Latest news with #ColoradoSprings
CBS News
12 hours ago
- General
- CBS News
Sentences extended for Colorado inmates following deadly prison fight
A Colorado prison inmate died after coming to another inmate's defense during a March 2023 brawl that erupted during what prison officials believed to be a drinking party. Now, three inmates responsible for the fatal beating have now been sentenced to additional time in prison. The last of the three, 33-year-old Charles Porter, received 12 more years Friday. A Fremont County jury found him guilty in February of manslaughter, a lesser offense than the 2nd Degree Murder which prosecutors sought against him. From left to right, Charles Porter, Turell Lee and Justin Sanders. The three inmates were sentenced to additional time behind bars following a deadly prison fight in Cañon City in 2023. Colorado Department of Corrections Porter started the fight but received the lightest sentence of the three. Thirty-five-year-old Turell Lee pleaded guilty last year to 1st Degree Attempted Murder and received 18 additional years in the Colorado Department of Corrections. Twenty-one-year-old Justin Sanders pleaded guilty to 2nd Degree Murder and received 20 years. Nicholas Hill died four days after the fight in a Colorado Springs hospital. He had turned 33 earlier that month. Nicholas Hill following an arrest in Lincoln County in June 2019. Hill was killed in a prison fight at the Colorado State Penitentiary in 2023. Lincoln County Sheriff's Office According to a case document, eight inmates were in the Colorado State Penitentiary's A-3 dayhall, talking, watching television and playing cards. Video surveillance showed one of them, Alexander Petty, grab a small bag and carry it into an upper recreation room. The bag is thought to contain a bottle of alcohol, per the DOC investigator who interviewed prison staff. By the time staff noticed the bag, three other prisoners on the main floor -- including Porter and Hil -- are laughing, sharing the contents of their cups, and touching the cups together, according to the case document. Two minutes after noticing that activity, prison staff remotely closed the door to the rec room. This separated the inmate from what was left in the bottle. But also triggered strife between the inmates, presumably for exposing the bag to security cameras. Petty, the inmate who moved the bag, approached Porter and Sanders in front of a cell, according to the investigator's review of surveillance video. Porter and Petty argue. Porter throws the first punch. Sanders joined in, sending both he and Petty to the floor. Hill and a fifth inmate started fighting Lee at the same time. Hill went to the ground after Lee landed a punch to Hill's head. Hill never regained his feet. Lee, Sanders and Porter all landed punches and kicks to Hill's head, face and neck. One minute into the scuffle, Hill rolled onto his back, appearing to be unconscious to the investigator watching the video. Prison staff entered the area two minutes later. By that time, Sanders had stomped or kicked Hill's face three times. Inmates were escorted out of the dayhall one at a time and handcuffed. The process took six minutes. When prison staff reached Hill, they immediately started CPR. He was strapped to a backboard, hauled to the prison's medical facility, and eventually flown by medical helicopter to the Colorado Springs hospital where he died four days later. CBS Video of the melee was shown to jurors during Porter's trial, according to the Cañon City Daily Record. "Nick might have gotten one punch in, in defense of Alex, maybe," Deputy District Attorney David Little said during that trial's closing arguments, the newspaper reported. "Really, Sanders, Porter and Lee just went wild on everybody else - put them on the ground and stomped them out. ....This was the most one-sided three-on-three. If you take the defendant at his words, this is a 'melee.' He called it 'all hell breaking loose.' He broke the hell loose." Hill, a Limon resident, was serving a five-year sentence for assault and burglary at the time of the incident. Porter was doing time for robbery and murder, Lee for sexual assault and assault with a weapon, and Sanders for robbery. The case document does not state what substance was determined to be inside the paper bag or the cups the inmates were drinking from. Nor does it state how suspected alcohol made it into the hands of inmates. CBS Colorado has requested that information from the DOC.
