Tracking what's destroying Colorado
A curated collection of bills, news, and resources about Colorado politics and policy
A curated collection of bills, news, and resources about Colorado politics and policy
Colorado public safety news, criminal justice policy, and law enforcement updates.
17 articles tagged with "Crime"
In a letter to constituent Mark, Rep. Brittany Pettersen (D-CO) expresses outrage over the recent killing of Renee Nicole Good by an ICE agent in Minneapolis, blaming President Trump's "lawless, anti-immigrant agenda" for terrorizing communities and lacking oversight. She criticizes ICE for detaining legal residents and convicted criminals alike, often without criminal histories, and highlights the emotional toll on families. Pettersen touts her sponsorship of legislation requiring ICE agents to operate unmasked and in marked vehicles, her vote against additional ICE funding or authority, and her call for DHS Secretary Kristi Noem's resignation or impeachment over failed oversight in Texas border operations and FEMA search-and-rescue efforts.
Colorado's newly introduced SB26-005 creates a civil cause of action allowing anyone injured during immigration enforcement to sue participants—including potentially private citizens who provide tips to ICE—if a U.S. Constitution violation is alleged. Sponsored by Democrats like Sen. Mike Weissman and Julie Gonzales, the bill ignores federal supremacy on immigration and could chill public cooperation with deportation efforts. As of January 15, 2026, it's under consideration in the Senate Judiciary Committee, part of a broader Democratic push to regulate and obstruct federal immigration actions amid Trump's mass-deportation policies.
A citizen journalist account, @dobetterdnvr, posted an urgent safety alert for women in Denver following a violent attack on a female jogger near Broadway and Louisiana avenues on January 7, 2026, around 6pm. The unknown male suspect tackled, strangled, and attempted to abduct the victim, who fought back and escaped with help from a Good Samaritan. The post highlights police delays due to underfunding and understaffing, urging anyone with information to contact Denver Police, and emphasizes the need for safer neighborhoods.
In this X post by @GovtsTheProblem, a small-government advocate, Colorado Democrats are lambasted for turning Denver into one of America's least safe cities per WalletHub's latest Safest Cities in America rankings. Denver lands at a dismal 162nd out of 182 cities with a total score of 42.86, ranking worse than Albuquerque (154th), St. Louis (157th), and Chicago (161st) in overall safety, which factors in home/community safety, natural disasters, and financial security. The attached screenshot shows the tail end of the list, emphasizing Denver's poor 172nd place in home and community safety. Replies echo the sentiment, blaming leftist policies for rising crime, with one user noting Colorado's high violent crime rate (7th worst nationally per U.S. News), and others mocking Governor Polis while highlighting dangers like lenient laws on murderers. The post, dated January 3, 2026, has garnered over 330 likes and sparks discussion on #copolitics, portraying Democratic governance as a recipe for urban decay.
A Colorado conservative account highlights a staggering 306% surge in Medicaid spending on pediatric behavioral therapies from 2018-2024, linking it to potential overbilling and fraud driven by private equity-backed providers. Drawing parallels to Minnesota's exploding autism and child services fraud scandals—where billions in taxpayer dollars have been stolen through fake claims and non-existent services—the post warns that Colorado risks the same fate without urgent oversight and reforms.
In a stunning display of misplaced priorities, Colorado House Republicans, led by Rep. Brandi Bradley, proposed a straightforward bill to crack down on surging retail theft—up 6% last year with over 40,000 cases and a staggering $1 billion in losses to organized crime. But Democrats in the legislature shot it down, bizarrely claiming property crime is "decreasing" despite mountains of evidence to the contrary. Meanwhile, in the same session, they rammed through a radical bill making Colorado the first state to criminalize "misgendering" on death certificates, forcing coroners and funeral directors to list preferred pronouns over biological sex—potentially leading to absurdities like men "dying from ovarian cancer" and women from "prostate cancer." This not only tramples religious freedoms but diverts focus from real crises like business-killing theft rings. As businesses lock up basics like deodorant and families flee the chaos, this episode underscores a legislature obsessed with woke symbolism over public safety and common sense.
