Here are the results of the balloting for top court story of 2010.

Looks like readers and I are in agreement on the top story: the murder and attempted murder indictment against anti-tax activist and retired software engineer Bruce J. Nozolino.

There may have been some ballot stuffing here, but I can’t argue with any of the poll’s other results.

(Note: four stories tied for 7th place, but none drew many votes, so I’m not including them here.)

So here are your top six choices:

1.  The Nozolino indictment

A grand jury indicted Bruce J. Nozolino on charges of killing a Stetson Hills man as well as trying to kill a judge and a divorce lawyer. Nozolino also has been charged with tampering with grand jury witnesses and punching an inmate in the El Paso County Jail.

 2.   Neo-Nazi trial

The first-degree murder trial of Kandin Eric Wilson, an alleged Neo-Nazi recruit, opened a window onto the inner workings of The American Nazi Party. A jury found Wilson guilty in the murder of a Colorado Springs restaurant manager during a bungled robbery attempt. He was sentenced to serve life in prison.

 3.  The Allmon verdict

A jury convicted Willie B. Allmon of raping and fatally beating his 8-month-old grandson while babysitting the boy in the grandfather’s Widefield home. Allmon, a 52-year-old registered sex offender, is now serving life in prison.

4.    Hazard killing

Prosecutors charged a 16-year-old girl with killing Jon R. Hazard, who had been accused of sexually assaulting her. After nearly a year of negotiations and evaluation, the girl was sentenced to 2 years probation after she pleaded guilty in juvenile court to a charge of manslaughter.

5.   Gudino tried as juvenile

A judge ruled that a 14-year-old boy accused of killing his younger brother and wounding their mom should be tried as a juvenile. Daniel Gudino’s attorneys argued that the boy suffered from a mental illness and may have been sleep walking when the shootings occurred. The trial is set for Feb. 7.

6.  Murder in Monument

A couple was charged in the child abuse death of a 9-year-old girl whose body was discovered buried in the muddy crawl space beneath a town home. A judge has ordered Hanif Sims and Monique Lynch to stand trial in the case.

Top court stories of 2010 (your picks) is a post from: The Sidebar

What an amazing year it’s been in terms of court stories. I had a hard time whittling this list down to ten and as you’ll see, I’ve included five more that you could argue should be on this list.

I’m interested in what you think ought to be on a list of the top 10 court stories of the year. So at the bottom of this list you’ll find a poll where you can cast your own vote. Balloting will remain open through Dec. 31.

Also, if I’ve overlooked a story, let me know. My e-mail: john.ensslin@gazette.com.

John C. Ensslin

Legal affairs reporter

The Gazette

1.  The Nozolino indictment

     A grand jury indicted anti-tax activist Bruce J. Nozolino on charges of killing a Stetson Hills man as well as trying to kill a judge and a divorce lawyer. Nozolino also has been charged with tampering with grand jury witnesses and punching an inmate in the El Paso County Jail.

Here’s a link to the story:

2.   Gudino tried as juvenile

A judge ruled that a 14-year-old boy accused of killing his younger brother and wounding their mom should be tried as a juvenile. Daniel Gudino’s attorneys argued that the boy suffered from a mental illness and may have been sleep walking when the shootings occurred. The trial is set for Feb. 7.

Here’s my story.

 3.    The Allmon verdict

A jury convicted Willie B. Allmon of raping and fatally beating his 8-month-old grandson while babysitting the boy in the grandfather’s Widefield home. Allmon, a 52-year-old registered sex offender, is now serving life in prison.

Here’s my story from the sentencing hearing.

4.    Hazard killing

Prosecutors charged a 16-year-old girl with killing Jon R. Hazard, who had been accused of sexually assaulting her. After nearly a year of negotiations and evaluation, the girl was sentenced to 2 years probation after she pleaded guilty in juvenile court to a charge of manslaughter.

