Shannon McShane, 57, pleaded guilty to one count of retaliation against a victim or witness, one count of attempting to influence a public servant and one count of perjury, according to a news release. Seven counts of attempting to influence a public servant and five counts of forgery were dismissed in the plea deal.

“We take fraud, and efforts to undermine the integrity of our judicial process, seriously,” Attorney General Phil Weiser said in a statement. “The defendant’s actions created real harm, and this plea agreement holds her accountable.”

McShane was indicted by a state grand jury in October for allegedly lying about having a doctorate in psychology from the University of Hertfordshire in England. The university had no record of McShane being a student there, according to the news release.

She used that fake Ph.D. to obtain a psychologist license and certification as an addiction counselor from the Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies and worked on child custody cases, according to the attorney general’s office.

McShane will be sentenced June 23, according to the release.

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A jury on Tuesday convicted Levi Miller, 34, on two counts of attempted first-degree murder after deliberation, two counts of first-degree assault and four counts of attempted first-degree murder with extreme indifference, according to a news release from Weld County District Attorney’s Office.

Weld County Judge Audrey Galloway sentenced Miller to 156 years in prison on Wednesday.

Miller was arrested in 2021 after he fired more than 30 rounds at two police officers who were responding to a domestic dispute call at Miller’s home in the 1200 block of Aspen Court in Eaton on Sept. 24, 2021. Officers fired back at Miller, who was armed with an MK47 rifle with a 100-round drum magazine, prosecutors said.

Eight rounds hit a neighbor’s house while Miller was firing at officers, with one bullet striking a gas line and seven others hitting the wall of a bedroom where two children slept, according to the news release. Miller was struck in the shootout and taken to a local hospital.

Weld County District Attorney Michael Rourke determined the officers were justified in their use of force and cleared them in November 2021 for firing back at Miller, according to the news release.

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Graffit, a 10-year-old German shepherd, was killed in the line of duty on Feb. 13, 2023, while he and other deputies were pursuing a suspect near the campus when the suspect shot him.

Graffit served alongside Deputy Zachary Oliver, not only as a fellow officer but as a family member. Oliver credited Graffit with saving several lives the day he died.

“This memorial stands not only as a symbol of Graffit’s bravery and service but also as a reflection of the overwhelming support we’ve received,” Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office said in a post on X. “From the generous community contributions that funded this project, to the gifted artist and dedicated builder who brought it to fruition — thank you.”

The suspect, Eduardo Armando Romero, 31, pleaded guilty to aggravated cruelty to animals, identity theft, menacing, driving under the influence and second-degree motor vehicle theft on Feb. 22, 2024, as part of a plea deal and was sentenced to 12 years in prison. Charges of vehicular eluding, first-degree vehicle theft, resisting arrest and obstructing a peace officer were dismissed in the deal.

The sentence will be served consecutively to another sentence Romero is already serving in Denver, according to a release from the First Judicial District Attorney’s Office.

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Ashlye Handy, 36, was convicted of second-degree murder on Jan. 14 in Denver District Court in the shooting death of Abrehem Yohhanes in a Denver apartment building in the 1400 block of Yosemite Street in September 2021, according to a news release from the Denver district attorney’s office.

Yohhanes was discovered bleeding from his head inside an apartment by a friend about 4 a.m. Sept. 16, 2021, according to Handy’s arrest affidavit. The friend went to check on Yohhanes after receiving a screenshot of a concerning text sent by Handy’s brother in a Facebook thread. The text read, “I love you thug rest up.”

Handy, then 32, who is described in the affidavit as Yohhanes’ girlfriend, had already fled the apartment when the friend arrived, according to the affidavit.

Police believe Yohhanes was shot about 11:08 p.m. Sept. 15, 2021, when ShotSpotter reported a shot in the area of 1425 Yosemite St., which is directly next to the apartment building where Yohannes was found, according to the affidavit.

Police also acquired surveillance video of Handy leaving the apartment building about 11:12 p.m. that night, about four minutes after ShotSpotter detected a gunshot in the area, according to the affidavit. She was seen carrying a black and silver handgun, and leaving in a silver Chevy Impala she and Yohhanes had previously arrived in about 10:52 p.m. She was arrested in the shooting on Oct. 19, 2021.

Handy was sentenced to 25 years in the Colorado Department of Corrections on Thursday.

“Abrehem Yohhanes’ murder was a terrible, senseless tragedy: A young man, just 16 years old, killed with nearly his entire life in front of him,” Denver District Attorney John Walsh said in the release. “Ms. Handy will pay a heavy price for her awful actions – a sentence that we hope will bring a measure of comfort and a sense of justice to all those who knew and loved Abrehem.”

