Colorado
Colorado carjackers lead cops on wild chase — and pose for near-perfect mugshots
A pair of teenage Colorado carjackers led police on a high-speed chase that ended in a ball of fire — and a pair of mugshots that also went down in flames.
Police arrested 19-year-olds Michael Howell-McGlynn and Kristine Elisabeth Romero Thursday after pulling them from the burning wreck of a 2015 Subaru Forrester — which was previously reported stolen in an armed carjacking.
Officers with the Larimer County Sheriff’s Office spotted the SUV idling in a parking lot in Berthoud just after 4 a.m. that morning, but when they attempted to stop it at an intersection the teens sped off.
The dynamic duo quickly accelerated speeds in excess of 100 mph, and the police followed in hot pursuit, per a statement from sheriff’s office.
When the suspects slowed down at the approach of another intersection, officers rammed their car in an attempt to stop them. The Subaru hit a curb, then landed on a nearby tree and burst into flames.
Officers rushed to pull Howell-McGlynn and Romero from the car, also recovering a rifle from the burning wreck.
They were taken to the hospital and treated for injuries, and after being released a short time later were booked at the Larimer County Jail.
Both suspects appeared wholly defeated and down on their luck in their mug shots, with the tattooed and mustachioed Howell-McGlynn looking drearily into the camera with his head wrapped forehead-to-chin in bandages, and a thick drop of blood fresh on his chest.
But Romero stole the show, modeling a mop of two-toned, frizzed-out hair with bangs coming down past her eyes, metallic silver eye shadow, and a busted fat-lip with a bloodied chin while she glared up at the ceiling.
Commenters on Larimer County’s Facebook page panned the teens for their unruly appearances.
“Did y’all also find 101 Dalmatians in the trunk?!” wrote one.
“Halloween was over two weeks ago,” said another.
Cops charged Howell-McGlynn, the driver of the stolen car, with reckless driving, obstructing a peace officer, and vehicular eluding resulting in bodily injury to another.
His pal Romero was booked for conspiracy to commit a class 4 felony — reserved for crimes of violence or extraordinary risk of harm — and for an outstanding warrant for assault on a peace officer.
“This driver’s reckless behavior shows a disturbing disregard for the safety of others,” Larimer County Sheriff John Feyen said.
“Our deputies will continue to protect this community and apprehend dangerous criminals who threaten lives and property in Northern Colorado.”
Colorado
Former Colorado police officer charged in connection with chokehold, lying about traffic stop
Prosecutors charged a former Englewood police officer on Tuesday for his alleged actions during a traffic stop south of Denver last month, where he’s accused of shocking a man with a taser, putting him in a chokehold, and lying about the interaction.
Former Englewood Police Officer Ryan Scott Vasina was charged with second-degree assault, a felony, first-degree official misconduct, and third-degree assault, both misdemeanors, in connection with an Oct. 8 traffic stop near West Union Avenue and South Broadway.
Vasina radioed that the 20-year-old man he stopped for allegedly running a stop sign and who didn’t speak English, was physically resisting and fighting with him. A review of his body-worn camera footage by CBS News Colorado and investigators showed that to be false. Vasina still tased the man and pulled him out of his car.
“It is evident from the video footage of the interaction between Officer Vasina and the driver that a language barrier existed, and that Vasina responded with visible frustration and anger,” Assistant District Attorney Ryan Brackley said in a statement on Tuesday. “The initial nexus of the stop was a car driving by Vasina that changed lanes in a way that appeared ‘suspicious’ to Vasina. The penalty for failing to stop at a stop sign or even refusing to provide identification does not warrant a use of force response that Vasina engaged in, particularly where there was no active resistance, threatening language, furtive movements or attempts to flee or evade.”
The man he stopped was not identified by officials, but he spoke Spanish throughout the interaction. Vasina speaks in some Spanish, asking the man for his license, and the man replies, “porque,” the Spanish word for “why?” He appeared compliant otherwise, turning off his car when Vasina told him to. Vasina repeatedly says “let me see your f*****g hands” multiple times and the man’s hands are raised, with just his phone in one hand.
After Vasina tases him, pulls him out of the car, and throws him on the ground, the bodycam footage goes black for a few seconds, indicating it was up against the man’s back and Vasina’s actions during those few seconds can’t be seen from that angle, but dashboard camera footage from Vasina’s patrol car shows the officer on top of the man.
The man then says in broken English, “I don’t know what you say,” and “translator please.”
Moments later, the man repeatedly says, “my neck,” and then “water for me, please.” Vasina replies, “not right now.”
As Vasina starts patting the man down, he says “no pistola, I am good boy.”
Vasina was fired by the department in October, his actions condemned by his former chief.