Here’s my story:

5.     The Volmar verdict

Former U.S. Olympic Judo team athlete Adler Volmar won acquittal on charges that he sexually assaulted a 15-year-old girl in his Colorado Springs hotel room after she had been drinking at a downtown nightclub. The jury, however, found Volmar guilty of two misdemeanor sex offenses.

Here’s a link to the story.

6.    Cuneo verdict

A jury found Jules Lynn Cuneo guilty of manslaughter in the beating death of her two-year-old foster child but acquitted her of first-degree murder charges. A judge sentenced Cuneo to 32 years in prison. Here’s our story on the sentencing.

7. Murder in Monument

A couple was charged in the child abuse death of a 9-year-old girl whose body was discovered buried in the muddy crawl space beneath a town home. A judge has ordered Hanif Sims and Monique Lynch to stand trial in the case.

Here’s my story on their preliminary hearing:

8.   The Xbox murder verdicts

Separate juries found two men guilty in the murder of a developmentally disabled man whose body was discovered months later in North Cheyenne Canon. Both Derek Lee Hernandez and Kyle Stott were sentenced to life in prison for what the judge called “murder for sport.” There was testimony at both trials that the pair had stolen the victim’s Xbox video game system.

Here’s my story on the second verdict.

 9.   Neo-Nazi trial

The first-degree murder trial of Kandin Eric Wilson, an alleged Neo-Nazi recruit, opened a window onto the inner workings of The American Nazi Party. A jury found Wilson guilty in the murder of a Colorado Springs restaurant manager during a bungled robbery attempt. He was sentenced to serve life in prison.

Here’s my story on the sentencing.

10. Judge tosses wiretap evidence

Fourth Judicial District Judge Deborah Grohs barred evidence gathered in a drug case via wiretaps because the order authorizing the surveillance was signed by Chief Judge Kirk Samelson, who at the time, had a son working as a prosecutor in the District Attorney’s office. A defense lawyer called this a conflict and the judge agreed. The DA has appealed her decision to the Colorado Supreme Court. That ruling is pending.

Here’s my story on the ruling.

Other possibilities:

The Big O murder

A Como teenager was ordered to stand trial on a charge of first-degree murder in the fatal shooting of an employee at the Big O tire store in Monument. But during a preliminary hearing, police testified that the victim in the case had been sent home for drinking on the job moments before the shooting.

Here’s my story on the hearing.

The homeless murder trial

The trial of a man accused of beating a homeless man to death took two attempts (the first ended in a mistrial.) But eventually, a jury found Taylor Lane Gwaltney guilty of first-degree murder for bashing in the head of a man who had been sleeping on an overpass above Interstate 25. Gwaltney is now serving a life sentence.

Here’s my story on the sentencing.

Parole officer acquittal

A jury found Richard L. Riley not guilty of sexually assaulting a female parole who he was supervising. The jurors said they had problems with the credibility of the accuser, who had two prior convictions for false reporting.

Here’s my story on the verdict. 

Ex-soldier convicted in fatal shooting

A jury convicted former Army gunner Thomas Woolly of criminal negligent homicide in the shooting death of a 19-year-old Colorado Springs woman. But the jurors acquitted Woolly of the more serious charge of reckless manslaughter. His defense lawyer objected to the lesser charge being added on the eve of the verdict.

Here’s my story on the verdict.

Ex-detective pleads insanity

Former El Paso County Sheriff’s Deputy Jerald Day pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to charges stemming from a standoff he had with law enforcement officers in Douglas County. Day was hired back as a civilian employee at the county jail while he awaits trial.

Here’s my story on his plea.

Top 10 Court Stories of 2010 (you pick them) is a post from: The Sidebar

Click here to view the embedded video.

UPDATE: The habitual criminal hearing on Kandin Wilson plus his sentencing has been rescheduled to Oct. 25.

Know of a court case I ought to be covering? Let me know. My e-mail is john.ensslin@gazette.com

The Daily Docket is a post from: The Sidebar

Zeb Pike, court watcher

Good day court watchers,

Most of the judges in the 4^th Judicial District are on retreat today through Wednesday, so this figures to be a quiet week around the court house. 