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The release did not state a cause for the exposure, but Douglas County Health Department advises parents to monitor their children for symptoms, as pertussis can be severe, especially in children who have not received three doses of the vaccine, according to the release. Vaccinated individuals can still get sick but symptoms are usually less severe.

Symptoms can appear as soon as four days after exposure but could take up to 21 days. Pertussis begins with mild coughing, a runny nose and a low fever but can escalate to more severe symptoms within one to two weeks, according to the release.

Coughing fits may be accompanied by a high-pitched “whooping” sound and may lead to vomiting in some patients.

Douglas County Health Department urges parents to have students with symptoms tested with a nasal swab by a health care provider.

If diagnosed with pertussis, the department recommends that students be placed on antibiotics and be kept home and away from crowded places until they complete a five-day cycle, according to the release.

Anyone with questions about the exposure can contact Fallon Simmons, an epidemiologist at the Douglas County Health Department, at 720-643-2481.

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Michael Graham-Hyde hit a man and his dog, who were walking on the sidewalk, when he lost control while driving an SUV at a high speed traveling westbound on East Wesley Drive around 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, according to a news release from Aurora Police Department. The dog was killed instantly and the man was taken to a hospital where he later died.

Graham-Hyde turned himself in in the early hours of Friday morning after fleeing the scene at the time of the crash, according to the release. He was charged with careless driving resulting in death and leaving the scene of an accident involving injury.

Drugs and alcohol are not believed to be a factor and Graham-Hyde is cooperating with the investigation, according to the release. The Arapahoe County Coroner will identify the man who was killed.

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Broomfield Police Department’s Animal Services unit found the owlet near a hangar with several broken feathers, according to Broomfield police public information officer Sgt. Todd Dahlbach. He said the animal services officers believe the baby owl likely fell from a building while trying to fly.

Officers brought the owlet to the Birds of Prey Foundation for treatment and rehabilitation. The young bird happily obliged to being weighed by Birds of Prey staff, according to a post on X from Broomfield police.

The owl is expected to make a full recovery and be released back into the wild, Dahlbach said. The Birds of Prey Foundation could not be reached for information on the owlet’s status.

Anyone who finds injured wildlife can call the Broomfield Police Department at 303-438-6400 and ask for Animal Services.

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The Weld County Sheriff’s Office investigated Micah Rojas, 25, for the reported October 2023 sexual assault of a juvenile, according to the post. Detectives were able to connect the assault to a similar child sexual assault case in Nebraska.

Rojas was already in custody in Nebraska when Weld County detectives interviewed him, according to the post. Rojas reportedly admitted to the acts he was accused of in the Weld County case. The post did not include identifying details about the victim, including their age and gender, or more details about the accusations.

Rojas was sentenced to 10 to 15 years for attempted first-degree sexual assault in April 2024 in the Nebraska case, according to the Weld County Sheriff’s Office and the Nebraska Sex Offender Registry. He was then tried in the Weld County case and found guilty.

Rojas was sentenced in that case to 15 years to life in prison on Friday on two counts of sexual assault of a child with a pattern of abuse, according to the post. His Weld County sentence will run consecutive to his Nebraska sentence.

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Ilya Slavin, 38, pleaded guilty to vehicular homicide involving a DUI, reckless vehicular assault and animal cruelty. He was sentenced to 12 years in prison for the vehicular homicide charge, three years in prison for the vehicular assault charge and 364 days in jail for the animal cruelty charge. The jail time will run concurrently with his prison sentence.

Slavin will be placed on parole for three years after his release.

A charge of vehicular homicide involving reckless driving and a charge of vehicular assault involving a DUI were dismissed by plea.

Slavin was driving a white pickup truck east on West Colfax Avenue on June 5, 2024, when he crashed into a white Audi at the Garrison Street intersection, killing 65-year-old Beth Bargas, according to a Lakewood Police Department news release. A passenger in the Audi was hospitalized with several injuries.

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Jontaye Acoray Tassian, 25, pleaded guilty to first-degree assault causing serious bodily injury with a deadly weapon and child abuse.

Tassian was arrested for second-degree murder in June, but the charge was dismissed in the plea deal. A charge of tampering with physical evidence also was dropped.

Tassian shot a man he reportedly didn’t know during an altercation at Church’s Texas Chicken, at 11900 E. Colfax Ave., according to Aurora police. Tassian fled the scene with a woman. The victim’s 7-year-old daughter was present during the shooting, according to the Arapahoe County district attorney’s office.

The victim was taken to a hospital, where he later died.

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