Author: KRDO

Mackenzie Stafford

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – On Saturday, June 28, the Colorado Springs Police Department (CSPD) was working to investigate reports of a felony menacing just before 3 p.m.

Officers say the crime happened at a business complex on Southgate Road. Police later found the suspect at a different business in the area and took him into custody.

CSPD identified the suspect as Cameron Brown. When police brought Brown to the station, they say that as they were moving him into a holding area, he assaulted an officer.

Police say additional officers jumped into action and helped to move Brown into the holding area.

Brown was booked into the El Paso County Jail, where he faces both menacing and assaulting a peace officer charges.

Police say the officer remained on duty.

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Mackenzie Stafford

MANITOU SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – The Manitou Springs Fire Department (MSFD) is set to hold a wildland fire training exercise on Sunday, June 29, from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. in Deer Valley Park.

The city wants to warn residents and visitors in the area that during the training, you may notice smoke and fire equipment. They say this is part of a scheduled training exercise and not an emergency.

Manitou Springs officials say these proactive drills are critical to ensuring that fire crews remain prepared for real wildfire scenarios.

For non-emergency questions you can contact the Manitou Springs Fire Department at 719-685-1444.

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Mackenzie Stafford

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – One man is now in the hospital after a stabbing early Sunday morning. 

The Colorado Springs Police Department (CSPD) says it happened just before 2 a.m. on North Academy Boulevard. The area is just south of Constitution Avenue.  

Police say that medics arrived first and found a 31-year-old man with a stab wound to the side. 

CSPD says the man was transported via ambulance to Memorial Hospital with, what was initially assessed as, life threatening internal injuries. Medical personnel were able to stabilize the male and he is expected to survived, accorrding to police.

Officers are investigating the incident.

CSPD tells KRDO13 there is not yet a suspect.

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Karla Sosa

EL PASO COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) – El Paso County Search and Rescue tells KRDO13 they’re seeing a big increase in rescue calls and summer has barely started. With warmer temperatures sticking around, more people are getting outdoors, but the increased heat also brings more risk if you’re not prepared.

Last year, in June, El Paso County Search and Rescue received 15 calls. This year, for the same month, they’ve already had 21 calls, and the month isn’t over.

Chris Valentine, with El Paso County Search and Rescue, said most of their rescues this year have been at the Manitou Incline. One of their busiest weekends was just earlier this month.

“Seven of them were on June 14th and 15, which is a very busy weekend. So, you know, folks who were last up at Rampart Reservoir, folks who are sick on the incline and on our trails. So, we have a number of patients on those two days,” said Valentine.

Valentine said there could be a number of reasons why there’s an increase in search and rescue calls.

“Yeah, it’s impossible to put your finger on what is happening. We have people who are getting lost in the middle of the people getting sick and injured in the wilderness,” said Valentine.

There are about 70 volunteers who are part of the search and rescue team, and every rescue is a challenge. Although they’re all volunteers, saving lives is their number one priority.

“It takes about 20 of us just to go on a simple mission of our trail with someone who hurt an ankle or something like that, it takes a lot of people, resources in the back country,” said Valentine. “We all have normal jobs, our lives, and we just kind of stop what we’re doing if we’re able to and respond to that call.”

These volunteers train all year round so they can be prepared for whenever they get a call.        

“So we’re always preparing for everything from angler rescue to backcountry rescue to a blizzard mission. So, our team trains hundreds of hours every month,” said Valentine.

Valentine said the most common calls they get are for injuries, illness, or when people get lost. 

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Mackenzie Stafford

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – A celebration of western heritage and a salute to our first responders and military heroes in the Pikes Peak region gets underway at 4 p.m. on Saturday.

It’s the 1st Annual Guns & Hoses City Slickers Ranch Rodeo.

The rodeo’s contestants will be made up of local law enforcement, first responders, and military teams. Event organizers say each team is made up of five city slickers and one real-deal cowboy. The cowboy rides horseback. The city slickers? They’re on foot. No experience necessary.

Teams are set to duke it out in four timed events. The fastest team overall will walk away with bragging rights, shiny belt buckles and the satisfaction of winning it all for their chosen charity.

The event kicks off at 4 p.m. at the Norris Penrose Event Center, located at 1045 Lower Gold Camp Rd.