As a result, the Sidebar will take a small retreat of its own. I’ll resume blogging on Thursday.

Meanwhile, here’s an abbreviated look at what will be happening later this week.

 On Thursday, a preliminary hearing is scheduled for two men accused of killing a former soldier during a marijuana robbery gone awry.

Here’s our most recent story on the case:

On Friday, a hearing is scheduled to determine whether Kandin Eric Wilson is a habitual offender.

Wilson, an alleged neo-Nazi, already faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison after a jury convicted him of the first-degree murder of a Colorado Springs restaurant manager.

Here’s a story on that verdict:

If Judge David L. Shakes finds that Wilson is a habitual offender, it would multiply the sentence he gets for a related conviction of attempted robbery.

Keep in mind, court hearings are frequently subject to delay and postponement. So what you see here may or may not occur.

If I’m missing something here, let me know. My e-mail: john.ensslin@gazette.com

The Week Ahead is a post from: The Sidebar

Kandin Eric Wilson

The jury in the first-degree murder trial of Kandin Eric Wilson has reached a verdict.

Wilson, 29, is the alleged neo-Nazi recruit accused of killing  Susana Pelayo-Perez, a 35-year-old Colorado Springs restaurant manager. The jury has been deliberating the case for three full days.

One of the alternate jurors just arrived to hear the news. I’m in the courtroom where we’re awaiting the arrival of the victim’s relatives. Stay tuned to gazette.com for the outcome.

the 10-woman, 2-man jury will decide if Wilson was the gunman who shot and fatally wounded Susana Pelayo-Perez, 35, in the parking lot of the Shannon Glen apartments at 260 N. Murray Blvd around 1 a.m. on Sept. 27.

Perez-Pelayo had been sitting as a passenger in a white Chevrolet Yukon driven by Hermemegildo Castellon, a childhood friend with whom she had been having an affair.

Castellon testified that a red car pulled up along side his vehicle.

“They have no idea who’s in that car,” Deputy District Attorney Nathan Whitney told the jury during closing arguments Friday. “Mr. Castellon looks over and sees a man he’s never seen before.”

The man in the passenger seat of the red car asked for directions and then he pulled out a handgun, demanding money. Castellon said he hit the gas pedal and as his SUV sped forward onto Murray, one bullet shattered a rear passenger window, hitting hit Pelayo-Perez. He drove her to Memorial Hospital, where she died a short time later.

Prosecutors reminded the jurors that two eyewitnesses – Castellon and the driver of the red car, Kyle Gray – identified Wilson as the man who fired a single hollow-point .40 caliber slug that killed Pelayo-Perez, the manager of a La Casita restaurant.

Gray testified that he was driving his girlfriend’s red Ford Escape that night when Wilson directed him to the parking lot and the white SUV saying, “Let’s go get it.”

Prosecutors also showed jurors a picture of Wilson and Gray arm in arm with several members of the American Nazi Party. Gray testified that Wilson had agreed to become a “prospect:” with the party, which he described as a white prison gang.

“This picture speaks volumes,” Whitney said.

But Wilson’s attorney Philip Dubois challenged Gray’s credibility, noting that in exchange for his testimony, Gray will be sentenced to between 20 to 34 years in prison for his role in the shooting.

Dubois argued that police conducted a wide open investigation in the aftermath of the murder until they interviewed Gray in the El Paso County Jail, where he was serving time for a restraining order violation.

“After that, minds were closed,” Dubois said.

Dubois said Gray, an admitted “soldier” within the ANP, lived by a set of rules.

“A very important rule is: don’t give up one of your members.” Dubois said.

As a “prospect”, Wilson was more expendable than a full-fledged ANP, the defense lawyer reasoned.

Dubois also challenged Castellon’s ability to pick Wilson out of a set of six mug shots, noting that Castellon had admitting having about 10 beers on the night leading up to the shooting.

