North Denver News

By Ernest Gurulé It’s a late Sunday morning in Denver’s Sunnyside neighborhood and the sound of the church bells rings through the trees announcing another mass. So far, traffic flow is light, but as the day goes on, it will grow. West 44th Avenue, long ago, was a mostly Italian immigrant neighborhood that has sprouted into a bustling east-west corridor with a potpourri of shops, offices and restaurants lining each side. These days... Read more...

By Gannon Rothman Denver Public Schools’ Board of Education has decided to return police officers to certain campuses, and it will implement a long-term safety plan in response to recent violence. The divided school board voted to overturn its 2020 decision to initially remove school resource officers (SROs) from schools after some board members said police unfairly target students of color and that the policy contributes to a... Read more...

By The Denver North Star Staff Prosecutors with the Denver District Attorney’s Office recently announced four of five men involved in a 2021 crime spree that resulted in the shooting death of 18-year-old Shmuel Silverberg have been sentenced to decades in prison. Noah Loepp-Hall was sentenced to a stipulated prison sentence of 65 years. Aiden Sides was sentenced to a stipulated prison sentence of 41 1/2 years. Isaiah Freeman was... Read more...

By Eric Heinz Following the shooting of two officials in March at East High School, Denver Public Schools recently voted to return sworn police officers to high schools throughout the district through June 30. The decision was made during a recent closed session in which the board voted unanimously to return the officers to the high schools. German Echevarria, the principal of North High School, declined to comment at length on... Read more...

By Eric Heinz Denver District Attorney Beth McCann is trying to spread the word about the dangers of fentanyl, a powerful opioid produced for sedation, but that taken as a recreational drug can be fatal. “Needless to say, we’ve seen a shocking increase in the number of cases that we’re filing involving fentanyl distribution and possession,” McCann said. Beth McCann In 2020, the District Attorney’s Office filed 133 cases related... Read more...

By Allen Cowgill Two people on bicycles were recently killed by motorists in North Denver. Both crashes happened on Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) roads that continue to be the deadliest in this part of town. The recent deaths were two of the 82 people that were killed in crashes in Denver in 2022. The number of deaths is close to 2021’s recent record of 84 deaths. Both Federal and Sheridan boulevards are on Denver’s... Read more...

By Talia Traskos-Hart The Denver Police Department has honored officers Frank Potestio and Peter Walsh on its wall of fallen officers, 104 years after their passing. Potestio was an Italian immigrant, a father of seven, and a long-time North Denver resident. He joined the force in 1909, on the same day as Walsh. Walsh and Potestio both died from the Spanish Flu in 1918. The men were later determined to have been the only two Denver... Read more...

By Sara Martin Ron Thomas, who was recently sworn in as Denver’s new police chief, faces numerous questions as he takes on the mantle of the city’s arm of public safety. A town hall was recently hosted by Task Force to Reimagine Policing and Public Safety with Chief Thomas to offer a chance for community members to ask questions about the future of the Denver Police Department (DPD) and the practices he envisions. Ron... Read more...

By Eric Heinz Tomas Jimenez, 41, was trying to calm people down after a party got out of control in Sunnyside, but when he went outside to check on a disturbance he was shot and eventually died. His sister, Shalimar, told The Denver North Star that she wants justice for her brother because he was trying to be a peacemaker, not someone who was involved in the out-of-control party. Tomas, left, and his sister Salimar Jimenez. Photo... Read more...

By Ernest Gurulé In a surprise that caught even confidants off guard, Denver Police Chief Paul Pazen announced he is retiring. After 28 years, the last four as the department’s top cop, he’s calling it a day. Pazen, only the city’s second Latino to serve as Denver Chief of Police, announced his retirement Aug. 30. Pazen led the city through one of its bumpiest four-year periods in Denver history. Paul Pazen His tenure was marked... Read more...