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Colorado’s first major winter storm of the season drops nearly 3 feet of snow, closes most major highways

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Colorado’s first major winter storm of the season drops nearly 3 feet of snow, closes most major highways


Colorado’s first major snowstorm of the season brought large swaths of the Front Range and Eastern Plains to a standstill Friday as it dumped nearly 3 feet of snow in some areas, closing government offices, schools and major interstates.

Gov. Jared Polis declared a disaster emergency for the storm, authorizing the Colorado National Guard to step in and help people impacted by the storm and activating the state emergency operations center.

Southern Colorado, the Eastern Plains and mountains saw the most snowfall Friday, with at least 35 inches in Cuchara; 28 inches in Rye and Genoa; and 22 inches in Pinecliffe.

Weather officials reported 9 inches of snow in Denver, 13 inches in Aurora and 15 inches in Highlands Ranch and Lakewood as of Friday morning.

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Alyssa Marzolf takes a walk with her dog Fred on the Denver Millennium Bridge in Denver on Friday, Nov. 8, 2024. (Photo by Hyoung Chang/The Denver Post)

The extended stretch of freezing temperatures contributed to a devastating Lakewood apartment fire on Friday morning, which sparked around 5 a.m. by a space heater set up to keep pipes from freezing.

The fire destroyed an apartment building near Ammons Street and West 12th Avenue, killing two cats and displacing four people, according to West Metro Fire Rescue.

Other than the Lakewood fire, the storm’s impact was mostly limited to major travel disruptions caused by road closures across Colorado. Law enforcement agencies did not report any significant crashes and Xcel Energy did not report any widespread power outages as of late Friday.

That was the goal when Colorado Department of Transportation officials banned commercial motor vehicles and all trailers from most highways and interstates Friday night and Saturday morning, agency officials said in a news release.

Tractor-trailers and other large vehicles were prohibited on sections of Interstate 70, Interstate 25, U.S. 285, U.S. 40 over Berthoud Pass, and U.S. 6 through Clear Creek Canyon and over Loveland Pass until 8 a.m. Saturday.

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“This restriction is designed to reduce the chances of semi truck and other impactful spinouts that require extensive manpower and specialized equipment to clear, and often cause prolonged closures of the interstate,” CDOT officials said in a statement.

Most highways south and east of Denver were still closed late Friday, including I-70 east of Aurora to Kansas and southbound I-25 between Pueblo and New Mexico.

The storm’s impacts were not limited to the ground as travelers passing through Denver International Airport faced more than 1,300 canceled or delayed flights on Friday, including 269 canceled SkyWest flights, 127 canceled Southwest flights and 64 canceled Frontier flights.

Snow is expected to taper off by noon Saturday, though Coloradans may see continued travel impacts through the weekend, state officials said.

A snow covered RTD Union Station stop in Denver on Friday, Nov. 8, 2024. (Photo by Hyoung Chang/The Denver Post)
A snow covered RTD Union Station stop in Denver on Friday, Nov. 8, 2024. (Photo by Hyoung Chang/The Denver Post)



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Colorado

Children victimized in Northern Colorado after convicted sex offender allegedly commits disgusting act of food tampering

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Children victimized in Northern Colorado after convicted sex offender allegedly commits disgusting act of food tampering


A convicted sex offender who allegedly contaminated cupcakes for a child’s birthday party with his bodily fluids will remain behind bars through at least Dec. 20. Stephen Masalta is accused of masturbating in a Fort Collins Safeway grocery store, contaminating cupcakes, fruits, donuts and frosting at his former place of employment.

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Stephen Masalta appears in court.

CBS


Masalta was first arrested by Fort Collins Police Services in early 2024 after the department spent months trying to find him. Police responded to dozens of reports of a short man exposing himself outside of coffee shops in Fort Collins and Loveland at early morning hours. The man was regularly described as being short, either White or Asian, wearing a mask and dark clothing.

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After months of investigations, FCPS identified and arrested Masalta.

According to documents obtained by CBS News Colorado’s Dillon Thomas, police located many concerning pieces of evidence at Masalta’s property during a search warrant. That included clothing matching descriptions of the suspect at the coffee shops, several phones and hard drives with explicit content on them and a car that contained contents like binoculars. Police reported that they ran a black light through his vehicle and found the driver seat was covered in bodily fluid.