Dubois also noted Wilson had an alibi: he had been at home with his aunt and uncle when the shooting occurred.

Prosecutors countered with cell phone records of the signals bouncing off towers that showed he was not at his relatives’ Colorado Springs home at the time of the murder.

Wilson would face a mandatory life sentence without parole if found guilty of first-degree murder. He could also get additional time if Judge David L. Shakes finds him guilty of being a habitual criminal because of prior felony convictions of theft, trespass and giving false information to a pawnbroker.

Jury reached verdict in Wilson murder trial is a post from: The Sidebar

A jury is deliberating in the trial of a Colorado Springs man accused of possessing sexually explicit images of young girls.

But just how young is one of the issues in the trial of Billy R. Jones, 21, who is charged with of 22 counts of sexual exploitation of a child.

On Wednesday, jurors watched several videos seized from Jones’ computer depicting young girls exposing themselves.

Fourth Judicial District Judge David L. Shakes ordered the courtroom cleared of “idle spectators” before the videos were shown.

(Note to reader: while I’ve been accused sometimes of being an idle spectator, I was busy covering a murder trial in another courtroom at the time.)

The photos and videos showed girls in bikinis and panties pulling down their clothes, according to Colorado Springs Detective Clay Blackwell. One girl appeared to be photographing herself in a mirror. Blackwell estimated their ages at 12 to 15.

On cross-examination, Deputy Public Defender Eydie Elkins asked Blackwell if biologically there was not much physical difference between post-pubescent girls ages 16 to 19.

“It all depends on the girl,” he said.

He agreed with Elkins when she observed that the girls in the photos appeared to be attractive, pubescent and “pleased with themselves.” He agreed that they appeared to be aware they were being photographed.

Blackwell also testified that he was unable to locate the girls in the pictures and did not know their dates of birth.

Jones was arrested May 28, 2009. The charges date back to December 2008.  He is free on a $10,000 bond.

This jury began deliberations after lunch. The panel is one of two currently out before Judge Shakes.

Another set of jurors is in its third day of deliberations in the first-degree murder trial of Kandin Eric Wilson.

Stay turned to the Sidebar for the verdicts.

Jury out in child sexual exploitation trial is a post from: The Sidebar

Jurors in the first-degree murder trial of Kandin Eric Wilson adjourned after a second full day of deliberation without reaching a verdict.

They will resume deliberations Thursday morning. Stay tuned to The Sidebar for updates and the verdict.

Update: no verdict in Wilson murder trial is a post from: The Sidebar

The jury in the first-degree murder trial of alleged neo-Nazi recruit Kandin Eric Wilson has adjourned without a verdict after one full day of deliberation.

Deliberations will resume Wednesday morning. Stay tuned to the Sidebar blog for updates and the verdict.

Wilson homicide jury in recess is a post from: The Sidebar

Good cop/Good cop

Colorado Springs Det. Donald Chagnon is the lead investigator in the shooting death of Susana Pelayo-Perez, the Colorado Springs restaurant manager who was shot to death in a botched robbery.

Kandin Eric Wilson is an alleged American Nazi Party “prospect” who was charged with first-degree murder and robbery in the Sept. 27^th shooting.

Last week, defense attorney Philip Dubois was cross-examining Chagon on the interrogation techniques that he and other detectives used on Wilson.

Specifically, Dubois wanted to know if Chagnon and fellow detective Brad Pratt were using the old “Good Bad/Bad Cop” routine with Pratt in this instance as the “bad cop.”

Not really, Chagnon replied.

“I know the technique, but I don’t like it and I don’t use it,” he testified.

 Master of the one-liner

During the trial, Dubois showed a knack for encapsulating a long stretch of testimony with a memorable one-liner.

For example, while describing Det. Pratt’s interrogation technique, Dubois described him as “the master of the implied promise that isn’t a promise.”

One of Dubois’ quips, however, drew an objection from prosecutors.

