Comment on Member of three car theft, burglary crime rings takes plea deal

Local developer Ken Wolf says that Denver’s Punch Bowl Social recently bought a karaoke bar that he is a shareholder in without his knowledge and for a suspiciously low price. Voicebox Karaoke once had locations across four states, including at 2601 Walnut St. in RiNo. But Voicebox left Denver in 2022 and only two locations in Portland, Ore., remain. Voicebox blamed its landlord, Edens, for pushing it out of RiNo.

A high-level member of three Colorado car theft and burglary crime rings took a plea deal and was sentenced to 24 years in state prison Thursday, according to the Colorado Attorney General’s Office. Across the three cases in Adams and Larimer counties, 24-year-old Rene Ruiz pleaded guilty to two counts of violating the Colorado Organized Crime Control act, three counts of first-degree aggravated motor vehicle theft, one count of theft of auto parts and one count of second-degree burglary, according to court records. The plea deals dropped hundreds of charges of motor vehicle theft, vehicular eluding, auto parts theft and more from his case, according to court records. Prosecutors said Ruiz’s 24-year prison sentence is one of the longest the attorney general’s office has secured in an organized motor vehicle theft case. “We were able to investigate and break up three overlapping major auto theft rings that harmed many residents and businesses in Colorado,” Attorney General Phil Weiser stated in a news release.

Expect Colorado’s upcoming state tax refund to be the last big one for a while. Forecasts by legislative economists released on Thursday predict a softening of economic conditions, tighter budget forecasts and recent changes to state law. Together, those are expected to decrease state refunds due under Colorado’s Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights, or TABOR, from recent historic highs. Projections put TABOR refunds for individual filers at between $181 and $571 this upcoming tax season, depending on household income.

Lakewood has confirmed its first case of emerald ash borer, an invasive insect that’s killed millions of North American ash trees, city officials said in a news release Thursday. The insect was found “in a small area in central Lakewood” last week and confirmed by the Colorado State University extension office in Jefferson County this week, said city spokesperson Amber Thill. Emerald ash borer beetles infest and kill green and white varieties of ash trees, including the popular autumn purple ash.

Prosecutors charged a 21-year-old man Thursday with murder and assault in connection to a Commerce City shooting that killed a woman and sent two others to the hospital. Related Articles Crime and Public Safety | Member of three car theft, burglary crime rings takes plea deal Crime and Public Safety | Eastbound Interstate 70 reopens in Glenwood Canyon after crash cleanup Crime and Public Safety | Body found in Boulder County, suspicious death under investigation, sheriff says Crime and Public Safety | Three men arrested after allegedly kidnapping, torturing housemate in Jefferson County Crime and Public Safety | Driver arrested in fatal crash near Denver’s City Park Ethan Jennings, 21, was charged in Adams County District Court with first-degree murder, two counts of first-degree attempted murder, two counts of first-degree assault and four crime of violence sentence enhancers, according to court records. At around 1 a.m.

Mikko Rantanen is going to sign a very long, very profitable contract in the near future, and he’s not worried that it hasn’t happened yet. Rantanen has one year left on his current deal, with an average annual value of $9.25 million. He would become an unrestricted free agent on July 1 if he and the Colorado Avalanche do not come to an agreement before then. “I think there’s been talks with my camp and the front office.