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Crime Briefs: What happens in Vegas doesn’t always stay there

A warrant was issued for Kelvin Mike Cooper, 32, of New Castle on Jan. 5 after an investigator from the District Attorney’s Office discovered indications of bond violations on his Facebook page.

When Cooper posted a $30,000 bond in a felony distribution and robbery case in July 2014, it came with the condition that he would not leave the state without court approval.

According to Cooper’s arrest affidavit, however, when the investigator check Cooper’s Facebook page in December, he found a cover photo of the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas, time stamped in September. Also visible to anyone with a Facebook account was profile picture of Cooper with some friends in a limousine and another timeline photo of the group in front of a fighting cage, complete with a comment from Cooper: “Yay we make Vegas look good lol.”



A warrant was issued for the content’s of Cooper’s Facebook, which turned up several chat conversations discussing the trip and photos of fight tickets for Sept. 27.

He was arrested Jan. 12 and released again on bond.



CRAIGSLIST MEETING ENDS BADLY

On Jan. 17, Parachute police were contacted by a man who reported that he had been robbed by a man with a baseball bat as he was leaving the home of a woman he met on Craigslist.

They ultimately arrested Anthony Pike, 43, of Parachute, who lived in another part of the house.

According to the arrest affidavit, the victim told police that the woman he went to meet asked for money to get her car out of impound. He initially refused, then said he would go to the car to get the money, intending to drive away. He said he then encountered the Pike, who threatened him with a bat and made off with $83 from his wallet.

Police contacted Pike, who admitted to chasing a man off with a baseball bat. When police attempted to arrest him, he planted his feet and wouldn’t walk to the patrol car. He was booked for parole violation, aggravated robbery and resisting arrest.

CAR ABANDONED ON HIGHWAY 82

A Colorado State Patrol trooper responded to a one-vehicle crash on Highway 82 near Carbondale around 6 a.m. Jan. 12 to find the vehicle abandoned in a lane with the door open.

The vehicle was towed and authorities contacted the registered owner, who said she had been at work since 5:30 a.m. after giving her boyfriend a ride to the bus stop.

Her boyfriend, Troy Manzanares, 37, of Carbondale, had allegedly taken the car without permission in the past, and reportedly yelled at her when she refused to hand over the keys. Manzanares was subsequently arrested for aggravated motor vehicle theft, a felony, as well as obstructing a highway, careless driving, failure to report an accident and driving under revocation, all misdemeanors.

DRUGS DUMPED FROM CAR

An attempted traffic stop in Rifle turned into a drug seizure Tuesday night, although the suspects got away.

According to a post on the Rifle Police Department’s Facebook page, an officer attempted a traffic stop on a vehicle with no taillights when something fell out of the car. The officer stopped to investigate, thinking it might be a child, and the car sped away. The item turned out to be a backpack containing almost 200 grams of marijuana, almost 100 grams of methamphetamine and psilocybin mushrooms.

Also:

• When police contacted two women accused of attempting to shoplift $45 worth of headphones and body wash at Walmart in Glenwood on Jan. 8, the pair gave their names as Stephanie Cervantes and Janet Matamoros.

Upon further investigation, they were identified as Llaneth Cervantes, 21, and Lillian Campos, 43, both of Carbondale, who had “been using alternate versions of their names throughout their numerous contacts with law enforcement to avoid being positively identified,” according to their arrest affidavits. They were arrested for criminal impersonation, a felony, false reporting, a misdemeanor, and petty theft.

• Gabriel Manygoats, 34, of Bloomfield, New Mexico, was sentenced Jan. 14 to 70 days in jail with two days served and four years of probation on for felony menacing and sexual contact without consent.

• Charles Dwain Shrum, 43, of Asheville, North Carolina, was arrested Jan. 13 on a warrant for aggravated motor vehicle theft in Midland, Texas.


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