Colorado
Apparent altercation between Boebert and ex-husband investigated
SILT, Colorado (AP) — An investigation is being conducted into an apparent altercation between U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert and her ex-husband Jayson Boebert at a restaurant, police in Silt, Colorado, confirmed Sunday.
It’s unclear what happened on Saturday, but Boebert’s campaign released a statement Sunday in which she said she “didn’t punch Jayson in the face and no one was arrested. I will be consulting with my lawyer about the false claims he made against me and evaluate all of my legal options.”
Police Chief Mike Kite confirmed the investigation, but declined to release details, including who called police.
Officers planned to talk with witnesses and ask the restaurant owners for any video that might have captured what happened, Kite said. The Miner’s Claim restaurant is closed on Sundays and no one answered the phone there.
Jayson Boebert did not immediately respond to a request for comment sent via Facebook.
“This is a sad situation for all and another reason I’m moving,” Lauren Boebert’s statement said.
Boebert, a Republican who has served two terms in the U.S. House representing the western side of the state, announced on Dec. 27 that she was switching congressional districts this year to run for a seat representing the eastern side of Colorado. The seat is open with the retirement of Republican U.S. Rep. Ken Buck.
In her current district, Boebert probably would have faced a Democratic challenger who nearly defeated her in the 2022 general election and who has far outraised her.
In September, Boebert and a guest were kicked out of a musical performance of “Beetlejuice” in Denver after guests complained they were vaping, singing, using phones and causing a disturbance. She later apologized.
In her relatively short time in Washington, Boebert built a national profile and has aligned with the extreme right wing of the GOP. Her assertive style has grabbed headlines, most famously when she heckled President Joe Biden during his 2022 State of the Union address.
Wisconsin
Woman pleads guilty to homicide charges in crash that killed 5
MILWAUKEE (AP) — A Milwaukee woman pleaded guilty Friday to five homicide charges after driving her minivan through a red light in May and crashing into another car, killing five passengers including a 1-year-old girl and three teenagers.
In exchange for the guilty plea, prosecutors dismissed six other felony charges against Anteyona Sandifer, 21.
Assistant District Attorney Sara Sadowski said she would ask the court for a “substantial prison sentence,” the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported. Sentencing is scheduled for Feb. 19.
Police say the minivan was speeding when it went through a red light and collided with another vehicle and a pole. Killed in the crash were the 1-year-old girl, two 15-year-old girls, a 17-year-old boy and a 32-year-old man.
Sandifer was driving an estimated 80 mph (128.75 kilometers per hour) when she ran a red light, a report from the Milwaukee County Medical Examiner’s Office said.
Sadowski said Sandifer’s blood-alcohol content was 0.167, more than twice the legal limit.
Relatives of the victims said Sandifer and her passengers were attending a party before the crash.
Sandifer suffered a collapsed lung and broken ribs in the crash, court records said. A sixth passenger, a 17-year-old girl, suffered life-threatening injuries. The driver of the vehicle that was struck, a 32-year-old woman, suffered serious injuries, police said.
Pennsylvania
Homicide suspect sentenced in kidnapping of elderly couple
WARREN, Pa. (AP) — A homicide suspect who escaped from a northwestern Pennsylvania prison last year and was on the run for more than a week before a pet dog led to his recapture has been sentenced to decades in prison.
Michael Burham, 35, was sentenced Friday in Warren County Court to serve from 25-plus years to 50-plus years after pleading guilty in November to charges in the July escape and the earlier kidnapping of a Pennsylvania couple.
Judge Gregory Hammond called Burham a “grave threat to the public” who would “do anything to anybody” to maintain his freedom, the (Warren) Times-Observer reported. Hammond said the 89-year-old and 68-year-old kidnapping victims, retraumatized by his escape, “will never completely recover” and the escape “has had a greater negative impact on the community” than anything else he could think of.
“Everyone in the community changed the way they lived their lives,” Hammond said. “They know you were capable of victimizing a law-abiding couple in their own home.”
Hammond sentenced Burham to 10- to 20-year terms on kidnapping and burglary charges and 3 1/2 to 7 years on the escape — which he said were the maximum terms allowed by law. He imposed lesser terms on reckless endangering, terroristic threatening, and theft counts. The judge also ordered some of the sentences to be served consecutively.
Burham’s attorney, Chief Public Defender Kord Kinney, had pointed out that his client only previously had a driving under the influence count on his record, had served 12 years in the Army reserves and had a solid work history.
He said his client was “remorseful” and understands the impact of his actions.
Burham, given the opportunity to speak, apologized to the victims and “everyone in Warren” and also to Erie County correctional officers whom he said he had “treated poorly.” Hammond said during the hearing that there had been 25 misconduct violations during Burham’s time in the prison.
Burham had been accused of kidnapping the couple in Pennsylvania and driving them to South Carolina to evade a New York murder investigation when he escaped from the Warren County jail, about 66 miles (105 kilometers) east of Erie. Authorities said he climbed from exercise equipment to a grated metal roof and slid down a rope made of bedsheets.
During his time on the lam, police described Burham as “a self-taught survivalist with military experience,” warning he could be dangerous. He evaded authorities for nine days before a couple responding to their barking dog encountered him. They contacted police and Burham was recaptured about two hours later.
His escape came just months before another high-profile incident in southeastern Pennsylvania, where a murderer evaded authorities for nearly two weeks.
District Attorney Jason Schmidt, of Chautauqua County, New York, said in June that Burham was the prime suspect in the May 11 killing of Kala Hodgkin, 34, and a related arson in Jamestown, New York. Officials in that state said they opted to let Pennsylvania handle the initial prosecution as they probe the killing and arson.
