jonathan Paul Rosman Until May 2029 /s/ Ashley B. Frisbie
Designated Election Official
Contact Person for District: Heather L. Hartung, Esq.
WHITE BEAR ANKELE TANAKA & WAL-
DRON
Attorneys at Law
2154 E. Commons Avenue, Suite 2000 Centennial, Colorado 80122 (303) 858-1800
Publication: April 10, 2025 Sentinel
NOTICE OF CANCELLATION OF ELECTION and CERTIFIED STATEMENT OF RESULTS
SADDLE ROCK SOUTH METROPOLITAN DISTRICT NO. 2
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN pursuant to § 1-13.5-513(6), C.R.S., that, at the close of business on March 4, 2025, there were not more candidates than offices to be filled, including candidates filing affidavits of intent to be write-in candidates, for Saddle Rock South Metropolitan District No. 2 (the “District”). Therefore, the election for the District to be held on May 6, 2025 is hereby cancelled.
The following candidates for the District are declared elected by acclamation:
JASON ELLIOT INZER Until May 2029
MORGAN HILL Until May 2029
TAYLOR CLOSE Until May 2029
The following offices remain vacant: VACANT Until May 2027
VACANT Until May 2027
/s/ Ashley B. Frisbie
Designated Election Official
Contact Person for District:
Heather L. Hartung, Esq.
WHITE BEAR ANKELE TANAKA & WALDRON
Attorneys at Law
2154 E. Commons Avenue, Suite 2000 Centennial, Colorado 80122 (303) 858-1800
Publication: April 10, 2025
Sentinel
NOTICE OF CANCELLATION OF ELECTION AND CERTIFIED STATEMENT OF RESULTS WATERSTONE METROPOLITAN DISTRICT NO. 1
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN, pursuant to
§1-13.5-513(6), C.R.S., that, at the close of business on March 4, 2025, there were not more candidates than offices to be filled, including candidates filing affidavits of intent to be write-in candidates, for the Waterstone Metropolitan District No. 1 (the “District”). Therefore, the election for the District to be held on May 6, 2025 is hereby cancelled.
The following candidates for the District are declared elected by acclamation:
KENT PEDERSEN Until May 2029
JOSEPH EDWARD HUEY Until May 2029
/s/ Ashley B. Frisbie
Designated Election Official
Contact Person for the District:
Clint C. Waldron, Esq.
WHITE BEAR ANKELE TANAKA & WALDRON Attorneys at Law
2154 E. Commons Avenue, Suite 2000 Centennial, Colorado 80122 (303) 858-1800
Publication: April 10, 2025 Sentinel
NOTICE OF CANCELLATION OF ELECTION and CERTIFIED STATEMENT OF RESULTS
TALLNY’S REACH METROPOLITAN DISTRICT NO. 2
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN pursuant to § 1-13.5-513(6), C.R.S., that, at the close of business on March 4, 2025, there were not more candidates than offices to be filled, including candidates filing affidavits of intent to be write-in candidates, for the Tallyn’s Reach Metropolitan District No. 2 (the “District”). Therefore, the election for the District to be held on May 6, 2025 is hereby cancelled.
The following candidates are declared elected by acclamation:
BJ Pell Until May 2027
Brian Baisch Until May 2029
The following offices remain vacant:
VACANT Until May 2027
VACANT Until May 2029
VACANT Until May 2029
/s/ Ashley B. Frisbie
Designated Election Official
Contact Person for District:
Blair M. Dickhoner, Esq.
WHITE BEAR ANKELE TANAKA & WALDRON
Attorneys at Law
2154 E. Commons Avenue, Suite 2000 Centennial, Colorado 80122 (303) 858-1800
Publication: April 10, 2025 Sentinel
NOTICE OF CANCELLATION OF ELECTION and CERTIFIED STATEMENT OF RESULTS
TALLYN’S REACH METROPOLITAN DISTRICT NO. 3
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN pursuant to
§ 1-13.5-513(6), C.R.S., that, at the close of business on March 4, 2025, there were not more candidates than offices to be filled, including candidates filing affidavits of intent to be write-in candidates, for the Tallyn’s Reach Metropolitan District No. 3 (the “District”). Therefore, the election for the District to be held on May 6, 2025 is hereby cancelled.
