NO DEATH PENALTY IN TRIPLE HOMICIDE
COUNTY» District BOULDER
Attorney Stan Garnett will not seek the death penalty against Garrett Coughlin, accused of fatally shooting three people in Coal Creek Canyon in April. Coughlin, 24, has been charged with three counts of first-degree murder after deliberation and three counts of felony murder in the deaths of Wallace White, 54, Kelly Sloat-White, 56, and Emory Fraker, 39.
He also is charged with one count of aggravated robbery.
While the murder charges are felonies that are eligible for the death penalty, Garnett said Tuesday he would not pursue it.
Garnett has been a vocal opponent of the death penalty in Colorado but previously said in this case that he would consider it.
Salida-bound German exchange students get the boot by U.S. immigration officials.
Eight German exchange students headed for Salida got a taste of increasing political tensions regarding immigration policy in the U.S. during the weekend.
Before being detained at Denver International Airport, immigration officials “insisted (the students) were coming in and taking work away from U.S. citizens, which is illegal since they have no work visa,” Susan Masterson, who has coordinated the exchange program for six years, told the Salida Mountain Mail. She was at the airport when the students were detained.
The students, who planned to spend three weeks in the southern Colorado mountain town, spent Friday night in a detention facility before they were deported to Germany. Immigration officials said the students were attempting to enter the country using the wrong visa, a tourist visa.
Water filter arrives amid cost concerns.
This city has received the second of two Air Forcesupplied water filters aimed at removing toxic chemicals fouling an underground aquifer.
The delivery Wednesday of the granular-activated carbon filters marked another milestone in Fountain’s efforts to avoid the fouled Widefield Aquifer, which is contaminated with chemicals linked to a Peterson Air Force Base firefighting foam.
But it also came amid deep concern by local leaders about the lack of further Air Force aid, especially as local communities spend millions of dollars addressing the issue.
Fountain last used the aquifer in 2015, and residents have been asked to conserve water while the city relies solely on the Pueblo Reservoir.
ElPasoCountypaying $68,000 to settle sexual harassment complaint.
El Paso County will pay nearly $68,000 to settle a sexual harassment complaint made by a sheriff’s employee who claimed she faced retaliation after reporting it.
The payout, approved by commissioners last week, marks the first time the county will spend taxpayer money on a settlement for employment-related claims against Sheriff Bill Elder’s office, according to spokesman Dave Rose.
The details of the charge, filed with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in April, are not public record.
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