James Holmes Legally Bought Arsenal of Guns, Chemicals

Arapahoe County Sheriff's Office(CENTENNIAL, Colo.) -- Accused Aurora, Colo., shooter James Holmes legally bought thousands of bullets, explosive chemicals and four guns months before prosecutors say he opened fire on a crowded movie theater, a Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) agent testified on Tuesday.

The agent testified on the second day of a preliminary hearing, which is essentially a mini-trial as prosecutors present witness testimony and evidence to outline their case against the former neuroscience student.

Agent Steve Beggs gave the prosecution a timeline that showed Holmes started his buying spree on May 10, 2012 with the online purchase of tear gas grenades.  From then until July 14, Beggs testified, Holmes legally bought nearly 6,300 rounds of ammunition, two Glock .40 caliber pistols, a .223 caliber semi-automatic rifle, a 12-guage shotgun, ballistic protection clothing, beam laser lights, bomb-making material and handcuffs.  Some of the purchases were made online and some were made in person.

Video surveillance taken as Holmes was buying several of the items in person showed that he had what Beggs described as “reddish-orange hair” at the time.  Holmes hair was dyed the same striking color at the time of the shooting.

Holmes’ defense attorney Tamara Brady asked Beggs if there is a legal process to keep from selling these items legally in Colorado to a “severely mentally ill person.”  Beggs answered that there is not.

The hearing at the Arapahoe County District Court in Centennial, Colo., could last all week.  Judge William Sylvester will decide whether the case will go to trial.  

Holmes’ attorneys have not yet said whether they plan on using a insanity defense, in which case Holmes could possibly be deemed unfit to stand trial.  Another possibility is that the hearing could set the stage for a plea deal.

If the case does not go to trial, this week’s hearing could be the only opportunity for public testimony and release of information in a case where gag orders and sealed documents have kept much of the evidence and information away from the public.

Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio

Preliminary Hearing Starts for Accused Colorado Shooter James Holmes

Arapahoe County Sheriff's Office(CENTENNIAL, Colo.) -- A preliminary hearing for accused Aurora, Colo., theater shooter James Holmes is set to begin Monday morning in Centennial, Colo.  Hundreds of people including witnesses, victims and families are expected to attend.

The hearing will essentially be a mini-trial in which prosecutors will present witness testimony and evidence -- some of which has never been revealed before -- to convince Judge William Sylvester that there is enough of a case against Holmes to proceed to a trial.

Witnesses to be called for the prosecution include the Aurora police lead detective, first responders, the Arapahoe County coroner and likely a computer forensic specialist, according to prosecution sources who declined to be identified, citing a gag order in the case.

A top priority, the prosecution sources say, will be showing that Holmes acted with premeditation when he allegedly murdered 12 people and wounded 58 on the night of July 20 during a midnight showing of The Dark Knight Rises.

Defense attorneys may pursue a legal strategy to show that Holmes was not in his right mind at the time of the shooting.

Holmes, who has not yet entered a plea, has been repeatedly described in court by his legal team as mentally ill. While a graduate student at the University of Colorado, he was in the care of a psychiatrist.

Prosecutors say they will also present photos, video and 911 calls during the hearing, which is expected to last all week.

The preliminary hearing will be held in the largest courtroom available in Arapahoe County, which holds about 100 people.  Overflow crowds will be able to watch the proceeding on a video and audio feed in several rooms around the court complex, including a jury assembly room that has space for about 300 people.

Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio

Aurora Townhouse Shooting: Four Dead, Including Gunman

Ingram Publishing/Thinkstock(AURORA, Colo.) -- Four people were killed, including the gunman, during a hostage standoff Saturday morning at a townhouse in Aurora, Colo., police said.

Police pumped tear gas into the home in an attempt to get the gunman to leave, and then went into the home and shot him, ABC News Denver affiliate KMGH-TV reported.

The three people found dead in the home are believed to be relatives of the shooter, Aurora Police Sgt. Cassidee Carlson told KMGH. A fourth person was found unharmed, she said.

Officers responded to the home after the first reports of gunshots came in around 3 a.m.

Carlson said neighboring residences were evacuated while the SWAT team attempted to resolve the standoff.

The Colorado town was the site of a movie theater massacre last July. A gunman opened fire during a midnight screening of The Dark Knight Rises, killing 12 people and injuring 58 others.

Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio

Boulder Cops in Hot Water for Role in Elk Shooting

Thinkstock/Getty Images(BOULDER, Colo.) -- Two police officers in Boulder, Colo., have been suspended and are now under criminal investigation for their role in killing a large bull elk that wandered into a residential neighborhood.

On Tuesday, a Boulder police officer was on patrol when he spotted a large male elk that appeared to be limping and had broken antlers, according to a department press release.

“In his judgment, he believed the elk needed to be humanely euthanized,” the release said. “The officer dispatched the elk with one shot from his shotgun and called another off-duty officer to come pick up the elk carcass.”

The off-duty officer, the release said, took the animal to process for meat for his own personal use.

The killing of the large trophy animal then became a bit of a mystery, after Boulder police initially denied that their officers were involved. That’s because the department says the two unidentified officers never told anyone about the shooting, as required.

“In this case it appears that the officers involved did not follow standard procedures in alerting police dispatch, contacting a supervisor about how to deal with the injured elk or following up with a written incident report,” Boulder Police Chief Mark Beckner wrote Friday in a letter to the community.

Both officers are now off the streets and Beckner has apologized.

“Two officers involved in Elk shooting incident have been placed on Admin Leave w/pay pending the outcome of investigations,” Beckner tweeted Friday morning.

The cops are now the focus of an internal affairs probe in addition to a criminal investigation being conducted by the Colorado Division of Parks and Wildlife.

Samson’s Law, named after a massive bull elk that was killed in the Colorado town of Estes Park in 1995, carries fines up to $10,000 for illegally hunting trophy animals.

A family who lives at the home where the elk was shot Tuesday told Denver ABC affiliate KMGH-TV that the Elk they nicknamed “Big Boy” was a bit of a neighborhood legend, often coming into their yard to snack on a crabapple tree.

“Everyone had different names for him, we called him Big Boy, other people called him Rufus or Humphrey,” Lara Koenig told KMGH.

“He was a little aggressive at times, I think he just really wanted to eat,” Koenig said. “He was a little bit lost sometimes. He used to wander down the back of all our backyards.”

Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio

Colorado Springs Cops Crack 1976 Murder

Colorado Springs Police Department(COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.) -- Colorado Springs police believe they have solved a 36-year-old cold case by linking a man serving time for a sexual assault to the 1976 murder of a hotel maid.

Authorities said a DNA analysis led to the arrest of Robert Baillie, 58, who is already in the state’s prison system serving a life sentence with the possibility of parole for a sexual assault.

On Dec. 3, 1976, the body of Janet Conrad, a maid at the Antlers Plaza Hotel, was discovered in a linen room on the tenth floor. Police said the 34-year-old woman had been strangled or suffocated.

Over the years, authorities interviewed countless witnesses. However, no suspects developed.

A break in the case came in 2009 when the Colorado Springs Police Department received a grant from The National Institute of Justice under the “Solving Cold Cases With DNA” program. The money allowed authorities to re-examine Conrad’s murder and pinpoint biological evidence they may have missed.

The DNA evidence was then run through the Combined DNA Index System database, and was found to match Baillie.

“It feels amazing,” Lt. Adrian Vasquez of the Colorado Springs Police Department told ABC News affiliate KRDO-TV.  “The guys are very ecstatic about this, being able to call the family up. You don’t really bring closure to a family in something like this.  But just being able to give them that good news, and let them at least understand that somebody has been brought to justice.”

Baillie’s next parole hearing is in January 2014.

It was not yet known whether he had an attorney.

Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio

James Holmes’ Defense Witnesses in Colorado Shooting to Testify on ‘Mental State’

Joshua Lott/Getty Images(AURORA, Colo.) -- A judge ruled Thursday that public defenders for accused Colorado theater shooting suspect James Holmes can call two unidentified witnesses at next week’s preliminary hearing to testify about the defendant’s “mental state.”

Arapahoe County, Colo., prosecutors had sought to keep the witnesses out of court, but Judge William Sylvester ruled that the now-25-year-old accused killer has a right to call the witnesses at a preliminary hearing.

The Jan. 7 preliminary hearing will essentially be a mini-trial in which prosecutors will present witness testimony and evidence to convince the judge that there is enough of a case against Holmes to proceed to a trial.

Witnesses to be called for the prosecution include the Aurora police lead detective, first responders, the Arapahoe County coroner and likely a computer forensic specialist, according to prosecution sources who declined to be identified, citing a gag order in the case.

