DENVER — Before 2024 officially ends, Denver7 is taking a look back at four of the biggest stories this year in Colorado.
Aurora Apartments
At the beginning of August, trash and code violations piled up at an apartment complex off Nome Street in Aurora, forcing residents to vacate as the city shut down the complex. Many residents felt as though they were abandoned by their property management company, CBZ Management. CBZ officials claimed their team was not on site because of a Venezuelan gang known as Tren de Aragua, or TdA.
Aurora Police stressed they had not found evidence of a gang takeover.
Aurora
CBZ Management doubles down on gang claims in newly-created social media account
By the end of the month, a now viral video surfaced from the Edge of Lowry Apartments in Aurora, another CBZ property. The video showed armed men breaking into a unit at the complex.
When President-elect Donald Trump visited Aurora for a campaign rally, he unveiled plans for a national “Operation Aurora," aimed at deporting TdA members.
Most recently in December, 16 people suspected of being associated with TdA in some fashion were arrested after two victims were allegedly beaten, robbed, and tortured for hours inside of the Edge of Lowry Apartments.
According to the City of Aurora, around half of CBZ's properties in Aurora are under control of a court-appointed, third party receiver. Court proceedings will continue in early 2025 to decide next steps for the properties.
King Soopers Mass Shooting Trial
On September 5, the trial began for the shooter who killed 10 people inside of a Boulder King Soopers in March of 2021. The crux of the trial was determining whether or not the gunman, who Denver7 is not naming, was sane at the time of the shooting.
The 10 victims in that shooting are as follows:
- Neven Stanisic, 23. He was part of a close immigrant family that had moved to the United States for a better life. He had just fixed an espresso machine inside the King Soopers. At 2:27 p.m., he was talking with a coworker about his next work site. Within two minutes of that call, he would die.
- Kevin Mahoney, 61. He was a loving husband, father and grandfather. He visited this supermarket often. He had a funny exchange with another customer who had parked next to him. They both started loading their cars, laughing with each other. Mahoney went to return his cart. He was killed a few minutes later.
- Tralona Bartkowiak, 49. She owned a clothing store on Pearl Street. She had her window down as she drove through the King Soopers parking lot, which is likely how she heard the first shots.
- Rikki Olds, 25. She worked at the King Soopers as a head clerk. Her family, as well as her friends and colleagues at the store, loved her. At the time of the shooting, she was working in the pharmacy and customer service area helping people. The shooter would come in the doors in that same area.
- Denny Strong, 20. Stong worked at the King Soopers, but was off from work on that day. He stopped at the store to grab lunch. His mom, who also worked at the store, was on her lunch break and eating in the car when her son was killed.
- Lynn Murray, 62. She was a loving mother who worked for Instacart — a grocery delivery service that became very popular amid the pandemic and still was at this time. She was at the store that day to shop for others who were unable to shop for themselves. She was checking out when she was killed.
- Teri Leiker, 51. She overcame significant challenges and had worked at the King Soopers for many years. She was a beloved fixture there. She was bagging groceries for a man when she was shot and killed.
- Jody Waters, 65. She had a great impact on the world and has a loving family. When the shooting began, she hid under a checkout stand.
- Suzanne Fountain, 59. She lived in Broomfield and frequented a hair salon in the Table Mesa shopping center. She had gone there that day. Because she was already in that area, she went to the Table Mesa King Soopers to shop for groceries.
- Eric Talley, 51. He became a police officer as a second career and loved serving the community. When he got the call about the shooting, he raced to the scene and because of him, many people are alive today.
Throughout the trial, prosecutors argued the gunman was deliberately hunting people inside of the grocery store, calling one witness to the stand who testified to hearing the shooter yell "this is fun."
Meanwhile, defense attorneys asserted that a severe and untreated case of schizophrenia was to blame for the actions of the defendant.
Boulder King Soopers Shooting
Victims’ families speak out at Boulder King Soopers gunman’s sentencing
On September 20, the case was handed over to the jury, which returned a verdict just days later. The jury found the shooter guilty on all 55 counts against him, and the judge sentenced the gunman to ten consecutive life sentences, with more than 1,000 years in prison on top of that.
Front Range Wildfires
Burning nearly 10,000 acres and destroying more than two dozen homes, the Alexander Mountain Fire was the biggest wildfire in Colorado this year. It was first reported on July 29 near the community of Drake.
Investigators determined the Alexander Mountain Fire was human-caused.
Wildfire
Family learns through community their home burned in Alexander Mountain Fire
The very next day, another wildfire sparked near Lyons. The Stone Canyon Fire destroyed five homes and killed one person.
Another fire began burning on July 30 in Jefferson County called the Quarry Fire. It burned more than 500 acres, and no homes were lost in the fire.
Snowstorms
In March, Clear Creek and Gilpin Counties declared local disasters during a massive snowstorm. The storm hit on March 14, and in those 24 hours, Gilpin County saw snow totals ranging from 34 inches to 45 inches, and Clear Creek County saw totals between 18 and 41 inches, according to the National Weather Service. One of the highest totals recorded in the state was Aspen Springs, a neighborhood north of Black Hawk, which recorded 45.5 inches around noon that day.
Denver7 | Weather
Colorado digs out from massive snowstorm that caused outages, collapsed roofs
In November, an unusually long, five-day snowstorm struck the metro, with snow totals resting at 23.3 inches measured at Denver International Airport. The snowfall from that storm made November of 2024 the fourth snowiest November in Colorado's history.
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