CITY, ESTATE SETTLE FOR ALMOST $1M IN SHOOTING
CHEYENNE» A city in Wyoming has settled a lawsuit over a fatal shooting by two police officers.
Attorneys for the estate of John Randall Veach said Tuesday they settled the lawsuit for $925,000 in damages.
Rawlins police Sgt. Jared Frakes and Officer Joe Balestrieri shot and killed the Fort Collins man in a gas station parking lot in December 2015.
A prosecutor from a county elsewhere in Wyoming concluded the shooting was justified. Attorneys for Veach’s estate say the officers killed him “execution style” while he was trying to drive away. They say the officers weren’t in danger and killed Veach without reason.
They say the department failed to discipline its officers.
Rawlins City Attorney Amy Bach and City Manager Scott Hannum did not immediately return phone messages seeking comment.
Man, dog found dead after motor home fire.
CORTEZ» Investigators say propane space heaters are thought to have caused a motor home fire in southwestern Colorado that left a man and his dog dead.
Montezuma County Sheriff Steve Nowlin says the 1978 motor home was “engulfed” in flames when firefighters arrived on the scene in Cortez early Sunday morning. The Cortez Journal reported neighbors awakened by explosions, likely from the propane tanks, called 911.
The victim has been identified as 63-year-old Patrick Goddard, a longtime resident of the area.
Man gets probation for vandalizing Colorado Capitol building.
A man who broke several bust sculptures, glass display cabinets and other items inside the Colorado Capitol building was sentenced to two years of supervised probation.
KUSA-TV reported 26year-old Elias Dominguez pleaded guilty to seconddegree burglary and was sentenced Thursday.
Denver police say two people identified Dominguez as the man who entered the Capitol based on the building’s surveillance footage. The video showed the man entering the building through a broken security door on Jan. 27 at about 2:30 a.m., breaking several bust sculptures, throwing other items off a second-floor balcony and waving at a security camera in the elevator.
Fort Collins picks developer for affordable housing project.
Fort Collins selected a developer to design and build about 60 affordable homes on property withdrawn from the city’s land bank program.
The Coloradoan reported the city has chosen Indiana-based TWG Development LLC, which specializes in affordable housing projects.
The city’s social policy and housing program manager, Sue Beck-Ferkiss, says the homes are planned to be sold to households earning less than 80 percent of the area median income.
She says that translates to about $54,500 for a couple and $68,100 for a family of four.
The city has projected having about 4,330 affordable housing units by 2024, but it expects to need an additional 800 units to meet growing demand.
Beck-Ferkiss says the deal with TWG is still under negotiation.