A top priority, the prosecution sources say, will be showing that Holmes acted with premeditation when he allegedly murdered 12 people and wounded 58 on the night of July 20 during a midnight showing of The Dark Knight Rises.

Defense attorneys may pursue a legal strategy to show that Holmes was not in his right mind at the time of the shooting.

Holmes, who has not yet entered a plea, has been repeatedly described in court by his legal team as mentally ill. While a graduate student at the University of Colorado, he was in the care of a psychiatrist.

Prosecutors say they will also present photos, video and 911 calls during the hearing, which is expected to last all week.

It’s not clear what the two witnesses’ relationship is to the shooting, or to Holmes.

Prosecutors, Judge Sylvester’s order says, contend that “neither witness has personal knowledge of the events at the Century Aurora 16 Theater.”

Sylvester said the witnesses are non-expert “lay witnesses” who have so far chosen not to be interviewed by defense investigators but have been cooperating with law enforcement.

Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio

Accused Colorado Shooter James Holmes Appears in Court

Arapahoe County Sheriff's Office(AURORA, Colo.) -- Accused Aurora, Colo., theater shooter James Holmes appeared in court Wednesday, where a judge set a preliminary hearing for Jan. 7 that is expected to last several days.

Hundreds of people including witnesses, victims and families are expected to attend.

Prosecutors say part of the evidence presented at the preliminary hearing will include recordings of calls to 911 and approximately 30 hours of video from inside the Century 16 multiplex.

Holmes was in court Wednesday, his brown hair slightly grown out and now wearing a full beard.  He did not speak and sat quietly at the defense table.

Both sides told judge William Sylvester that they are ready to proceed on Jan. 7.

At a preliminary hearing, prosecutors must convince the judge there is enough evidence against Holmes to proceed to a trial.  As part of that process, law enforcement investigators are expected to testify about details of the case that have never been revealed before.

The preliminary hearing will be held in the largest courtroom available in Arapahoe County, Colorado, which holds about 100 people.  Overflow crowds will be able to watch the proceeding on a video and audio feed in several rooms around the court complex, including a jury assembly room that has space for about 300 people.

Holmes is accused of murdering 12 people and wounding 58 others when he allegedly opened fire at a midnight screening of the Batman film The Dark Knight Rises.  His defense team believes Holmes is mentally ill.  He has not entered a plea.

The theater where the shooting occurred is set to reopen on Jan. 17.

Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio

Colorado Pot Clubs Celebrate Legal Marijuana in New Year

Brand X Pictures/Thinkstock(DENVER, Colo.) -- It was marijuana instead of champagne this year for some New Year's Eve revelers in Colorado, who lit up in private smoking clubs allowed for the first time under the state's new pot laws.

In Denver, people filled out an online application and paid a $30 fee to become part of Club 64, a private marijuana club named after the new pot law, Amendment 64. Members were advised of a private location in downtown Denver where they could attend a New Year's Eve party with other smokers.

"It went really well," said Robert Corry, an attorney who serves as general counsel for the group and helped shape the language of Amendment 64. "We rented out a retail shop for the evening. We had a DJ, music, some dancing, there was a bar and people brought alcohol, people brought food. It was a very warm, fun, happy evening."

Corry said that the idea for a members-only club had been in the works for years, and that Amendment 64 had been crafted specifically to allow for groups of private smokers. The initial gathering drew hundreds of interested smokers, Corry said.

"We're going to be getting together for periodic meetings and looking for a more permanent home. We hope to settle into a more stable spot in the future," he said. "We have a couple of hundred members at least, judging by last night. We're emerging from the shadows of prohibition, so there's' a lot of pent-up demand and interest."

Corry said he hoped the group would eventually have a space that functioned like a bar, with a food and drink menu. For now, smokers bring their own pot to the party. Under Colorado law, individuals may now possess up to one ounce of marijuana and grow six marijuana plants. They are allowed to smoke in private places only, not in public.

The law passed by Colorado voters in November mandated that in 2013, the state legislature would establish laws governing the licensing and selling of marijuana commercially. Since it is still against federal law to sell or possess marijuana, no businesses in the state are selling pot yet, he said. Corry said he hopes that eventually, Club 64 will be able to do so.