CBS News
2 days ago
- General
- CBS News
U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs celebrates graduating class of 2025
On Thursday morning, the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs celebrated the over 900 cadets in the graduating class of 2025. Secretary of the Air Force Troy E. Meink served as the special guest speaker at the commencement, which began at 9 a.m. this morning at Falcon Stadium. A flyover was scheduled for the afternoon, but was canceled due to low cloud cover. Brig. Gen. Linell A. Letendre, Dean of the Faculty, presents the graduation class during the U.S. Air Force Academy Class of 2025 graduation ceremony at Falcon Stadium in Colorado Springs, Colo., May 29, 2025. Nine hundred nine cadets received their commissions as second lieutenants in the Air Force and Space Force. (U.S. Air Force photo by Dylan Smith) Dylan Smith U.S. Air Force Academy Dean of Faculty Brig. Gen. Linell Letendre honored the 94 distinguished graduates who placed in the top 10% of their class. This year's graduating class included 909 cadets, including 14 international students. Sec. Meink shook hands with each graduate as they crossed the stage. Cadets march into Falcon Stadium to start the U.S. Air Force Academy Class of 2025 graduation ceremony at Falcon Stadium in Colorado Springs, Colo., May 29, 2025. Nine hundred nine cadets received their commissions as second lieutenants in the Air Force and Space Force. (U.S. Air Force photo by Trevor Cokley) Trevor Cokley Graham Green, a cadet from Brevard, North Carolina, said graduating from the academy is the hardest thing he's ever done. He encouraged other cadets to "just stick with it. I've been through so many hills and valleys where I was like, 'I'm loving it' or 'I'm not liking it.' I just say stick with it, because it will all work out in the end." Reginaldo Capati (left) and Graham Green (right) graduate from the U.S. Air Force Academy. KKTV Cadet Reginaldo Capati from Dallas, Texas, said everything has led up to this point. "It's the culmination of four years here, but I would say more importantly, my whole life has led up to this moment. And it's a dedication, a promise to serve." He plans to go on to medical school at Texas A&M and come back to serve in the Medical Corps. Capati said graduating means everything to him. The U.S. Air Force Academy Class of 2025 graduates toss their hats skyward at Falcon Stadium in Colorado Springs, Colo. May 29, 2025. Nine hundred nine cadets received their commissions as second lieutenants in the Air Force and Space Force. (U.S. Air Force photo by Trevor Cokley) Trevor Cokley CBS Colorado would like to congratulate all of this year's graduates! We look forward to seeing what you will achieve in the future.
CBS News
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- CBS News
Air show and road closures: What to know about the U.S. Air Force Academy graduation ceremony in Colorado Springs
The U.S. Air Force Academy's class of 2025 is graduating on Thursday and the ceremony in Colorado Springs will include an air show from the famed Air Force Thunderbird demonstration jets, as well as several road closures in and around Falcon Stadium. Here's everything you need to know if you plan to attend the ceremony, will be driving around the stadium, or just want to watch the air show. Since the first class of cadets commissioned as military officers in 1959, 54,883 academy graduates have commissioned into the U.S. Air Force, and 485 have commissioned into the Space Force. Secretary of the Air Force Troy Meink will be the commencement speaker this year. Last year, former Vice President Kamala Harris was the commencement speaker and in 2023, it was former President Joe Biden. Air Force Academy cadets throw their caps into the air upon graduating as the Thunderbirds fly over Falcon Stadium on June 1, 2023 on the grounds of the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs. The event featured the graduation of 921 Air Force cadets and a commencement address by former President Joe Biden. Marc Piscotty / Getty Images When and where is the ceremony? The graduation ceremony will start at 9 a.m. on Thursday, May 29 and gates will open at 6 a.m. Due to increased security, academy officials are urging attendees to arrive early. You must have a ticket to attend. The ceremony is typically held at Falcon Stadium, 4900 Stadium Blvd. If weather forces the ceremony indoors, it will be held inside Clune Arena, 2169 Field House Dr. You can read more about the security protocols on the base here and sign up for base access here. The academy also has a clear bag policy and information about approved handbags here. In addition to the graduation ceremony itself, there will be a number of other events and ceremonies in the days leading up to the graduation. On Tuesday, there's a ceremony for individual awards, a graduation breakfast and lunch, and a graduation concert featuring the cadet orchestra and chorale. Then on Wednesday, there will be a parents' graduation luncheon and then commissioning ceremonies for those cadets who are commissioning as officers into the Air Force or Space Force. The Thunderbirds will fly over the stadium at the end of the ceremony. More details on that below. Local traffic impacts Academy officials tell motorists to expect heavy traffic and delays, and not to stop along I-25 or any other nearby roads during the ceremony or while watching the Thunderbirds flying in the area. Falcon Stadium and the surrounding parking lots will be considered restricted areas on Wednesday. The following roads will be closed on Wednesday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Thursday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.: Stadium Boulevard from Pine Drive to North Gate Boulevard Community Center Drive from East Douglass Drive to Stadium Boulevard Academy Drive from Lot 6 to Stadium Boulevard Parade Loop from USAFA Cemetery to Stadium Boulevard Santa Fe Trail from Tri-intersection Bridge to Parade Loop More road closures could be put in place as guest arrival and other needs are assessed on Thursday. People who commute near the academy should expect delays on I-25 near the academy as a result of the closures. Bicycle commuting between 5 a.m. and 4 p.m. is prohibited on Wednesday and Thursday. What are the Thunderbirds and how can you watch them? The Thunderbirds refer to the pilots of the U.S. Air Force Air Demonstration Wing. The squadron, based out of Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada, was established in 1953, and the pilots perform aerial acrobatics at air shows and other events around the country. The planes and their pilots arrive in Colorado Springs on Tuesday and will fly a survey mission over the academy from about noon to 2:30 p.m. Anyone between the academy and Peterson Space Force Base might be able to see them during that time. On Wednesday, the pilots will practice their graduation hat toss flight from 11 a.m. to noon, practicing the timing for the ceremony flight where they fly over the stadium at the same time as cadets toss their hats in the air. Then they'll practice the air show from 2 to 4 p.m. The exact timing of the ceremony flyover isn't clear, but the entire ceremony is expected to wrap up around 1:30 p.m. with the air show to follow.
CTV News
5 days ago
- Business
- CTV News
U.S. consumer confidence rebounds after five straight months of declines due to tariff anxiety
Shoppers pass by large-screen televisions on display in a Costco warehouse Thursday, Dec. 19, 2024, in Colorado Springs, Colo. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File) Americans' views of the economy improved in May after five straight months of declines sent consumer confidence to the lowest level since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, largely driven by anxiety over the impact of U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs. The Conference Board said Tuesday that its consumer confidence index rose 12.3 points in May to 98, up from April's 85.7, its lowest reading since May 2020. A measure of Americans' short-term expectations for their income, business conditions and the job market jumped 17.4 points to 72.8, but remained below 80, which can signal a recession ahead. The proportion of consumers surveyed saying they think a U.S. recession is coming in the next 12 months also declined from April. Matt Ott, The Associated Press
Yahoo
5 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Man without climbing gear rescued at Garden of the Gods Park
(COLORADO SPRINGS) — A man had to be rescued on Monday, May 26 from Garden of the Gods Park after reportedly climbing nearly 75 feet without climbing gear, according to the Colorado Springs Fire Department (CSFD). CSFD posted about the rescue shortly before 9:30 p.m. on Monday and said when rescue crews arrived, they found a man approximately 75 feet up a rock formation at the park without any climbing gear or protection. CSFD said crews worked for over an hour setting up a rope system to safely bring the man down. The photo below shows a member of the rescue crew: CSFD said the man was not injured and was brought down safely. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