The following candidates are declared elected by acclamation: Harry P. Yosten Until May 2029
Brian Crandall Until May 2029
The following office remains vacant: VACANT Until May 2029
/s/ Ashley B. Frisbie
Designated Election Official
Contact Person for District: Blair M. Dickhoner, Esq. WHITE BEAR ANKELE TANAKA & WAL-
DRON
Attorneys at Law 2154 E. Commons Avenue, Suite 2000 Centennial, Colorado 80122 (303) 858-1800
Publication: April 10, 2025 Sentinel
NOTICE OF CANCELLATION OF ELECTIONS AND CERTIFIED STATEMENT OF RESULTS HILLTOP AT DIA METROPOLITAN DISTRICT NOS. 1-3
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN pursuant to § 1-13.5-513(6), C.R.S., that, at the close of business on March 4, 2025, there were not more candidates than offices to be filled, including candidates filing affidavits of intent to be write-in candidates, for each of the Hilltop at DIA Metropolitan District Nos. 1-3 (collectively, the “Districts”). Therefore, the elections for the Districts to be held on May 6, 2025 are hereby cancelled.
The following candidates for each of the Districts are declared elected by acclamation:
Andrea Renteria Until May 2027
VACANT Until May 2027
VACANT Until May 2027
VACANT Until May 2029
VACANT Until May 2029
/s/ Ashley B. Frisbie
Designated Election Official
Contact Person for Districts: Blair M. Dickhoner, Esq.
WHITE BEAR ANKELE TANAKA & WALDRON Attorneys at Law 2154 E. Commons Avenue, Suite 2000 Centennial, Colorado 80122 (303) 858-1800
Publication: April 10, 2025 Sentinel
NOTICE OF CANCELLATION OF ELECTIONS and CERTIFIED STATEMENT OF RESULTS Powhaton Road Metropolitan District NoS. 8, 10 & 11
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN, pursuant to §1-13.5-513(6), C.R.S., that, at the close of business on March 4, 2025, there were not more candidates than offices to be filled, including candidates filing affidavits of intent to be write-in candidates, for the Powhaton Road Metropolitan District Nos. 8, 10 & 11 (collectively the “Districts”). Therefore, the elections for the Districts to be held on May 6, 2025 are hereby cancelled.
The following offices remain vacant: VACANT Until May 2027
VACANT Until May 2027
VACANT Until May 2029 VACANT Until May 2029
/s/ Ashley B. Frisbie Designated Elections Official
Contact Person for the Districts:
Kristin J. Bowers, Esq.
White Bear Ankele Tanaka & Waldron Attorneys at Law 2154 E. Commons Avenue, Suite 2000 Centennial, Colorado 80122 (303) 858-1800
Publication: April 10, 2025 Sentinel
NOTICE OF CANCELLATION OF ELECTIONS AND CERTIFIED STATEMENT OF RESULTS THE GARDENS ON HAVANA METROPOLITAN DISTRICT NOS. 1-3
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN, pursuant to §1-13.5-513(6), C.R.S., that, at the close of business on March 4, 2025, there were not more candidates than offices to be filled, including candidates filing affidavits of intent to be write-in candidates, for The Gardens on Havana Metropolitan District Nos. 1-3 (collectively the “Districts”). Therefore, the elections for the Districts to be held on May 6, 2025 are hereby cancelled.
The following offices remain vacant:
VACANT Until May 2027
VACANT Until May 2029
VACANT Until May 2029
/s/ Ashley B. Frisbie Designated Election Official
Contact Person for the Districts: Kristin J. Bowers WHITE BEAR ANKELE TANAKA & WALDRON
Attorneys at Law 2154 E. Commons Avenue, Suite 2000 Centennial, Colorado 80122 (303) 858-1800
Publication: April 10, 2025 Sentinel
NOTICE OF CANCELLATION OF ELECTIONS and CERTIFIED STATEMENT OF RESULTS E-470 COMMERCIAL METROPOLITAN DISTRICT NOS. 1-3
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN pursuant to § 1-13.5-513(6), C.R.S., that, at the close of business on March 4, 2025, there were not more candidates than offices to be filled, including candidates filing affidavits of intent to be write-in candidates, for each of the E-470 Commercial Metropolitan District Nos. 1-3 (collectively, the “Districts”). Therefore, the elections for the Districts to be held on May 6, 2025 are hereby cancelled.
