Regional News - The Durango Herald

Police deny sitting on evidence as Netflix doc brings renewed attention to JonBenet Ramsey’s killing

DENVER – Amid renewed interest in the killing of JonBenet Ramsey triggered in part by a new Netflix documentary, police in Boulder refuted assertions this week that there is viable evidence ...

DATE: Nov 29, 2024 | CATEGORY: Regional News

Colorado dentist accused of killing wife is charged with trying to kill investigator

James Craig is accused of poisoning his 43-year-old wife, recruiting inmate to murder detective

DATE: Nov 29, 2024 | CATEGORY: Regional News

Polis headed for another showdown with Democrats over union issues

Colorado governor quickly pooh-poohed labor movement’s priority bill

DATE: Nov 27, 2024 | CATEGORY: Regional News

Grand Junction resists calls to close unhoused resource center

Nearby business owners have asked shelter be closed because of gatherings

DATE: Nov 26, 2024 | CATEGORY: Regional News

Hickenlooper addresses concerns from college student leaders

Eight student body presidents met with senator

DATE: Nov 26, 2024 | CATEGORY: Regional News

Colorado PERA budget calls for 20% jump in spending to modernize its benefit system, even as state pivots toward austerity

The computer system PERA uses to track and pay out benefits is 40 years old – the oldest still in use by any public pension in the U.S.

DATE: Nov 24, 2024 | CATEGORY: Regional News

Colorado wolf advocates launch $50,000 anti-poaching reward

A nonprofit that advocates for the restoration of gray wolves in Colorado said this week that it will begin offering a reward of up to $50,000 for information on acts of illegal wolf poachin...

DATE: Nov 23, 2024 | CATEGORY: Regional News

The Western Slope just asked for federal climate dollars to buy crucial water rights. Trump wants to roll back the funding

A $99 million plan to buy and permanently preserve some of the oldest water rights in Colorado is inching closer to securing all of its funding. But President-elect Donald Trump’s promise to...

DATE: Nov 23, 2024 | CATEGORY: Regional News

Colorado funeral homeowners who let nearly 190 bodies decay plead guilty

COLORADO SPRINGS – The owners of a Colorado funeral home who let nearly 190 bodies decay in a room-temperature building and gave grieving families fake ashes pleaded guilty on Friday to corp...

DATE: Nov 22, 2024 | CATEGORY: Regional News

Some head to the mountains for Christmas trees – others let the Eastern Plains come to them

Little junipers are cut like a traditional Christmas tree and don’t come with any roots

DATE: Nov 22, 2024 | CATEGORY: Regional News

Colorado marijuana sales – and tax dollars – are still falling

Sales peaked in the 2020-21 budget year, netting $424 million in taxes for the state

DATE: Nov 22, 2024 | CATEGORY: Regional News

Jeff Hurd wants to bring the BLM back to Grand Junction

Trump moved agency to Colorado in 2020, but Biden moved it back to Washington D.C.

DATE: Nov 22, 2024 | CATEGORY: Regional News

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Photos: Durango High School girls swimmingDHS girls swimming hosts swim meet

DHS girls swimming hosts swim meet

Photos: People’s MarchAbout 300 people take to the street on Saturday in Durango

About 300 people take to the street on Saturday in Durango

Photos: Fort Lewis College basketballWomen’s and men’s basketball teams take on South Dakota Mines

Women’s and men’s basketball teams take on South Dakota Mines

Photos: Wrestling at Durango High SchoolDurango High School boys wrestling beat Bayfield High School Tuesday night

Durango High School boys wrestling beat Bayfield High School Tuesday night

Photos: Where there's smoke there's firefightersDurango firefighters take advantage of the old River City Hall building for training

Durango firefighters take advantage of the old River City Hall building for training

Photos: Durango plays Montezuma-Cortez in boys, girls high school basketballDurango girls and boys basketball teams defeat Montezuma-Cortez at DHS

Durango girls and boys basketball teams defeat Montezuma-Cortez at DHS

Year in photos: A look back at Southwest Colorado in 2024Each year brings some of the new and some of the old – breaking news and cherished traditions. It is the people, their emotions, different cultures and varied forms of entertainment that make for impactful images. Add to that Southwest Colorado’s gorgeous scenery, abundant wildlife and range of weather events, and you have the makings for stunning photos. We hope you enjoy Photo Editor Jerry McBride’s photos from 2024.

Each year brings some of the new and some of the old – breaking news and cherished traditions. It is...