“The former officer’s conduct does not reflect the values of the Englewood Police Department,” Englewood Police Chief David Jackson said in a statement. “Our officers are expected to serve with professionalism, respect, and restraint. We are committed to transparency in addressing any incident that falls short of those expectations.” Information contained in this release is publicly available in the Arrest Warrant. All public records can be requested and obtained via the Courts. As a reminder, all defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.
If convicted of any of the three charges, Vasina would lose the ability to serve as a law enforcement officer in Colorado, per state law.
Colorado
The Best Thing Deion Sanders Could Do For Quarterback Julian Lewis
Coach Deion Sanders has another busy offseason ahead as he looks to correct the current mess his Colorado Buffaloes find themselves in.
Because Colorado’s offense has taken a sizable step back this season, it wouldn’t be surprising to see “Coach Prime” move on from offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur either this month or next. If that comes to fruition, DNVR’s Scott Procter believes finding a new offensive coordinator who can grow alongside freshman quarterback Julian “JuJu” Lewis will become Colorado’s top priority this offseason.
“This offseason, that has to be priority No. 1, getting a creative OC — young, old, experienced, inexperienced, but a creative OC who can gel and grow with Julian Lewis,” Procter said on the DNVR Buffs Podcast. “As talented as anybody is, you need coaching, you need help, you need to be prepared, you need to be put in ideal situations game-to-game, down-to-down, and that hasn’t been the case for this offense this year.”
Shurmur also serves as Colorado’s quarterbacks coach, making his day-to-day perhaps more complicated than necessary. To help Lewis’ development, Procter believes that “Coach Prime” would be wise to instead hire two separate people for the roles of offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.
“When people mention the quarterbacks coach, add that to the list as well,” Procter said. “And do not make it be, this is gonna be our OC and quarterbacks (coach). No, that has to be two different positions to help this young guy (Lewis) develop the way you want him and need him to, to kind of save this program from where it has gone the last couple of weeks, so that’s my biggest thing.”
Procter added that “Coach Prime” will likely make changes to his staff once the regular season is complete. The 3-6 Buffs have only three games remaining and would have to win all three to qualify for a bowl game.
“It doesn’t seem like it’s going to be changes to that coaching staff over the next month before the season ends, but this offseason, that decision has to be made with Julian Lewis in mind,” Procter said.
MORE: Freshman Cornerback Leaves Colorado Buffaloes Midway Through Season
MORE: Shedeur Sanders Makes Surprise Return to Boulder For Colorado Homecoming Game
MORE: Biggest Winners And Losers From Colorado’s Embarrassing Loss To Arizona
CBS Sports’ Matt Zenitz reported Sunday that Lewis is expected to receive his first career start on Saturday against the West Virginia Mountaineers. While Shurmur remains Colorado’s offensive coordinator, the 18-year-old true freshman has a valuable opportunity ahead this weekend in Morgantown.
In relief of Kaidon Salter and Ryan Staub, Lewis threw for 121 yards and one touchdown in the second half of Saturday’s loss to the Arizona Wildcats. The former five-star prospect now has an entire week to prepare for West Virginia’s defense, which has allowed 406.4 yards per game (14th in Big 12).
Lewis’ first career start will kick off at 10 a.m. MT on TNT (simulcast on HBO Max).
Colorado
Family says
Officials have released new details of their investigation into a small plane crash that killed two men in Erie, Colorado, a crash that family members say was caused by sudden wind shear.
The Erie Police Department said that the plane went down just east of the runway at the Erie Municipal Airport on the afternoon of Oct. 19. Both people aboard the ultralight VL-3 aircraft, Niles Tilenius of San Mateo County, Cali. and William Johnston of Hillsborough County, Fla., were killed.
The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board launched an investigation into the crash and released the preliminary results on Monday.
According to the NTSB, multiple people witnessed the airplane approaching runway 34, but it didn’t land. Instead, they say it leveled off and then started to climb in a go-around maneuver. But witnesses at the airport and in the surrounding area say that’s when the airplane flipped and then spun to the ground.
Investigators say surveillance camera footage showed the airplane in a nose-low spin before impact.
The crash crushed the landing gear and the forward fuselage of the aircraft, the empennage separated from the fuselage, and both wings partially separated at the wing root, said the NTSB. They reported that the GRS Rescue system, an airframe parachute, did not deploy.
Tilenius’s family said he was an experienced flight instructor working with Odyssey Pilot Hours in Erie and was piloting the aircraft with his student, Johnston, at the time of the crash. In his obituary, his family said the crash was caused by “fierce, sudden, unexpected wind shear overwhelming their small plane close to the runway.”
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