The following candidates for each of the Districts are declared elected by acclamation: James Spehalski Until May 2029
The following offices remain vacant for each District: VACANT Until May 2027
VACANT Until May 2027
VACANT Until May 2029
VACANT Until May 2029
/s/ Ashley B. Frisbie Designated Election Official
Contact Person for Districts: Kristin J. Bowers, Esq. WHITE BEAR ANKELE TANAKA & WALDRON Attorneys at Law 2154 E. Commons Avenue, Suite 2000 Centennial, Colorado 80122 (303) 858-1800
Publication: April
Editorials Sentinel
Local control is critical, but it can’t usurp the rights of people in Aurora and Pueblo
Arecurring problem facing Aurora, and many communities like it, is a wide misunderstanding of why observing the “rule of law” is critical for everyone. It serves people who uphold the law and want to see the laws followed, and it serves those accused of breaking the law.
In short, it’s the very foundation of the most important principle behind the United States: we are all equal.
Because we are equal, everyone — in theory, and with increasing practice over the last two centuries — must be treated the same way under the law. It means, in theory, that a Catholic priest caught running an illegal casino in the church basement is subject to the same laws and penalties as a Jewish rabbi running an illegal casino in the temple basement.
The 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution spells all of that out clearly. “...nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.”
All this has suddenly become a problem for the people who govern places like Aurora and Pueblo, as well as for people who live or visit there.
For the past few years, Aurora lawmakers have reached back into 1980s Colorado when a group of misguided conservatives rallied to “get tough on crime” as a way to prevent it.
The idea appeals to people who mostly follow the law. If you send people to prison for a long time for stealing a car or a bag of groceries, fewer people will steal cars and bags of groceries because they don’t want to go to prison.
It fails to appeal, however, to people who steal cars and groceries. Colorado, led by “lock them up” leaders like Jefferson County District Attorney Don Mielke in the 1980s, helped persuade lawmakers and the governor to send thousands of thieves to prison. It cost hundreds of millions of dollars. It did not prevent crime.
Numerous vetted and re-vetted studies have shown over and again that potential criminals are not impressed nor affected by “get tough on crime” policies.
It doesn’t matter how hard proponents of such a thing wish it weren’t true, or how many times they try it, whether the crime is jaywalking or murder, tougher punishment does not mean fewer jaywalkers or murderers.
The numbers don’t lie.
That hasn’t stopped places like Aurora, Pueblo and other cities across the state from turning up the local control and focusing on crime and punishment. Persuaded of their ability to go where no community or state has gone before, for the last few years Aurora has created harsh minimum and mandatory jail time for crimes like shoplifting — and even walking out on a $15 restaurant tab, which will net the scofflaw a mandatory three-day or better stay in the hoosegow.
Brag all they want, the data is unequivocal that it has done nothing to reduce crime any more than crime has fallen in every community surrounding Aurora.
But what Aurora has done, as well as Pueblo and burgs like Rifle, is set off the 14th Amendment alarm. If you get caught shoplifting $100 worth of shoes in a southeast Aurora store, you must go to jail for at least three days. If you steal the same shoes across Arapahoe Road in a store there, you might not, and in fact you probably would not, go to jail.
State lawmakers who care about how important, and unequivocal, all that “created equal” and “equal treatment” clause thing is have created and passed House Bill 25-1147, which expressly forbids cities like Aurora and Pueblo from creating places in the state that treat people differently for committing the same crime.
Like it or not, it makes sense. The rule of law and the 14th Amendment force everyone and every jurisdiction within a state to treat everyone the same. It’s the very foundation of Brown vs The Board of Education.
It doesn’t mean that Aurora and Pueblo can’t create their own laws and rules to govern their communities. Colorado is rife with allowing for local control, as it should.
Local control, guaranteed by the state Constitution, ensures that home-rule cities, like Aurora, are able to legislate a wide range of things that people care passionately about. Aurora can write and enforce laws that prohibit people from openly carrying firearms in the city, yet they don’t. Aurora can write and enforce laws that prohibit people from owning and harboring pit bull dogs, and they did, until last year. Colorado Springs has for years prohibited the retail sale of marijuana inside city limits, while Aurora has embraced it.
But if you are caught illegally selling marijuana in Aurora or Colorado Springs, the punishment must be, and is, the same.
The Sentinel staunchly supports the rights of communities like Aurora to address the needs of residents by empowering locally elected leaders to set a course for constituents that works best for them. But Aurora can no longer run afoul of the U.S. Constitution any more than a local homeowner association can impose rules or restrictions that run afoul of city rules and regulations.