Across the state, in Del Norte, business owner Paul Lovato invited friends and acquaintances to the White Horse Inn, a coffee shop he is building, where he said he hopes people will be allowed to smoke privately.

"I got (my permit) yesterday at nine in the morning, so I didn't have time to go in and really build anything, so I said, 'Hey, I have it, come on in, I'm open for business,'" Lovato said. "I invited people to come in and smoke, to basically be in a private location and smoke under Amendment 64. It was basically a gathering, with people smoking and enjoying their legal right to smoke."

He said a dozen people from the rural area around the inn showed up to celebrate, though he expects larger crowds once the shop is officially open.

Lovato said his goal is to operate a coffee shop that sells T-shirts, bumper stickers, and other pot-related gifts in one building on his property. In another building, he will offer a "smoking den" area with booths where guests can drink good coffee and smoke marijuana that they bring with them.

"The White Horse Inn is not a hash bar that sells or distributes marijuana," he said. "It's an Amendment 64-themed gift shop and coffee shop. There's no distribution."

Lovato said that local officials had expressed some concern about the White Horse Inn's gathering, and that he hoped to meet with officials soon to discuss plans for the inn's official opening, scheduled for April 20.

Though he and other groups and businesses may still be figuring out how to operate under Colorado's new marijuana laws, Robert Corry said he is thrilled that his work toward legalized smoking has been successful.

"The feeling was one of joy, really," he said. "This is what a lot of us in this state have been working for for the past decade. It was a real relief that we can finally get to this point."

"It was nice to exercise our freedom and celebrate a little bit. That's really what it's about. For us, we enjoy marijuana, but for me, it's so much more, it's about freedom, and it felt pretty free last night," he said.

Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio

Winter Storm Batters the Rockies, Midwest

Comstock/Thinkstock (file photo)(NEW YORK) -- As millions prepare to hit the roads or skies ahead of Christmas Day, a winter storm is plowing through several parts of the country Thursday morning, threatening to hamper many travelers' plans.

Nearly 20 inches of snow has already been reported in Colorado, just west of Denver, while in Des Moines, Iowa, a foot of the white stuff has accumulated.

Fifteen states are currently under winter storm watches or warnings, with blizzard warnings in effect for seven states.

The storm is expected to strengthen as it moves over Chicago on Thursday, changing rain to snow there and dumping up to a half a foot in the Windy City.

The system will move eastward Thursday night, spreading rain into the Northeast, with some areas from Washington, D.C., to Boston getting up to 3 inches.  Cold air will then come in from behind the storm Friday night, changing rain to snow in western Pennsylvania, Maryland, New York and West Virginia, where 3 to as much as 14 inches could accumulate in the highest elevations.

Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio

Mental Health Reform Push in Colorado After Shootings

World Economic Forum(DENVER) -- Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper will ask the state general assembly on Tuesday for $18.5 million to help “redesign and strengthen” the state’s mental health services and support system.

The announcement comes just days after police say a gunman murdered his own mother, then killed six adults and 20 children at a Newtown, Conn., elementary school before committing suicide.  The shooter, Adam Lanza, has been described as deeply troubled.

A Hickenlooper aide, however, tells ABC News the Colorado reforms have been in the works ever since a mass shooting at an Aurora movie theater in July.  Twelve people were killed and 58 wounded when police say James Holmes opened fire during a midnight screening of The Dark Knight Rises.

Holmes sought treatment from a psychiatrist while a graduate student at the University of Colorado, and his defense attorneys have said they believe their client is mentally ill.  Holmes has not yet entered a plea.

Hickenlooper’s plan would include changes to state law allowing the judicial system to instantly transmit mental health commitment records to the Colorado Bureau of Investigation so the information would be immediately available for firearm background checks. 

The plan would also establish a statewide mental health crisis hotline and would open five 24/7 walk-in mental health crisis centers.  Services for “seriously mentally ill” people would be expanded, including help with housing as patients transition from mental health hospitals back into the community.

Colorado most recently dealt with a mentally ill school shooter in February 2010, when Bruco Eastwood was accused of shooting and seriously wounding two students outside Deer Creek Middle School in Littleton.  A jury found Eastwood not guilty by reason of insanity of attempted first-degree murder and he was committed to a state mental hospital.

Deer Creek Middle School is a short drive from Columbine High School, where two students murdered a teacher and 12 other students in 1999 before killing themselves.

Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio