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Thanksgiving holiday and weekend busy for cops

 WALSENBURG — Walsenburg Police were kept busy during the recent holiday period beginning with a reported stabbing that happened well before the sun rose on Thanksgiving Day. At 4:43 am Nov. 25, police were called to a location in the 200 block of Walsen on a report of a man having been stabbed. When officers arrived they spoke with the 36-year old male victim who said he had been in a verbal altercation with two other men in the 100 block of West Spruce Street. He told police the incident turned physical and he was unaware until after the fight that he had been stabbed. Police are investigating the case and have identified the two suspects, but no arrests have been made. The victim was transported to Spanish Peaks Regional Health Center and treated for non-life threatening injuries that included cuts to his left eye area, right arm and lower lip. Police officials say alcohol use is suspected as being a factor in the case. Sgt. John Salazar is conducting the investigation. Juvenile arrested and charged At 3:49 pm Thanksgiving Day, police were called to a location in the 100 block of W. First St., on a report of a juvenile male who allegedly threatened his mother with death. Captain Vince Suarez told the Huerfano World Journal the 13-year old boy allegedly threw his younger brother out of the front door to the home and threatened to assault his mother. The juvenile also allegedly told his mother he

would kill her with a gun. Suarez said the boy was arrested on a charge of menacing and was taken to the Pueblo Youth Center. The boy’s bond on the menacing charge was set at $5,000 cash only. No gun was found during the investigation. Unattended death being investigated At 1:23 pm on Saturday, Nov. 29, police were called to the apartment building at 100 Walsen Ave. when a resident reported a foul odor coming from the upstairs apartment. Police and rescue personnel entered the apartment and found 59-year old William DeVan deceased. An investigation into the unattended death is ongoing and police are awaiting autopsy and toxicology reports. The incident remains under investigation as a suspicious death, although Captain Suarez said foul play has been ruled out at this time. The decedent is believed to have been dead for over a week before he was discovered. Escapee at large An incident that began in late November when a driver ran from a Huerfano County Sheriff’s deputy continued on Saturday afternoon in Walsenburg. According to authorities at the WPD and HCSO, Paul Thompson, 33, was involved in a traffic stop on Walsen Ave., last month with HCSO Sgt. Craig Lessar when Thompson ran from the scene. Sheriff’s officials say the initial stop was for Thompson driving while license revoked. After he fled, the sheriff’s office prepared a warrant for obstructing government operations, driving under revocation as an habitual traffic offender, and false reporting to authorities. The Colorado Department of Corrections has issued a warrant for absconding and escape tied to the suspect’s parole/probation status. At about 2 pm on Saturday, Nov. 29, a 911 call was received at Huerfano County Emergency Dispatch reporting a man with a gun in the 900 block of Kansas. The 911 caller identified the man with the gun as Thompson. Deputy Lessar was in the area and was first to respond to the location, as Walsenburg police cleared the scene of the unattended death and also responded. Lessar reported seeing and identifying Thompson as the suspect. But, once again Thompson eluded the deputy. About ten minutes after the initial 911 call, another call came into the dispatch center reporting a home invasion in the 400 block of Kansas. The caller said someone was in his house and he believed the person had a gun and that the caller and his son were locked in the home’s bathroom for protection. Authorities sped to that location only to find it was a bogus phone call, apparently made by Thompson from his cell phone. Deputy Lessar filed an arrest warrant for Thompson’s girlfriend, 29-year old Christine Vigil for accessory to crime (class 5 felony). She was arrested Tuesday by Lessar because, despite her knowledge that Thompson was a fleeing felon, she allowed him to be at her home, and provided him with a cell phone and a vehicle. Authorities continue their search for Thompson on the two active warrants. Walsenburg authorities say the sheriff’s office is the lead agency in the case and when the suspect is caught he will likely also face charges from the WPD. Domestic violence suspect hospitalized LA VETA — The day before Thanksgiving, La Veta Marshal Harold Willburn responded to an address on Locust St. in that community at about 6:30 pm to investigate a reported domestic disturbance. Willburn told the HWJ that a 35-year old man and his girlfriend had been in a fight and the man, distraught over the incident, had severly cut himself. The man was transported from the scene and hospitalized in Pueblo. The female was assaulted, not stabbed, said Willburn. It is expected the suspect may be released from the hospital by mid-week and will then be arrested on domestic violence related assault charges. Since the suspect was not under arrest when Willburn spoke to the HWJ, he did not want to release the name of the suspect, victim, or physical address of the incident.

Cement plant concerns

Building inspector suggests a negotiated move out of Northlands to site near prison WALSENBURG — The Walsenburg City Council convened a special meeting Friday, March

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