Police also reportedly found images on Masalta’s electronics that they believed to be both clothed and exposed photos of women who police did not believe were aware they were being photographed. Police said Masalta had taken notes about the sexual acts he wanted to do to the women and had even drawn sexual images over some of the photos.

However, potentially of greatest concern to some, police said they located videos of Masalta allegedly contaminating food items at Safeway off of Harmony Road in southern Fort Collins.

Police described videos of a man, who they presented as Masalta, touching pastries and other baked goods at Safeway with his genitals.

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Police also said they saw videos of Masalta releasing bodily fluids onto fresh fruit, a bucket of pastry frosting and even onto a custom order of cupcakes. Fort Collins police said they were able to tell based from the video that the cupcakes were clearly decorated for a child’s birthday and even still had the customer’s order form taped to them.

Those cupcakes were then served at a child’s birthday party.

The parent of two of the children attending the party, ages 2 and 5, agreed to share their traumatic story exclusively with Thomas. However, because her children were victims of a sex crime, CBS News Colorado agreed to not share her identity.

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“When police first come to your door, what goes through your head?” Thomas asked.

“I thought my husband was hurt,” she said.    

While she was fortunate that her husband was okay, she would quickly learn her young children had been victimized.

“They asked me if my children, and or my husband and I, had eaten cupcakes that were served there,” she said.  

“Could you have ever fathomed what they were about to tell you?” Thomas asked.

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“No. I don’t think anybody could have ever imagined this,” she said.

Detectives then told her that they had confirmed the cupcakes her family consumed were the cupcakes seen in the videos allegedly found on Masalta’s devices.

Police said Masalta was employed at the Safeway at the time. Officers reportedly went to the bakery department and were able to confirm that the room the videos were recorded in was also in the Harmony Safeway.

“When you found out it wasn’t just you and your trust violated, but it was your children as well, what was that like?” Thomas asked.

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CBS Colorado’s Dillon Thomas interviews the parent of children who attended the party.

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CBS


“Luckily, they are so young that we haven’t communicated any of this to them. But, we as a family had to go get HIV and STD testing,” she said. “All the joy that comes with a birthday and cupcakes and all the amazing celebrations that happen with that kind of thing is now, in my mind, always associated with that. And, watching them enjoy those things is not the same anymore.”

Masalta, a registered sex offender, was previously arrested in California for placing video recording devices inside church bathrooms to see girls and women using toilets.

The woman Thomas spoke with said Masalta’s alleged actions in Colorado have tarnished her ability to enjoy everyday life. She noted she has to drive by the Safeway in question twice daily. She also said, when she goes to grocery stores now, she can’t see the bakery section as normally as she once could.

“You should be able to go to a kid’s birthday party and not worry about eating cupcakes,” she said.

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After being arrested by FCPS, Masalta’s defense attorney and the prosecution reached a plea agreement. In exchange for a guilty plea, Masalta would’ve been sentenced to 364 days in jail with credit for time served. He would also have to undergo 10 years of intensive sexual offender probation supervision. The deal also had other financial stipulations. However, due to spending most of 2024 in jail, Masalta was nearly released to community corrections after the agreement would have been processed through sentencing by a judge.

However, Masalta was not accepted into community corrections, also known as a halfway house. The plea agreement was then voided, as acceptance into community corrections was listed as a deal breaker for the agreement which Masalta had already signed.

The woman CBS News Colorado interviewed was one of just several victims of Masalta’s alleged actions that told Thomas they felt the initial plea was poorly constructed.

“According to the documents we obtained, he was convicted of sex crimes in California. He is accused of exposing himself at coffee shops. He is accused of contaminating food your children ate. What was you response when you saw the plea agreement he was offered?” Thomas asked.

“Disappointment,” she said. “I don’t think what they have done is enough in my opinion,” she said. “In our opinion the harsh end of the spectrum should be given with the pattern and reach of these crimes.”

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A Larimer County judge rescheduled sentencing for Dec. 20, giving several weeks for Masalta and the prosecution to potentially iron out a new plea agreement. It is also possible that the case could now more forward toward trial.