Aurora officials have repeatedly defended their “get tough” jail sentencing philosophy with the fact that residents here have elected city council members to carry out that philosophy, and that if it was unappealing, they could just elect someone else.
Likewise, if Aurora and Pueblo are convinced that three days in jail prevents restaurant theft, they can work to elect state lawmakers who agree and change the sentencing for everywhere in Colorado.
As soon as this week, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis will get House Bill 25-1147 on his desk for either his signature, his veto, or to allow it to become law without his approval.
We know he is as strong a proponent of local control as the Sentinel, especially when it comes to issues of public safety. But we would hope that Polis’ deep appreciation for the rule of law and the Equal Protection Clause will guide him to sign the measure, rather than wait for the inevitable decision to be made by the courts.
Trump ignoring the rule of law
Ihave been writing about immigration for over two decades. I’ve been practicing immigration law for over three decades.
You could say I’m an expert.
For much of my professional life, I’ve tried to straddle the often invisible line between advocating for immigrant rights, and supporting government efforts to keep this country safe. I work with the government, when necessary, because it’s better to avoid the adversarial process and reach a good result for both the client and the country.
And never before, not even during the first Trump administration, a man for whom I voted twice, did I think that due process was in danger.
I can’t say that anymore.
The straw that broke the camel’s back happened when ICE removed, because they don’t say “deported” anymore, a man who had been granted protection by a Trump-era judge.
In 2019, Kilmar Abrego Garcia was arrested by ICE under suspicion of being a gang member. No evidence was presented in court about his alleged gang ties, nothing more than suggestions from confidential informants.
I say this, even though his alleged “gang ties” are irrelevant. The immigration judge, under Trump’s DOJ, found that Abrego would very likely be persecuted, tortured and even killed if he were forced to go back to his native country, El Salvador.
Let’s pause for a moment, while I give you some inside baseball.
The protection that Abrego Garcia was given is called “withholding of removal.” This is similar to asylum, but has a higher standard of proof.
For asylum, you need to prove to an immigration judge that you have a 10% chance of being persecuted if you are forced toreturn to your home country.
The standard is called “well founded fear” of persecution. For withholding, you have a higher bar to satisfy. You need to show that it is “more likely than not” that you will be in danger if you are returned.
In other words, you need to show at least a 51% chance that you will be harmed. I’ve had both sorts of cases, and I can promise you that withholding cases are much more difficult because of the evidentiary burden that my clients carry. I’ve won those cases, but it’s really quite a fight. When you satisfy that burden, a judge is then statutorily required to bar your“deportation” to your home country.
That means that even if you are not a nice person, a gang member let’s say, you are still entitled to protection from removal.
When ICE arrested Abrego Garcia last month, they knew that he had an order of withholding.
They knew, by their own admission, that he was protected by law from being sent back to El Salvador. They knew that this would be a violation of both domestic immigration law, and international human rights law.
And they put him on a plane and sent him to El Salvador, to one of the most dangerous and notorious prisons in the Western Hemisphere.
When the media got word of the story and it was publicized, the response from the government was, essentially, “oops.” And then it became, “and we can’t get him back because he’s El Salvador’s problem now.”
And then it became “and he was a gang member, trust us.”
Assuming that he was a gang member, even though there is no conclusive proof of that and even though an immigration judge would have mentioned that in his decision, the “oops” reaction is absolutely and fundamentally repellent.
That is because our government is essentially saying that it does not matter that they ignored a mandatory protection granted under the first Trump administration. It is saying that it did not need to go to court to have the order of withholding lifted by legal process. It is saying that my clients are in the same, tenuous situation.
It is saying that the government can unilaterally undo the decision of a judge, without any appellate review. That is not the sort of country I want to live in.
A friend on social media said that she hoped the government would deport as many people who were a danger to our country as possible. I told her that I wanted that, too, as long as they followed the law.
Due process is as important as national security.
As Ben Franklin, the greatest Philadelphian of all time wrote “Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.”
Conservatives always respected the rule of law. This one still does.
ChristineFlowersisanattorneyandacolumnistfor theDelawareCountyDailyTimes,andcanbereachedat cflowers1961@gmail.com.
CHRISTINE FLOWERS, CONTRIBUTING COLUMNIST
BROWN aka BRIAN BROWN, Deceased. All persons having claims against the above-named estate are required to present them to the Personal Representative or to the District Court of Arapahoe County, Colorado, on or before August 10, 2025, or the claims may be forever barred. Brandon Brown
Personal Representative c/o Baker Law Group, LLC 8301 E. Prentice Ave. #405 Greenwood Village, CO 80111 Phone: 303-862-4564
First Publication: April 10, 2025 Final Publication: April 24, 2025 Sentinel
NOTICE TO CREDITORS BY PUBLICATION
PURSUANT TO §15-12-801, C.R.S. Case No. 2025PR30348
Anna L. Burr, Esq. Atty Reg #: 42205 2851 S. Parker Road, Ste. 230 Aurora, CO 80014
Phone: 720-500-2076
First Publication: April 10, 2025
Final Publication: April 24, 2025
Sentinel
NOTICE TO CREDITORS BY PUBLICATION
PURSUANT TO §15-12-801, C.R.S. Case No. 2025PR30300
Estate of ROBIN LYNNE DAY aka ROBIN L. DAY aka ROBIN DAY, Deceased.
All persons having claims against the above-named estate are required to present them to the Personal Representative or to the District Court of Arapahoe County, Colorado, on or before August 3, 2025, or the claims may be forever barred.
Baylie Mueller
Personal Representative c/o Baker Law Group, LLC 8301 E. Prentice Ave. #405 Greenwood Village, CO 80111
Phone: 303-862-4564
First Publication: April 3, 2025 Final Publication: April 17, 2025
Sentinel
NOTICE TO CREDITORS BY PUBLICATION
PURSUANT TO §15-12-801, C.R.S. Case No. 2025PR30317
Estate of BRIAN WINDELL BROWN aka BRIAN W. BROWN aka BRIAN BROWN, Deceased.
All persons having claims against the above-named estate are required to present them to the Personal Representative or to the District Court of Arapahoe County, Colorado, on or before August 10, 2025, or the claims may be forever barred.
Brandon Brown Personal Representative c/o Baker Law Group, LLC 8301 E. Prentice Ave. #405 Greenwood Village, CO 80111
Phone: 303-862-4564
First Publication: April 10, 2025
Final Publication: April 24, 2025
Sentinel
NOTICE TO CREDITORS BY PUBLICATION
PUBLIC NOTIFICATION TO BIDDERS
Estate of Carolyn L. Longmire, Deceased. All persons having claims against the above-named estate are required to present them to the Personal Representative or to the District Court of Arapahoe County, Colorado, on or before August 11, 2025, or the claims may be forever barred. John R. Longmire, III Personal Representative 2459 Medinah Drive Evergreen, CO 80439
First Publication: April 10, 2025 Final Publication: April 24, 2025 Sentinel
NOTICE TO CREDITORS BY PUBLICATION
Food Bank of the Rockies is currently constructing a new facility located at 20600 E 38th Avenue, Aurora, CO, 80011, within the Majestic Commercenter. The facility is a 270,000 square foot tilt-up warehouse and office building. This is public notification to bidders interested in Building Package 2B scope of work, which includes the construction of 3 repack rooms within the tenant improvements package. Building Package 2B scope of work includes mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and specialty packages. Bid bonding will be required.
PURSUANT TO §15-12-801, C.R.S. Case No. 2025PR30356
Estate of Mary S. Arthur, Deceased. All persons having claims against the above-named estate are required to present them to the Personal Representative or to the District Court of Arapahoe County, Colorado, on or before August 11, 2025, or the claims may be forever barred. Mary A. Arthur Personal Representative 805 Melrose Ave. Lexington, KY 40502
Please contact Nick Elgin and Shaden Drazick if you are interested in bidding.
Nick Elgin: nick.elgin@caaicon.com
First Publication: April 10, 2025 Final Publication: April 24, 2025 Sentinel
Shaden Drazick: sdrazick@foodbankrockies.org
NOTICE TO CREDITORS BY PUBLICATION
PURSUANT TO §15-12-801, C.R.S. Case No. 2025PR33
Estate of Peter Tutrone, Deceased. All persons having claims aginst the above-named estate are required to present
Proposals are due by Monday, 5/19/2025 no later than 4:00 PM MST and will be publicly opened at the project job trailer located onsite 20600 E 38th Avenue, Aurora, CO, 80011 on Tuesday, 5/20/2025 at 1:00 PM MST.
PURSUANT TO §15-12-801, C.R.S. Case No. 2025PR30348
Estate of Carolyn L. Longmire, Deceased. All persons having claims against the above-named estate are required to present them to the Personal Representative or to the District Court of Arapahoe County,
NOTICE TO CREDITORS BY
