Zeb Pike, court watcher
Hello court watchers,
This will be a busy but abbreviated week for me in the 4th Judicial District.
On Monday at 1:30 p.m. in Division 12, a sentencing hearing is scheduled for Dustin Thomas, who was accused of injuring a flag woman during a hit and run accident in July. Here’s a brief story on the charges.
On Tuesday, I’ll be helping out on the Gazette’s election night reporting as voters choose Colorado Spring’s first-ever strong mayor and several city council members. Stay with gazette.com for the best election coverage in town.
On Wednesday at 1:30 p.m. in Division 4, a sentencing hearing is scheduled for 15-year-old Daniel Gudino, whom a jury found guilty of the first-degree attempted murder of his mother at their Colorado Springs home on May 18, 2009.
The jury deadlocked on whether Gudino was guilty in the first-degree murder of his 9-year-old brother. Prosecutors have not yet announced whether they will seek a retrial on that charge. Here’s my story on the verdict.
On Thursday at 4:30 p.m., there will be a candle lighting vigil in front of the District Attorney’s office on Vermijo Avenue to mark National Crime Victims Rights Week.
On Friday, I’ll be away attending a Society of Professional Journalists conference in Norfolk, Va. But my Gazette colleagues will be keeping an eye on two hearings.
At 9 a.m., Bruce J. Nozolino is due back in court, presumably with whomever he has hired to defend against charges of killing his ex-wife’s former lover, wounding her divorce lawyer and trying to kill a judge.
At Nozolino’s most recent hearing, Judge William Sylvester ruled that the Colorado Springs anti-tax activist was not entitled to a publically-funded defense attorney. Here’s my most recent story on the case.
Also on Friday at 9 a.m. there’s a continued motions hearing for Hanif Sims and Monique Lynch, the former Monument couple accused in the death of a 9-year-old girl whose body was discovered on May 14, 2010 buried beneath the townhome where they had been living.
Among the motions is a request for a change of venue from Lynch’s public defenders. The two defendants are scheduled to be tried separately with Sim’s trial coming first. Here’s my most recent update on the case.
Bear in mind, hearings often are postponed and rescheduled, so what you see here may not happen.
Do you know of an interesting court story? Let me know.
My email is john.ensslin@gazette.com
John C. Ensslin
Legal Affairs reporter
The Gazette