Great for family fun, first up is touch-a-truck where you can come early and climb into patrol cars and fire engines.

The main rodeo show gets underway at 6 p.m. where event organizers say you can watch your heroes hustle, rope, race and probably rethink their life choices, all for a good cause.

After that wraps up the night finishes up with professional bull riding.

Tickets for the event are $20. If you’d like to attend tickets can be purchased here.

The rodeo is a joint effort between the Norris Penrose Rodeo Legacy Foundation, C&L Productions and the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office (EPSO).

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Mackenzie Stafford

MANITOU SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – UPDATE at 10:30 a.m.: A major water main break near Ruxton Avenue and Osage Avenue has led to a full closure of Ruxton Avenue to all vehicles and bicycles, according to Manitou Springs officials. They say the closure is necessary to protect public safety and allow city crews to perform emergency infrastructure repairs.

The city says parking at the Iron Springs Chateau lot is temporarily prohibited. Along with that, Ruxton Avenue is restricted to pedestrian access only. No vehicles or bicycles are permitted.

Manitou Springs officials ask visitors parked at the Pikes Peak Cog Railway to exit using Capitol Hill Avenue to Waltham Avenue and then to Manitou Avenue.

They say residents and emergency vehicles only may use the internal detour route via Capitol Hill Avenue, Illinois Avenue, Mesa Avenue, and Minnehaha Avenue.

PREVIOUS REPORTING: As of 9 a.m. on Sunday, June 28, Manitou Springs city crews are responding to an active water main break near the intersection of Ruxton Avenue and Osage Avenue.

The city says the situation is ongoing, and while a formal detour route is still being finalized, a full closure of Ruxton Avenue is likely.

The city urges motorists, residents, and visitors to avoid the area and seek alternate routes until further notice. There is currently no estimated time for completion of the repair, but additional updates will be provided as more information becomes available, the city says.

Mountain Metro Transit Route 33 to the Incline will stop on Manitou Ave and Ruxton Ave until resolved.

The city says that as service returns, residents may experience discolored water or low water pressure. This is normal. They ask you to run your bathtub, or the lowest tap in your home, on cold for five minutes or until the water runs clear.

KRDO13 has a crew on the way and will update this article as more information becomes available.

For further questions, the City asks residents to contact the City of Manitou Springs Public Services Department at 719-685-2573. For water outage details in Manitou Springs, click here.

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Sadie Buggle

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – Colorado Springs police have confirmed that one person is dead after a road rage incident overnight led to a fatal shooting just east of downtown Colorado Springs.

The CSPD said that they were called to the area of Platte Avenue and Cedar Street at around 11:45 p.m. on Thursday, June 26, to investigate what was initially reported to be a drive-by shooting.

An early investigation revealed that as three vehicles were driving in the area, there was a “minor disturbance” between two of the drivers, CSPD said.

The three drivers all pulled to the side of the road, where two of them began arguing – but the confrontation soon turned physical, police say.

The driver of one of the vehicles then grabbed a weapon and fired at the person he had fought with; police said that the victim died at the scene.

Officers spoke with the other two drivers on scene and transported them to the police department for further interviews.

The CSPD confirmed that the male shooting suspect has been arrested on suspicion of second-degree murder. His name, as well as the name of the victim, is not being released at this time, police said.

Eastbound Platte was closed off overnight as police investigated the scene; the street reopened shortly before 7 a.m. Friday.

Katie Gallegos lives across the street and said that she was in bed when she heard eight gunshots, followed by screaming.

“I ran outside, heard some screaming, and went down the street a little bit farther, right in front of the house, and saw a man lying on the ground,” she said. “I’ve dealt with some homicides in my family, and I know the feeling that they were going through.”

Gallegos’ door camera recorded some of the incident.

Millie Fick recently moved back to town after being away for a while, and was stunned by the fatal shooting down the street from her home.

“At first, I thought the gunshots were fireworks,” she said. “It doesn’t keep me from wanting to be here, by no means. But it’s sad. It’s so sad.”

Some longtime neighbors said that the shooting was reminiscent of the Halloween 2015 shooting in the same area; Noah Harpham shot and killed a man on a bicycle, then killed two women sitting on a front porch before he himself died during a shootout with police.