In a shocking repeat offense, Austin Benson, 36, faces dismissal of 23 felony charges—including four counts of attempted murder—for randomly shooting and severely injuring three people in Aurora, Colorado, on June 27, 2024. One victim was left paralyzed, another suffered shattered bones, and the third endured multiple gunshot wounds. This comes after Benson was arrested in 2018 for a nearly identical crime: firing an AK-47 at strangers while driving. That case dragged on for five years before charges were dropped due to mental incompetence, with the same rifle returned to his wife—only for Benson to use it in the 2024 attack. Now, deemed unrestorable to competency, he's headed for indefinite commitment in a locked mental health facility, but critics slam the system for failing to act sooner, allowing preventable violence.
The Aurora Police Department released city camera footage of a fatal November 2025 pursuit involving a stolen vehicle that crashed into a pole at Alameda and Peoria, killing both occupants. The passenger, 41-year-old Sheena Fuentes, had been arrested in October for accessory to murder in a Del Mar Circle homicide and was out on bond; the driver, 52-year-old Manuel Tovar, boasted an "extensive criminal history." The pair fled at high speed, lost control during a turn, and died on scene. APD stressed that most pursuit suspects have criminal backgrounds (only 16% end in crashes) and reiterated their commitment to accountability, warning that fleeing endangers lives. The post sparked backlash in replies, with users slamming Colorado's "catch-and-release" policies, demanding names of judges and DAs who freed Fuentes, and linking the incident to broader state lawlessness under Gov. Polis.
A horrific crash in Franktown, Colorado, claimed five lives—including a father and his three young children—when 31-year-old parolee Walter Huling, driving a stolen Ford sedan with five juveniles inside, lost control and collided head-on with an oncoming vehicle on November 24, 2025. Huling, who had a lengthy rap sheet including assault, burglary, sexual assault, and weapons charges dating back to 2013, had just hours earlier carjacked the vehicle at an Aurora RTD station by yanking the owner out. Despite multiple prison terms, including six years for a 2019 assault, Huling was free on parole under Democratic Governor Jared Polis's administration. This tragedy highlights ongoing concerns about Colorado's lenient criminal justice reforms allowing repeat offenders back on the streets.
In a viral X post, citizen journalist @dobetterdnvr exposes a brazen open-air drug operation at a brick house on 44th & Sherman in Denver's Globeville neighborhood. Neighbors report RVs circling like a "support fleet" for dealers, with stolen bikes being unloaded from trailers— all just two blocks from an elementary school where kids walk by daily. Despite repeated calls to Denver Police, city policies under Mayor Mike Johnston have "tied their hands," allowing the operation to simply relocate 40 feet when tagged and resume business in minutes. The post, viewed over 6,000 times, sparks outrage in replies, with users slamming bureaucratic red tape and calling it a symptom of unchecked urban decay.
The shocking Oklahoma bust – where state troopers pulled over 125+ semi-trucks in just three days, every single one driven by illegal aliens wielding fraudulent "No Name Given" commercial driver's licenses from sanctuary states like California and New York – exposes a terrifying reality for Colorado. Our state sits smack in the middle of America's trucking superhighway: I-70 (the main artery from California through the Rockies to the East Coast) and I-25 (the north-south spine from New Mexico to Wyoming). That means hundreds, if not thousands of these same unvetted, unidentified ghost drivers thunder through Colorado every single day at 80 mph, hauling 80,000-pound missiles with zero verifiable identity, no real background checks, and often limited English skills. One blown tire, one wrong lane change on an icy mountain pass, and entire Colorado families could be wiped out – all courtesy of blue-state policies that prioritize illegal aliens over American safety.
In a January 2025 legislative hearing covered by CBS Colorado (with updates through November 2025), Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Director Chris Schaefer faced bipartisan criticism over the agency's handling of a major scandal involving former senior forensic scientist Yvonne "Missy" Woods, a 29-year veteran charged with over 100 felonies for allegedly manipulating, deleting, or omitting DNA data in thousands of cases dating back to at least 2008; a subsequent CBI internal report clarified she deviated from protocols and posted incomplete results without fabricating matches, potentially affecting over 1,045 cases (including hundreds of sexual assaults and at least one vacated murder conviction), contributing to severe rape kit backlogs, costing taxpayers more than $11 million for retesting and reviews, while CBI notified prosecutors but not defendants or victims directly, prompting ongoing criminal proceedings against Woods and legislative efforts for greater transparency and oversight.
In a City Journal article, author Steven Malanga argues that Colorado, Washington, and Oregon—once booming magnets for domestic migrants—are now exhibiting early signs of decline mirroring California's long-running dysfunction, driven by a shift to one-party Democratic rule and the adoption of progressive policies on energy, housing, taxes, and regulation. Key indicators include reversing migration trends (e.g., Colorado's net domestic gains plummeting from 390,000 in 2010-2020 to just 24,000 since 2020), lagging job growth below national averages, skyrocketing housing costs (e.g., Portland and Seattle's price-to-income ratios exceeding 6:1), and urban decay from crime and homelessness, as seen in Portland's post-2020 riots slashing police forces and Denver's high vacancy rates amid lax enforcement. While not yet as severe as California's "mirage," these states face budget shortfalls (e.g., Washington's $6-12 billion gap) and business flight, contrasting with thriving red states like Texas and Florida; Malanga warns that without policy reversals, the "California dream" will become a full nightmare.
A Democrat-appointed Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI) DNA scientist, Yvonne 'Missy' Woods, was found to have manipulated DNA evidence, omitting critical results and violating data integrity standards. The case prompted a sweeping audit of the lab, questions about the adequacy of CBI oversight, and an ongoing criminal probe, raising broader concerns about institutional accountability under current state leadership.
The Common Sense Institute’s October 2025 analysis of Colorado Bureau of Investigation data shows that violent and property crime rates in the state’s ten largest cities peaked in the early 2020s and have since declined in nearly every jurisdiction through the first half of 2025. Denver leads with the highest violent crime rate (235 per 100,000) and property crime rate (1,122 per 100,000), while Aurora has recorded the steepest drops—36% in violent crime since 2022 and 44% in property crime since 2021. Only Colorado Springs saw violent crime rise (up 12% since 2022). The report notes $27 billion in statewide economic losses from crime in 2022 and urges leaders to identify which local policies correlate with the sharpest reductions.
Introduced on January 29, 2025, by Republican Rep. Bradley and a bipartisan group of House sponsors alongside Sen. Carson, HB 25-1141 aimed to toughen penalties for repeat retail thieves by mandating sentencing to at least the midpoint of the presumptive range for anyone convicted of burglary, robbery, theft, or related property crimes from a store if they had two prior similar convictions (including municipal equivalents) within the last four years—building on existing mandatory minimums for felony theft. The bill also clarified theft valuations for gift cards at their full face or maximum potential value (even if unloaded) to close loopholes exploited by organized crime rings, and added gift cards to the forgery statute for written instruments. Despite addressing Colorado's skyrocketing retail theft epidemic—estimated at over $1 billion in losses annually—the Democrat-controlled House Judiciary Committee killed it on February 25, 2025, via a 6-3 party-line vote to postpone indefinitely, after a failed 3-6 motion to advance it to Appropriations.
Ross Woessner, a 21-year-old Aurora resident arrested in March 2025 by the Gang Robbery Investigative Team (GRIT) for six armed robberies at a Shell gas station between July 2024 and February 2025, where he used a knife or gun to steal items like vapes and beer. An Arapahoe County judge dismissed all felony charges, including aggravated robbery and menacing with a firearm, on November 6, 2025, following a psychiatric evaluation that deemed Woessner permanently incompetent to stand trial under Colorado's HB24-1034 law, enacted in July 2024 to address a backlog of over 1,000 competency cases. This law mandates dismissal of charges for unrestorable defendants, leading to his release despite a prior dismissed 2023 robbery charge and a pending April 2025 strangulation case in Denver, sparking outrage online—amplified by Libs of TikTok’s 11,000+ likes—and calls for mandatory psychiatric commitments and legislative reform, with Republicans collecting 6,000 signatures to amend the law.