“Was there anything in your arsenal short of electrodes and rubber hoses…that you didn’t try?” Dubois asked Chagnon.

Judge David L. Shakes ruled the question improper and ordered the jury to disregard it.

The underbelly of society

Senior Deputy District Attorney Jeff Lindsey acknowledged that Kyle Gray was not someone the jurors should like.

“That man (Wilson) and Kyle Gray were up to no good that night.” Lindsey said, raising Gray’s affiliation with the American Nazi Party.

“They represent the underbelly of our society. They represent hate,” Lindsey added. “And it was hate that caused these two to out that night and engage in random acts of violence.”

Notes from the Wilson homicide trial is a post from: The Sidebar

Kandin Eric Wilson

Jury deliberations began this morning in the first-degree murder trial of an alleged neo-Nazi recruit accused of killing a Colorado Springs restaurant manager during a botched robbery.

As the trial enters its third week in 4^th Judicial District court, a 10-woman, 2-man jury will decide if Kandin Eric Wilson, 29, was the gunman who shot and fatally wounded Susana Pelayo-Perez, 35, in the parking lot of the Shannon Glen apartments at 260 N. Murray Blvd around 1 a.m. on Sept. 27.

Perez-Pelayo had been a passenger in a white Chevrolet Yukon driven by Hermemegildo Castellon, a childhood friend with whom she had been having an affair.

Castellon testified that a red car pulled up along side his vehicle.

“They have no idea who’s in that car,” Deputy District Attorney Nathan Whitney told the jury during closing arguments Friday. “Mr. Castellon looks over and sees a man he’s never seen before.”

The man in the passenger seat of the red car asked for directions and then he pulled out a handgun, demanding money. Castellon said he hit the gas pedal and as his SUV sped forward onto Murray, one bullet shattered a rear passenger window, hitting hit Pelayo-Perez. He drove her to Memorial Hospital, where she died a short time later.

Prosecutors reminded the jurors that two eyewitnesses – Castellon and the driver of the red car, Kyle Gray – identified Wilson as the man who fired a single hollow-point .40 caliber slug that killed Pelayo-Perez, the manager of a La Casita restaurant.

Gray testified that he was driving his girlfriend’s red Ford Escape that night when Wilson directed him to the parking lot and the white SUV saying, “Let’s go get it.”

Prosecutors also showed jurors a picture of Wilson and Gray arm in arm with several members of the American Nazi Party. Gray testified that Wilson had agreed to become a “prospect:” with the party, which he described as a white prison gang.

“This picture speaks volumes,” Whitney said.

But Wilson’s attorney Philip Dubois challenged Gray’s credibility, noting that in exchange for his testimony, Gray will be sentenced to between 20 to 34 years in prison for his role in the shooting.

Dubois argued that police conducted a wide open investigation in the aftermath of the murder until they interviewed Gray in the El Paso County Jail, where he was serving time for a restraining order violation.

“After that, minds were closed,” Dubois said.

Dubois said Gray, an admitted “soldier” within the ANP, lived by a set of rules.

“A very important rule is: don’t give up one of your members.” Dubois said.

As a “prospect”, Wilson was more expendable than a full-fledged ANP member, the defense lawyer reasoned.

Dubois also challenged Castellon’s ability to pick Wilson out of a set of six mug shots, noting that Castellon had admitting having about 10 beers on the night leading up to the shooting.

Dubois also noted Wilson had an alibi: he had been at home with his aunt and uncle when the shooting occurred.

Prosecutors countered with cell phone records of the signals bouncing off towers that showed he was not at his relatives’ Colorado Springs home at the time of the murder.

Wilson would face a mandatory life sentence without parole if found guilty of first-degree murder. He could also get additional time if Judge David L. Shakes finds him guilty of being a habitual criminal because of prior felony convictions of theft, trespass and giving false information to a pawnbroker.

Stay tuned to The Sidebar for updates on the trial and the verdict.

Jury out in Wilson homicide trial is a post from: The Sidebar