Crime
We moved Boulder Crime News and police blotter out of News and made it a primary category. Even though crime news is the highest in analytic s some readers complain because it ruins non violent news. Our readers and viewers prefer science, tech environmental and entertainment news. So crime news junkies now have your own bad news section here.
Boulder Police searching for missing 39-year-old man
Jun 13th
Holloway left his home in the 3500 block of 28th St. and did not tell anyone where he was going. He hasn’t been seen or heard from since June 7.
Holloway is about 6’1” tall, weighs 195 pounds and has brown hair and blue eyes. His family is concerned about his welfare.
A passerby found some of Holloway’s belongings, which included a messenger bag and cell phone, near the Boulder Creek Path in the vicinity of Arapahoe and Foothills.
A photo of Daniel Holloway is attached. The case number is 13-7529.
Police ask anyone who may have seen Holloway or who may know his whereabouts to contact Detective Jeremy Frenzen at 303-441-1890. Those who have information but wish to remain anonymous may contact the Northern Colorado Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477) or 1-800-444-3776. Tips can also be submitted through the Crime Stoppers website at www.crimeshurt.com. Those submitting tips through Crime Stoppers that lead to the arrest and filing of charges on a suspect(s) may be eligible for a cash reward of up to $1,000 from Crime Stoppers.
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Alleged serial bike thief gets caught
Jun 11th
A serial thief who has stolen bikes from University of Colorado students on at least three occasions has been arrested. The Boulder County Sheriff’s Office arrested Wayne Willet Cron last week on an outstanding warrant requested by the University of Colorado Police Department. On June 6, 2013, the District Attorney’s Office charged Cron with three felonies – Theft between $1,000 to $20,000 (Class 4 felony), Theft By Receiving (Class 4 felony) and Providing False Information to a Pawnbroker (Class 6 felony).
Cron, a 40-year-old transient, was also arrested in 2005 and 2010 for stealing bikes from CU students. In the most recent case, a CU student reported that someone had cut a cable lock on Jan. 17, 2013, near the Ekeley Sciences Building to steal his brand-new $3,000 Cannondale mountain bike.
On March 23, 2013, the victim contacted UCPD to say he found his bike listed for sale on the eBay website. A YouTube video on that site briefly showed part of the bike’s serial number, which matched the victim’s stolen bike. UCPD detectives contacted the listed seller, a Denver pawnshop, and learned that Cron sold the Cannondale bike to the pawnshop on Jan. 17, 2013 – the same day of the reported theft. On that day, Cron signed documents stating he had owned the bike for one year and acknowledged that providing false information was a felony.
UCPD recovered the bike and returned it to the rightful owner. UCPD requested that a judge approve an arrest warrant for Cron. The suspect has an extensive criminal history in five states, including arrests for burglary, larceny and pawn violations.
“The keys to solving this case started with the victim knowing his bike’s serial number and ended with solid detective work,” said CU-Boulder police spokesman Ryan Huff. “It’s critical that CU students register their bikes so they can be more easily located if stolen. This case also shows that cable locks are easily defeated. U-locks are a better option for securing your bike.”
The CU Police Department asks students, faculty and staff to register their bicycle’s serial number at the CU Bike Station, just east of the University Memorial Center. If their bikes are ever stolen, police have a better chance of finding them by accessing a nationwide database. For other safety tips, please visit the UCPD website’s bike theft prevention page athttp://bit.ly/CUBikeSafety.
CU police press release
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Serial killer identified 4 years after his death
Jun 10th
Case Summary
On July 1, 1982, several fishermen discovered the decomposing body of a female in a ravine near the 32,000 block of Boulder Canyon Drive in unincorporated Boulder County. Investigators found that the victim, 20 year-old Susan Becker, had sustained 13 stab wounds to her torso and neck and died from her injuries. A black handled knife, believed to have belonged to Ms. Becker was found near her right hand; it was later determined that the knife had not caused the wounds to Ms. Becker. The body was clothed at the time that it was discovered and was covered with a towel, presumably placed there by her assailant. Some of Ms. Becker’s personal effects were found in a day pack with the body.
Ms. Becker was raised in the Boulder area and frequently spent time in Boulder Canyon sunbathing. She was last seen in Boulder by a friend sometime during the morning of June 20, 1982.
At the time, Sheriff’s detectives were unable to identify a suspect in Ms. Becker’s death. Mr. John Agrue figured as a person of interest in the investigation, however, declined to cooperate with investigators. His extended family was interviewed by detectives, and statements indicating that Agrue had hiked in the area where Becker’s body was found were provided, however, there was not enough evidence to link him to Ms. Becker’s murder.
John Agrue had been previously convicted in the 1966 murder of his 14 year old sister-in-law, Susan Marino, in Illinois He was paroled in January 1982 after serving 16 years of a 20-50 year indeterminate sentence and moved to Boulder, and then to Longmont shortly thereafter.
On July 9, 1982, 94-year-old Orma Smith’s body was found in the Big Elks Meadows area, south of Estes Park, Colorado. Ms. Smith resided in Longmont; John Agrue was her neighbor at the time of her death. Larimer County Sheriff’s investigators were unable to link him to Ms. Smith’s murder at the time.
On July 15, 1982, Agrue attempted to abduct a 26 year-old female student at knife point while she was starting her car on the University of Colorado Campus in Boulder. The student was able to flag down a passing University employee who rendered assistance. Agrue was arrested and convicted of the crime.
After serving his sentence in the Colorado Department of Corrections for the attempted abduction, Agrue was returned to Illinois in 1984 to complete his sentence for the murder of his sister in law, his parole having been revoked following his conviction in Colorado. After his release in 1989, he lived in Illinois, where he died in 2009 after an accidental drug overdose. Subsequent to his death, relatives discovered numerous women’s purses, jewelry, and other effects in his home, along with newspaper articles about the attempted abduction of the 26 year-old female, the Smith homicide, and Becker homicide.
In June 2010, the Larimer County Sheriff’s Office announced that advances in DNA evidence and comparison (a technology unavailable in 1982) definitively linked Argue to Orma Smith’s murder. Boulder County investigators, working with Larimer County and Illinois law enforcement officials,
re-evaluated Agrue’s potential involvement in Ms. Becker’s death.
There were a number of similarities in the three homicides and the attempted abduction: three of the four involved young women (Ms. Smith being the exception), their purses or personal effects were taken by the suspect, and all involved the use of a knife. The three homicide victims died from multiple stab wounds inflicted upon the same area of the body; Ms. Marino’s ,Ms. Becker’s and Mrs. Smith’s bodies were found in or near mountain streams.
The Boulder County Sheriff’s Office recruited the assistance of the Federal Bureau of Investigations Behavioral Analysis Unit, presenting them with the case facts from the four investigations. Upon review, the FBI’s experts concluded that it was highly probable that Mr. Agrue was responsible for Susan Becker’s murder. Detectives shared the case facts and the FBI experts’ opinions with the Boulder County District Attorney’s Office and solicited their opinion. They agreed that there was probable cause to believe that Mr. Agrue was responsible for Susan Becker’s death and, that if he were still alive, they would pursue murder charges against him.
The FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Unit is also investigating the potential of Mr. Agrue having been involved in other homicides as a serial killer.
Sheriff’s office release
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