This is a developing story and may be updated as we learn more.

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Abby Smith

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – An El Paso County Judge dismissed the case of Joel Lang, 41, the man charged in a fatal hit-and-run that killed Kristy Kerst, declaring him incompetent to stand trial.

During court today, KRDO13 Investigates learned that two doctors had evaluated Lang due to a brain injury he had suffered as a child. Both doctors said it was unlikely that Lang could ever be restored to competence.

Last year, Monument Police responded to an accident in the parking lot of McDonald’s located at 765 W. Baptist Road on Nov. 4. The Office of the District Attorney has now confirmed that Kerst was killed in the parking lot after exiting her car to inspect it for damage after Lang’s van had bumped into it. While driving away, Lang hit Kerst. She was trapped and dragged hundreds of feet.

Lang later turned himself in on Nov. 6, confessing to El Paso County deputies that he had hit Kerst. His arrest affidavit said Lang told deputies that he knew that he drove over Kerst’s body, and knew it was dragging underneath his car for at least 300 feet.

KRDO13 Investigates spoke with the family of Kerst, who told us the ruling came as a shock.

Kerst’s daughter, Britany Visage, told us, “It’s heart-wrenching. Personally, my sense of safety has been shattered.”

“To know that we’ll never hear the words he’s guilty. In a society where we’re constantly told someone is proven innocent or someone is innocent until proven guilty, it’s very hard,” Visage said.

“Hearing that you can just kill somebody and have a technicality reasoning to defend it, it just doesn’t seem right,” Hanna Kerst said.

In a statement, the district attorney office of Michael J. Allen expressed sympathy for the family and displeasure with the ruling saying “That family will live with the unseen scars of that day, and they will know the government chose to protect their loved one’s killer over their safety and well-being –and that of our community as a whole.”

Allen went on to say in the statement that “The competency statutes that created the result in Lang’s case have been amended 11 times since 2019. That is excessive meddling by a legislature intent on weakening our public safety statutes. It means this defendant, and any others who fall into the same category, will walk free with no accountability. Free to hurt, maim, or kill again.”

Lang will remain in custody pending a review setting on Aug. 1 to allow for the arrangement of mental health services that will assist with Lang’s transition.

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Scott Harrison

EL PASO COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) — Four months after moisture and temperature extremes caused extensive damage in the Hanover area, crews are nearly finished resurfacing a two-mile stretch of Myers Road between Peyton Highway and Finch Road.

The weather, which changed from snowy and below zero to sunny and warm in a few days, crumbled the chip-sealed pavement on the rural road that was applied in 2007.

In March, crews started a $300,000 strategy to pulverize the existing pavement and apply several inches of new material to form the base for new pavement.

Over the past few weeks, crews have applied a double chip-seal layer; the process spreads finely-crushed rock and covers it with a tar-like material that dries and seals the new surface.

A crew on the scene Thursday said that the process is almost finished.

“They’re actually putting a slope into the road,” Dan Gerhard, a county public works engineer, explained. “That way, when the chip is applied, there is proper drainage. And the chip seal is nice because it’s a very flexible pavement, and it won’t just straight crack nearly as easily as asphalt or a slurry seal. The chip seal can kind of move, which will prevent future cracking.”

KRDO 13’s The Road Warrior spoke with several Hanover residents about the project.

“Right now, I love it because I’ve been driving it for three years now,” said Dave Eastin. “To be honest, it was really dangerous prior to about two weeks ago.”

Lauryn Hutto agrees.

“Honestly, because I’ve lived out here so long, this has a lot of the main traffic, so this is definitely a priority right here on Myers,” she said.

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Bradley Davis

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – A local veterinarian returned stateside after a 10-day trip vaccinating pets in Tanzania against rabies.

Doctor Anastasia McIntosh said she and nine other doctors vaccinated over 1,300 animals against the disease on behalf of “Rabies Free Africa.”

We first introduced you to McIntosh and the mission of Rabies Free Africa before her trip earlier this month.

READ MORE: Local veterinarian traveling to Africa to help save lives from rabies

McIntosh is a veterinarian at the Polo Springs Veterinary Hospital in Colorado Springs. She said the clinic donates $1 of every rabies vaccine it gives to Rabies Free Africa. You can also donate here.

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