The Colorado Springs Gazette

Kitten killer sentenced

A man who pleaded guilty to video recording himself torturing and killing a kitten is scheduled to be sentenced Monday, according to our news partners at KKTV. Robert Heckmann faces up to 18 months in prison. Heckmann pleaded guilty to the charges for a second time in May, after a judge rejected his first plea. Investigators say they...
Woman robbed at knife point in Citadel Mall parking lot

Colorado Springs police are on the lookout after a woman reported being robbed at knife point in the Citadel Mall parking lot Saturday. The victim was approaching her car about 2:10 p.m. when a man armed with a knife demanded her property, police said. The robber then got into a silver-colored four-door sedan driven by another man and fled...
Homeless Colorado Springs man emboldened by Occupy effort appeals jail time

Nearly three years ago, Steven Bass' tent led to a police ticket - a ticket that led to a trial, an appeal denied and 160-day sentence in El Paso County jail. Bass, the first person cited under Colorado Springs' camping ban, remains mired in a legal battle backed by a University of Denver assistant professor working for free. He represents...
63-year-old Colorado Springs man suspected of meth possession

A 63-year-old man remained in jail Monday after police said a traffic violation stop led to the recovery of suspected methamphetamine and cash from the vehicle he was driving. John Chew was arrested on suspicion of unlawful possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance, driving after revocation prohibited and traffic violations,...
Domestic violence suspect caught after chase

A man was arrested Friday on suspicion of domestic violence after he tried to evade police near a Sam's Club on Academy Blvd. Ryan Ross, 21, was seen near the Sam's Club at 715 South Academy Blvd. around 5:15 p.m. When police said Ross saw police and he tried to run away. Additional officers helped take him into custody and he was booked at...
Man with gunshot wound found near Citadel Mall

A man with a gunshot wound was found in a Colorado Springs parking lot Friday night, police said, but he did not suffer life-threatening injuries. Colorado Springs police found the man around 10:30 p.m. near the 3600 block of Citadel Drive North, after responding to reports of gunshots. The man was taken to a local hospital, police said. No...
Man's alleged road rage captured by surveillance cameras

A 23-year-old man was arrested after he allegedly fired a gunshot above another vehicle in a road rage incident that was caught on surveillance video, Colorado Springs Police said. Adam Cooley, 23, and another driver got into a dispute over exiting and entering a parking lot on the 2800 block of East Pikes Peak Avenue. After arguing with...
Man found stabbed in parking lot of Colorado Springs bar

A 39-year-old man who was stabbed multiple times was found in the parking lot near the Robin Hood bar Saturday morning, Colorado Springs Police said. Police said that the man was found near the bar at 2830 North Nevada Ave. around 2:15 a.m. and was taken to Penrose Hospital for surgery. Police said he was in stable condition but they declined...
Man sought for alleged sexual assault at Colorado Springs hotel

A 35-year-old man allegedly tried to rape a woman in a hotel room, after he pinned her to a bed and robbed her, Colorado Springs police said. Jermaine Antonetty allegedly met the 19-year-old woman earlier in the night, police said, and was given her room number at the America's Best Inn at 430 Garden of the Gods Rd. Police said that...
Colorado Springs man arrested for allegedly threatening neighbor with handgun

A 50-year-old man threatened his neighbor with a handgun after entering the person's home Friday, Colorado Springs Police said. Michael Sorenson went into his neighbor's home on 305 Kenady Circle, police said, as part of an ongoing dispute between the two. Police did not specify the gender of the neighbor. Sorenson was arrested on suspicion...
Colorado Springs apartments evacuated while police search for man on the run

A 22-year-old man who ran away from police after a traffic stop and tried to hide in the attic of an apartment complex was arrested Friday, after Colorado Springs police officers evacuated the complex in search of him. Officers used a K-9 unit to search the Townhouse Apartments, at 3125 East Fountain Blvd. in search of Delaino Padilla, police...
Colorado Springs man gets life in prison for murder of his pregnant wife

A Colorado Springs man was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole Friday morning. Jurors found Andre Jones guilty in the murder of his pregnant wife earlier this week in 4th Judicial District Court. The only option for his sentence was life without the possibility of parole, a spokeswoman for the District Attorney's...
Passenger cited after bringing loaded gun in carry-on luggage to Colorado Springs Airport

A passenger trying to board a plane Thursday evening at Colorado Springs Airport was found with a loaded gun in his carry-on luggage, according to the Transportation Security Administration. A TSA employee discovered the loaded firearm at 7:15 p.m. at the checkpoint of the airport. It was a .22 caliber Derringer revolver, loaded with five...
Man hospitalized after shooting self in foot

A 53-year-old Colorado Springs man was seriously injured after he shot himself in the foot in his home, Colorado Springs Police said. Police said the man, who lives on the 1900 block of south El Paso Street, shot himself with a handgun on Friday morning around 10:55 a.m. The man, who was not identified, was taken to a local hospital. The...
Man arrested in alleged sexual assault near Colorado Springs swim area

A 41-year-old Colorado Springs man was arrested on suspicion of sexually assaulting a woman near the swim area of Prospect Lake. William Graham Jr., Colorado Springs police said, allegedly assaulted a 32-year-old woman sometime between 8 p.m. Tuesday and 6 a.m. Wednesday. Graham was taken to the El Paso County jail, police said.
El Paso County sheriff's spokesman Jeff Kramer reassigned

Lt. Jeff Kramer will no longer be public information officer for the El Paso County Sheriff's Office. Kramer, who was the primary spokesman for Sheriff Terry Maketa for more than two years, announced Thursday that he is moving to a job in the Sheriff's Office patrol division. Kramer was in the spotlight with the Sheriff's Office during such...
Judge could approve $3.3M Denver jail-abuse payout

DENVER — A federal judge says he will likely accept a proposed $3.3 million settlement offer from the city of Denver to a former inmate who said a sheriff's deputy encouraged other inmates to beat him. But U.S. District Judge John Kane said after a closed hearing Thursday unresolved issues remain in the case involving Jamal Hunter....
Man held after wild car-theft spree near Denver

GOLDEN — A man wielding a rifle and a handgun hijacked a car, burst through a garage door in a stolen SUV and tried to commandeer two state-owned dump trucks before a deputy wrestled him to the pavement on a highway west of Denver, authorities said. No major injuries were reported in the Wednesday drama, which unfolded as a news crew shot...
Judge: James Holmes sanity exam can be recorded

CENTENNIAL — A psychiatrist will be allowed to video-record the second sanity evaluation of the man charged with a mass killing in a Colorado movie theater, despite his lawyer's objections, a judge ruled Thursday. It wasn't clear whether the video of defendant James Holmes could be shown to jurors during his trial on murder and attempted...
Two dead in Fort Collins shooting

Two men are dead in a reported murder-suicide in southwest Fort Collins. Fort Collins police and other emergency personnel responded to the shooting incident in the city's southwest corner shortly before 1 p.m. Thursday. An informant told police that her husband had shot a family member and then himself. Upon arriving to the scene on the...