Apparent altercation between Boebert and ex-husband investigated
SILT, Colorado (AP) — An investigation is being conducted into an apparent altercation between U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert and her ex-husband Jayson Boebert at a restaurant, police in Silt, Colorado, confirmed Sunday.
It’s unclear what happened on Saturday, but Boebert’s campaign released a statement Sunday in which she said she “didn’t punch Jayson in the face and no one was arrested. I will be consulting with my lawyer about the false claims he made against me and evaluate all of my legal options.”
Police Chief Mike Kite confirmed the investigation, but declined to release details, including who called police.
Officers planned to talk with witnesses and ask the restaurant owners for any video that might have captured what happened, Kite said. The Miner’s Claim restaurant is closed on Sundays and no one answered the phone there.
Jayson Boebert did not immediately respond to a request for comment sent via Facebook.
“This is a sad situation for all and another reason I’m moving,” Lauren Boebert’s statement said.
Boebert, a Republican who has served two terms in the U.S. House representing the western side of the state, announced on Dec. 27 that she was switching congressional districts this year to run for a seat representing the eastern side of Colorado. The seat is open with the retirement of Republican U.S. Rep. Ken Buck.
In her current district, Boebert probably would have faced a Democratic challenger who nearly defeated her in the 2022 general election and who has far outraised her.
In September, Boebert and a guest were kicked out of a musical performance of “Beetlejuice” in Denver after guests complained they were vaping, singing, using phones and causing a disturbance. She later apologized.
In her relatively short time in Washington, Boebert built a national profile and has aligned with the extreme right wing of the GOP. Her assertive style has grabbed headlines, most famously when she heckled President Joe Biden during his 2022 State of the Union address.
Wisconsin
Woman pleads guilty to homicide charges in crash that killed 5
MILWAUKEE (AP) — A Milwaukee woman pleaded guilty Friday to five homicide charges after driving her minivan through a red light in May and crashing into another car, killing five passengers including a 1-year-old girl and three teenagers.
In exchange for the guilty plea, prosecutors dismissed six other felony charges against Anteyona Sandifer, 21.
Assistant District Attorney Sara Sadowski said she would ask the court for a “substantial prison sentence,” the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported. Sentencing is scheduled for Feb. 19.
Police say the minivan was speeding when it went through a red light and collided with another vehicle and a pole. Killed in the crash were the 1-year-old girl, two 15-year-old girls, a 17-year-old boy and a 32-year-old man.
Sandifer was driving an estimated 80 mph (128.75 kilometers per hour) when she ran a red light, a report from the Milwaukee County Medical Examiner’s Office said.
Sadowski said Sandifer’s blood-alcohol content was 0.167, more than twice the legal limit.
Relatives of the victims said Sandifer and her passengers were attending a party before the crash.
Sandifer suffered a collapsed lung and broken ribs in the crash, court records said. A sixth passenger, a 17-year-old girl, suffered life-threatening injuries. The driver of the vehicle that was struck, a 32-year-old woman, suffered serious injuries, police said.
Pennsylvania
Homicide suspect sentenced in kidnapping of elderly couple
WARREN, Pa. (AP) — A homicide suspect who escaped from a northwestern Pennsylvania prison last year and was on the run for more than a week before a pet dog led to his recapture has been sentenced to decades in prison.
Michael Burham, 35, was sentenced Friday in Warren County Court to serve from 25-plus years to 50-plus years after pleading guilty in November to charges in the July escape and the earlier kidnapping of a Pennsylvania couple.
Judge Gregory Hammond called Burham a “grave threat to the public” who would “do anything to anybody” to maintain his freedom, the (Warren) Times-Observer reported. Hammond said the 89-year-old and 68-year-old kidnapping victims, retraumatized by his escape, “will never completely recover” and the escape “has had a greater negative impact on the community” than anything else he could think of.
“Everyone in the community changed the way they lived their lives,” Hammond said. “They know you were capable of victimizing a law-abiding couple in their own home.”
Hammond sentenced Burham to 10- to 20-year terms on kidnapping and burglary charges and 3 1/2 to 7 years on the escape — which he said were the maximum terms allowed by law. He imposed lesser terms on reckless endangering, terroristic threatening, and theft counts. The judge also ordered some of the sentences to be served consecutively.
Burham’s attorney, Chief Public Defender Kord Kinney, had pointed out that his client only previously had a driving under the influence count on his record, had served 12 years in the Army reserves and had a solid work history.
He said his client was “remorseful” and understands the impact of his actions.
Burham, given the opportunity to speak, apologized to the victims and “everyone in Warren” and also to Erie County correctional officers whom he said he had “treated poorly.” Hammond said during the hearing that there had been 25 misconduct violations during Burham’s time in the prison.
Burham had been accused of kidnapping the couple in Pennsylvania and driving them to South Carolina to evade a New York murder investigation when he escaped from the Warren County jail, about 66 miles (105 kilometers) east of Erie. Authorities said he climbed from exercise equipment to a grated metal roof and slid down a rope made of bedsheets.
During his time on the lam, police described Burham as “a self-taught survivalist with military experience,” warning he could be dangerous. He evaded authorities for nine days before a couple responding to their barking dog encountered him. They contacted police and Burham was recaptured about two hours later.
His escape came just months before another high-profile incident in southeastern Pennsylvania, where a murderer evaded authorities for nearly two weeks.
District Attorney Jason Schmidt, of Chautauqua County, New York, said in June that Burham was the prime suspect in the May 11 killing of Kala Hodgkin, 34, and a related arson in Jamestown, New York. Officials in that state said they opted to let Pennsylvania handle the initial prosecution as they probe the killing and arson.
