EID COURT NOMINATION ADVANCES
State Supreme Court Justice Allison Eid’s nomination to replace Neil Gorsuch on a powerful federal appeals court in Denver took one step closer to confirmation Thursday as Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee pushed her through.
After an 11-9 party-line vote, Eid’s nomination now heads to the U.S. Senate floor.
Eid was picked for the post by President Donald Trump in June, and since then her selection has drawn ire from Democrats.
Eid, if her nomination is confirmed, would fill Gorsuch’s vacant seat on the 10th U.S. District Court of Appeals. Gorsuch left the position to join the U.S. Supreme Court.
Thornton man who sexually assaulted child sentenced to prison.
ADAMS
A 49-year-old man was sentenced Thursday to 24 years to life in prison for luring a child from a swimming pool to his nearby apartment, where he sexually assaulted the girl.
Moises Godoy was sentenced by Adams County District Judge Thomas Ensor to 24 years for kidnapping, 16 years to life for aggravated sexual assault on a child and six years to life for enticement of a child. The sentences will be served concurrently.
One of two teens charged in killing of chef pleads guilty.
One of two teens accused of murdering the chef of the Blackbird Public House pleaded guilty to second-degree murder charges, KMGHTV reported, while the other found out his case would remain in adult court.
Louis Lara-Macias, 16, pleaded guilty to the second-degree-murder charge Wednesday. His plea came in the middle of a hearing regarding a possible transfer of his case to juvenile court, according to the 18th Judicial District attorney’s office.
Lara-Macias faces 8 to 24 years in prison, according to sentencing guidelines in Colorado for class 2 felonies. He is scheduled to be sentenced Dec. 7.
The other teenager arrested in the case, 16-yearold Raheem Vaughn Benson, had a motion to have his case moved to juvenile court denied Wednesday. He previously pleaded not guilty to the crime.
The two are accused of killing Nick Lewis, executive chef at Blackbird Public House in Denver, on Oct. 1, 2016. Few details have been released.
CDOT’s failed computer system costs taxpayers.
A state communications official has confirmed that the Colorado Department of Transportation paid $340,000 for a cloud computer backup system that never went live.
KCNC-TV reported Wednesday that its investigation into the system found CDOT paid nearly $16,000 per month for almost two years.
Amy Ford, CDOT communications director, says the system wasn’t as secure as the department needed. She called it a process that didn’t work in favor of taxpayers’ funds.
CDOT entered into a contract in 2015 to purchase 2,100 licenses from Hewlett-Packard. Ford said officials worked with experts to get the system running, but it couldn’t meet the department’s security requirements.
She says the department now has a more expense deal with Hewlett-Packard, but that this system’s security is “military grade.” — The Associated Press