District Attorney Gordon McLaughlin’s office said they were unable to conduct an interview for this report due to the case remaining open as of Friday. However, they issued the following statement.

“As we’ve stated in previous hearings of this case, the law is completely inadequate to account for the nature of these incidents. We are constrained by the law and the required concurrent sentencing of most of these counts, and our goal remains to piece together the greatest level of accountability possible for the community. We are committed to doing everything we can to deter this type of behavior and get justice for these victims who are rightfully traumatized.”

The woman CBS News Colorado spoke with said her family is hoping the plea agreement falling through will result in Masalta being convicted and sentenced to extended time in prison.

“Has this changed how you see and experience life forever?” Thomas asked.

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“It does. It is so upsetting,” she said as she wiped away tears. “I hope someday I will be able to move forward and not have that happen. I feel very upset that that has been something that has been taken from us.”



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Colorado funeral home owners plead guilty to corpse abuse after nearly 200 bodies found decomposing

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Colorado funeral home owners plead guilty to corpse abuse after nearly 200 bodies found decomposing


The owners of a Colorado funeral home accused of piling hundreds of bodies in room-temperature conditions inside a dilapidated building and giving loved ones concrete instead of ashes have pleaded guilty to corpse abuse. 

Jon and Carie Hallford, who own the Return to Nature Funeral Home in Colorado Springs, Colorado, pleaded guilty to 191 counts of abuse of a corpse on Friday. 

“The bodies were [lying] on the ground, stacked on shelves, left on gurneys, stacked on top of each other or just piled in rooms,” prosecutor Rachael Powell said in court. 

Their loved ones are “intensely and forever outraged,” she added. Some of the families were in the courtroom when they pleaded guilty. 

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MIXED-UP REMAINS, ROTTING BODIES, FAKE ASHES: HOW GRIEVING FAMILIES UNCOVERED THESE 5 FUNERAL HOME HORRORS

Jon and Carie Hallford, who own the Return to Nature Funeral Home in Colorado Springs, Colorado, pleaded guilty to 191 counts of abuse of a corpse on Friday.  (Muskogee County Sheriff’s Office via AP, File)

Crystina Page, whose son died in 2019, said outside the courtroom on Friday: “He laid in the corner of an inoperable fridge, dumped out of his body bag with rats and maggots eating his face for four years. Now every moment that I think of my son, I’m having to think of Jon and Carie, and that’s not going away.”

The Hallfords also faced charges of theft, money laundering and forgery, which were dismissed with their plea deals. 

The couple spent $882,300 in COVID relief funds on things like vacations, cosmetic surgery, car and tuition for their child. 

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Jon Hallford could serve 20 years in prison under the plea deal and Carie Hallford could serve 15 to 20 years. 

Six people who objected to the plea deals, calling their recommended sentences insufficient, will get a chance to speak before they’re sentenced in April. 

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Fremont County deputies guard the road leading to the Return to Nature Funeral Home in Penrose, Colo., Oct. 5, 2023.  (Jerilee Bennett/The Gazette via AP/The Gazette via AP)

MOURNING LOVED ONES TARGETED BY ‘DESPICABLE’ FUNERAL HOME SCAM

If the judge rejects the plea deal, the case may still go to trial. 

The Hallfords already pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud in October in connection with their misuse of funds. 

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The accusations go back to 2019 and the improperly stored bodies were discovered after neighbors reported a stench coming from the building. 

Colorado funeral home

A hearse and debris can be seen at the rear of the Return to Nature Funeral Home in Penrose, Colo., Oct. 5, 2023.  (Jerilee Bennett/The Gazette via AP)

Authorities in hazmat gear found bodies stacked on top of each other, some so decayed they couldn’t be identified, and the place was infested with bugs. 

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Following the gruesome discovery, Colorado has tightened funeral home regulations. 

Fox News Digital’s Greg Wehner and the Associated Press contributed to this report. 

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Colorado weather: Temperatures above normal Friday before snow returns

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Colorado weather: Temperatures above normal Friday before snow returns


Colorado weather: Temperatures above normal Friday before snow returns – CBS Colorado

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Watch meteorologist Callie Zanandrie’s forecast.

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