Cortez teenager pleads guilty to killing woman
A Cortez teenager charged in a shooting that left one woman dead and another teen injured has pleaded guilty to second-degree murder.
Nineteen-year-old Jeroen Begay struck a deal with prosecutors and pleaded guilty Friday in the September death of 21-year-old Natalie Hatch. Prosecutors dropped two additional counts of attempted first-degree murder and agreed to recommend a 30-year-prison sentence.
Investigators say Begay killed Hatch and injured 18-year-old Quincy Yellow, both of Towaoc, after a fight that happened about half an hour earlier.
Begay is being held at the Montezuma County jail and is scheduled to be sentenced Sept. 2.
Earthquake hits near Ariz.-New Mexico line
CLIFTON, Ariz. – A 4.1 magnitude earthquake struck near the Arizona-New Mexico border, and officials say it was the largest in a series of aftershocks from a temblor last month.
The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake struck at 7:48 p.m. PDT Friday and was centered about 40 miles south of Clifton and 5 miles west of the New Mexico border.
USGS geophysicist Dale Grant said it was the largest of many aftershocks from a magnitude 5.2 quake that struck in the same area June 28. That quake was widely felt but caused no injuries or serious damages.
The Arizona Geological survey says aftershocks could hit the area for weeks or even months.
Riot Fest show still on despite permit denial
BYERS – Organizers of a three-day music festival near the small town of Byers say they plan to put on their show at an alternate, nearby location after the county denied them a permit for their original location.
Arapahoe County said Friday it would not grant organizers of Riot Fest a permit to hold the event at May Farms in September because Byers residents complained about massive traffic. But The Denver Post reported that Riot Fest announced on its Facebook page the festival would be held at another location being announced this week.
The festival includes performances from The Cure, Rise Against, Primus and The Flaming Lips.
Last year, Riot Fest brought about 15,000 people daily to Byers, a town of about 1,000 people 40 miles east of Denver.
Jet diverted to Salt Lake after lightning strike
DENVER – A Frontier Airlines official says one of its planes was diverted to Salt Lake City after it was hit by lightning.
Spokeswoman Tyri Squyres said Friday night’s lightning strike damaged the airplane’s weather radar. None of the 168 passengers was injured.
Squyres said the plane was traveling to Seattle when lightning hit around 6:50 p.m. Because of bad weather, she said it was not safe to return to its Denver starting point without the radar system, so it landed in Salt Lake City.
The flight remained there for several hours while repairs were made.
Officials with Frontier and the Salt Lake airport didn’t immediately return calls from The Associated Press. Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Allen Kenitzer said Saturday that he didn’t have any information about the diverted flight.
Kayaker flips, dies in Arkansas River
COLORADO SPRINGS – Authorities say a 40-year-old man died after his kayak flipped in the Arkansas River near Buena Vista.
The Chaffee County Sheriff’s Office says Johnathan M. Kennedy, of Fayetteville, Arkansas, was in the Pine Creek Rapid section of the river when his kayak flipped at about 3 p.m. Friday. KRDO-TV in Colorado Springs reported the man was pulled from the river a short time later about a mile downstream.
Bennet, Perlmutter urge change in pot-tax fines
DENVER – U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet and U.S. Rep. Ed Perlmutter are asking the Internal Revenue Service to waive penalties levied on marijuana businesses for paying taxes in cash.
The IRS charges a 10 percent penalty on cash payments for federal employee withholding taxes. Because pot is illegal under federal drug law, marijuana businesses have trouble accessing banking services despite federal guidance earlier this year on how banks may accept pot money.
Marijuana dispensary Allgreens LLC of Denver is challenging the IRS practice of fining cash payment with a lawsuit in U.S. Tax Court.
Herald staff and Associated Press
