CRIME & SAFETY

September 5, 2023, marked a significant milestone in the pursuit of justice against those who organized and led the January 6, 2021 insurrection. Enrique Tarrio, the leader of one of the largest and most violent extremist groups, the Proud Boys, was convicted of seditious conspiracy to overthrow the government of The United States.

This week in Salida, Colorado, two incidents have raised concerns among the community. The first incident involves a man openly carrying an AR-15 on F St., causing alarm among business owners, residents, and visitors. The city sought legal advice regarding disorderly conduct laws. The second incident resulted in a school lockdown, although there was no substantiated threat on campus. Reports suggest a person with a weapon was present near Salida High School. The Salida School District responded to ensure the safety of students and staff.

The Chaffee County Sheriff’s Office has issued a fraud alert regarding calls that reportedly claim residents have arrest warrants. The sheriff’s office said that several Chaffee County citizens have received a call by someone identifying themselves as an employee of the sheriff’s office, advising them that they have a warrant for their arrest, and attempting to get them to pay the bond at the time of the call. They are using actual names of present and past employees to attempt to validate the call.

Two incidents occurred in Chaffee County, Colorado this week. In the first incident, charges were dropped against a daycare worker accused of child abuse. The worker had been charged with failure to report child abuse after a 5-year-old boy pulled down a classmate's pants while the teacher was briefly out of the room. In the second incident, a body was discovered at Florence River Park and identified as a Salida man who went missing after a motorcycle crash on June 22nd. The crash occurred on Highway 50 near the Parkdale Bridge and Zip Line Road.

The Buena Vista Board of Trustees approved an updated agreement between the town and the schools for a Law Enforcement School Partnership Program at their Tuesday, September 12 meeting. The new agreement removes a designated School Resource Officer (SRO) in favor of providing SRO training to a full team of officers that will fulfill those duties.