Friend of Weld County slaying suspect says he confessed to killings

Feb. 8, 2014
Cimmeron Johns returned to his friend’s doorstep sometime after 10 p.m., Rosann O’Donnell said. She said she didn’t notice the specks of blood on his clothes until Johns started rattling off what he’d done.
“He said ‘I did it, Rosann, I killed her,’ ” O’Donnell said. ” ‘We have to get your car; she (Pachello) ran me off the road into a ditch.’ ”
He talked in circles and at an accelerated speed, she said.
“He said ‘We gotta go, we’ve gotta go now,’ ” O’Donnell said.
Shocked, O’Donnell went with him.
Shootings downtown and in southeast Denver leave victims hospitalized
Sept. 28, 2013
Amber Reid said she saw five to seven people standing in the parking lot of Club California next to the 7-Eleven on Florence Street when she got to the convenience store for work at 4 a.m. Her co-worker had not left the store before they say they heard at least 27 gunshots coming from the club.
GM recall expands, Colorado Rep. Diana DeGette to lead investigation
March 28, 2014
DeGette represents Denver, where three recent car-crash fatalities are under investigation in relation to the faulty GM ignitions, and will manage the proceedings in her position as the ranking Democratic member of the House Energy and Commerce Oversight and Investigations subcommittee since 2011.
Colorado man sues Idaho police over “license-plate profiling” in marijuana case
March 29, 2014
A Colorado resident has filed a lawsuit claiming he was the victim of what his attorney calls “license-plate profiling” during a road trip through Idaho last year.
Darien Roseen filed the federal lawsuit Wednesday in the District of Idaho, more than a year after he said he was unlawfully detained and searched for marijuana on the basis of his Colorado license plates.
2013 Colorado floods:
Mother of flood victim recalls daughter’s caring ways
Sept. 15, 2013
It was in her nature to fight, which is exactly what Wiyanna Nelson did Wednesday when she and three others were caught in the first night of the flood that has brought Colorado to its knees.
Amtrak, freight trains in flood zones likely out through month
Sept. 18, 2013
Spencer Jessee, an Amtrak conductor based in Denver, drove north of Coal Creek Canyon with a friend on Saturday, his day off, to see first-hand the destroyed tracks he’d been hearing about at work.
“We found those tracks between Tunnel 2 and Tunnel 3 just dangling above the torrent,” Jessee said. Rocks, dirt and the whole ballast underneath the century-old tracks, he said, had been washed away.
Cavernous trenches 10-70 feet deep along and underneath train tracks such as those Jessee saw will keep the California Zephyr line closed while repairs are underway, Union Pacific spokesman Mark Davis said. He said he was confident the route would re-open in two weeks.
Second wave of aid arrives for flood-ravaged Colorado towns
Oct. 19, 2013
Among the 38 Headwaters volunteers who either drove or flew to Colorado from Minnesota this week are eight psychologists, social workers and other mental health professionals. Those people met with flood victims to let them know what otherwise might go unsaid — that post-trauma emotions are normal.
“Like telling someone, ‘You might have trouble sleeping,’ ” said Thomley, a clinical psychologist.
Lyons residents return to homes
Oct. 26, 2013
Valerie Combs broke into tears when a pair of Xcel workers announced that natural gas was restored to her home and art collective on Main Street.
Colorado’s flooded farmers, ranchers wait and worry as spring nears
Jan. 12, 2014
With a major chunk of a year’s income in the balance, two more months is too long to wait for farmers looking to plant in March and ranchers racking up bills with no word on reimbursements.
Weekend features:
Nebraska bird couple making last sales trip to Denver bird expo
Nov. 16, 2013
Their youngest child left home 35 years ago, but the two longest continuous members of the Rocky Mountain Society of Aviculture will become true empty nesters after this weekend.
After raising, selling and enjoying thousands of birds over four decades, Joan and Lloyd Marquardt drove their last 71 Spanish Timbrado canaries from Venango, Neb., to the Denver Coliseum and put them on sale.
Colorado blood donor, 85, reaches milestone
Dec. 28, 2013
Bill Cell never looked down at his right arm while the last pint of the 85-year-old’s 85th gallon of blood pumped out from it on Friday.
Across Denver and suburbs, the hunt for eggs is on

April 19, 2014
With candy at stake inside scarce eggs, the action was over in a matter of seconds in Sheridan.
Gabriella Silvia, 9, and Isabella Klein, 10, said they each snagged just one egg because they walked when the rest of the kids ran in the oldest age division.