Montezuma County DA Christian Hatfield charged with DWICharges come 16 weeks after crash near Farmington, New MexicoMontezuma County District Attorney Christian Hatfield was charged Friday with driving while under the influence of alcohol or drugs 16 weeks after he crashed his SUV on U.S. Highway 64 outside Bloomfield.The San Juan County Sheriff’s Office charged Hatfield, 59, with petty misdemeanor charge of DWI and an open container in connection to the Aug. 30 single-car crash.The charges come after results from a blood test by the New Mexico Department of Health Scientific Laboratory showed alcohol and a drug in Hatfield’s body after the crash.

“The results show that at the time of the blood draw, which was approximately eleven hours after the time of the crash due to medical issues, were 0.05 g/100 ml of Ethanol and 0.04 mg/L of Zolpidem (Ambien). Both Ethanol and Ambien are Central Nervous System Depressants,” the law enforcement report states.Two vials of blood were taken from Hatfield at 1:33 p.m. Aug. 30, which was more than 12 hours after the crash occurred about 1 a.m. Those vials were received by the New Mexico Department of Health Scientific Laboratory at 10:26 a.m. Oct. 11, which was six weeks after the crash, according to records from the lab.An investigation into the blood warrant by The Journal newspaper in Cortez, Colorado, showed that the blood sample sat in a refrigerator at the San Juan County Sheriff’s Office until Oct. 3, because paperwork to send it to the state laboratory was not processed.“I think it’s a non-prosecutable case because of all the errors made by law enforcement,” said Arlon Stoker, a high-profile defense attorney secured by Hatfield to fight the charges.

The charges made by the San Juan County Sheriff’s Office are “based on the observations made by law enforcement officers on scene and the presence of intoxicating drugs and liquors in Christian's blood,” according to the report that was given to The Journal by the New Mexico Foundation for Open Government.Amanda Lavin, legal director for NMFOG, assisted The Journal in accessing public records from the San Juan County Sheriff’s Office in Aztec. The records had been redacted, leaving out Hatfield’s name and information about the blood warrant filed in San Juan County Magistrate Court.Public records requests by The Journal and the Tri-City Record went unresolved for 14 weeks.The Journal requested body camera footage and lapel camera video on Sept. 3.The Tri-City Record requested any and all warrants, investigative reports and laboratory reports as well as photos, lapel cam videos and dash cam videos on Oct. 23.On Dec. 9, Lavin made the same requests.

The Journal received access to photos and videos in an email on Dec. 19, and Lavin, after making a legal argument for unredacted information, received the full report Dec. 19 and was advised that charges would be forthcoming.The report detailing the crash states that Hatfield was found “unresponsive and barely able to stand” about 1 a.m. Aug. 30 near the intersection of U.S. Highway 64 and County Road 5099.Investigators and medics noted a “pungent” odor of alcohol coming from Hatfield, and investigators found “an open 12-ounce can of Mexican Lager with residual liquid inside,” an “empty wine glass,” and a “bottle of Ambien prescribed to Christian,” according to the report.The affidavit for search warrant for blood submitted by sheriff’s deputy Avery Killifer states he had an “opinion that the defendant was driving under the influence of intoxicating liquor or a controlled substance.” The deputy “placed the defendant under arrest” at the time, but Hatfield was taken to San Juan Regional Medical Center, because of “extensive injuries.”A summons was issued for Hatfield, and an arraignment is set for 8:30 a.m. Jan. 8 in Aztec Magistrate Court.

Charges come 16 weeks after crash near Farmington, New Mexico

Photos: Wreaths Across America honors fallen veteransDurango residents on Saturday honor those who served their country

Durango residents on Saturday honor those who served their country

Photos: Skyhawks men’s and women’s basketball Fort Lewis College men’s and women’s basketball lost to Regis on Saturday

Fort Lewis College men’s and women’s basketball lost to Regis on Saturday

Police deny sitting on evidence as Netflix doc brings renewed attention to JonBenet Ramsey’s killing

Colorado dentist accused of killing wife is charged with trying to kill investigator

Polis headed for another showdown with Democrats over union issues

Grand Junction resists calls to close unhoused resource center

Hickenlooper addresses concerns from college student leaders

Colorado PERA budget calls for 20% jump in spending to modernize its benefit system, even as state pivots toward austerity

Colorado wolf advocates launch $50,000 anti-poaching reward

The Western Slope just asked for federal climate dollars to buy crucial water rights. Trump wants to roll back the funding

Colorado funeral homeowners who let nearly 190 bodies decay plead guilty

Some head to the mountains for Christmas trees – others let the Eastern Plains come to them

Colorado marijuana sales – and tax dollars – are still falling

Jeff Hurd wants to bring the BLM back to Grand Junction

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