Three massage parlor owners coerced their employees into having sex with customers in exchange for money for more than a year at their spas in Denver and Lakewood, according to a human trafficking investigation led by the Colorado Attorney General’s Office. A state grand jury indicted Hye Kyeung Seo, 49, Sang Hyon Shim, 59, and […]
Beth McCann
Posted inCrime and Courts, News
Denver district attorney’s husband sentenced to 10 days in jail for attempted arson
The husband of Denver District Attorney Beth McCann was sentenced Thursday to 10 days in jail for leaving slash piles burning unattended in northern Colorado last year. Christopher Linsmayer was charged after he left several slash piles burning near his property outside Kremmling last October. He pleaded guilty in July to attempted arson and must […]
Posted inCrime and Courts, News
Denver DA’s husband pleads guilty to two counts of attempted arson
The husband of Denver’s District Attorney pleaded guilty Thursday to leaving several slash fires burning unattended near his home in Grand County during a fire ban last year. Christopher Linsmayer, 69, pleaded guilty to two counts of attempted arson, one felony and one misdemeanor, in exchange for a deferred sentence, according to the 14th Judicial […]
Posted inOpinion, Opinion Columns
Opinion: Legislation to reduce Colorado’s jail populations makes sense for safety and social justice
This past summer’s worldwide protests against police brutality and calls to defund the police greatly increased discussions and renewed awareness of widespread structural and institutional racism that is normalized in America. The racial justice movement in America was clearly alive and well. It finally seemed possible to many that we could make substantial changes to […]
Posted inCrime and Courts, News
Black, Hispanic people disadvantaged in Denver courts, study of felony cases shows
A study of decisions made by the Denver district attorney’s office has said Black and Hispanic people charged with felonies in Denver face “a persistent set of disadvantages” compared with their white peers. The study found that white people facing drug charges were more likely than Black or Hispanic people to be referred to drug […]
Posted inCrime and Courts, News
Two of three teens arrested in fatal northeast Denver fire will face adult murder charges
Two of the three teenage boys accused of murder related to a house fire that killed five members of a family in northeast Denver last summer will be tried as adults and Denver’s district attorney is asking for the case of a third defendant to be moved from juvenile court. Denver District Attorney Beth McCann […]
Posted inOpinion, Opinion Columns
Silverman: Police, and Cory Gardner, should reject Donald Trump
Prosecutors depend on police. And vice versa. Juries once trusted police. Now, citizens want and expect body cam footage. COVID-19 and police brutality have America’s criminal justice system reeling. Protests abound. Cities and states are going broke. Crime will increase. People are on edge. Denver District Attorney Beth McCann declined to file charges in the police shooting […]
Posted inCrime and Courts, News, Politics and Government
Colorado poised to revisit murder law that can send people to prison for life — even when they didn’t kill anyone
Jeff Johnson. Lisl Auman. Curtis A. Brooks. All three were convicted of first-degree murder in Colorado, which carries an automatic life sentence without the possibility of parole. None of them killed anyone. But Colorado’s felony murder law, similar to statutes across the nation, allows for defendants to be charged and found guilty of first-degree murder […]
Posted inOpinion, Opinion Columns
McCann: Keeping our community safe from gun violence by averting potential disaster
In January, Colorado’s Extreme Risk Protection Order or “red flag” law takes effect, as readers of The Colorado Sun know from Jesse Paul’s recent story: “Colorado’s guidance to police on the red flag law doesn’t include what to do if someone won’t give up their guns.” Pursuant to the new law, a family member or […]
Posted inCrime and Courts, News, Politics and Government
Recent mass shootings have renewed debate about universal background checks. Here’s how they’ve worked in Colorado.
A pair of mass shootings over the weekend in Texas and Ohio that left more than 30 dead reignited the national debate about gun violence and how to prevent it. One of the suggestions being floated once again is a federal universal background check for gun purchases and transfers. Thousands of private gun sales have […]