Latest news with #GreeleyPoliceDepartment
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Yahoo
Where Is Jonelle Matthews' Killer Now? Revisiting the 12-Year-Old's Murder — and How Steven Pankey Evaded Police for Decades
On Dec. 20, 1984, Jonelle Matthews disappeared from her home in Greeley, Colo. Her body was discovered in an unincorporated area by oil workers in 2019 Steven Pankey, a former youth pastor at Jonelle's church, was charged with her murder the following yearFor over 30 years, Jonelle Matthews' disappearance remained a mystery. The 12-year-old vanished from her Greeley, Colo., home in 1984, with no trace until her remains were discovered during a pipe installation in 2019. Though suspicions had long surrounded Steven Pankey — a local man with ties to her church who later ran twice for the governor of Idaho — he wasn't arrested until 2020. After two trials, he was convicted of felony murder and kidnapping and sentenced to life in prison. "During those decades, generations of Greeley police officers have never forgotten Jonelle, many living in torment over the possibilities of what may have occurred that grim evening in 1984, and what could be done to solve this mystery," the Greeley Police Department said in a statement following Pankey's arrest. The statement also shared that detectives began a 'renewed investigation' into the girl's case in 2015. For years, Pankey had continuously inserted himself in the investigation and displayed odd behavior regarding Jonelle's disappearance. Even his ex-wife, Angela Hicks, said in Oxygen's 2024 docuseries The Girl on the Milk Carton that she started collecting evidence against him years before his arrest. So, where is Jonelle Matthew's killer now? Here's everything to know about what happened to Steven Pankey and how he evaded police for over 30 years. Jonelle was a 12-year-old middle school student living in Greeley with her parents, Jim Matthews and Gloria Matthews, and her older sister, Jennifer Mogensen. Her family told NBC's Dateline in 2023 that she was athletic and loved to sing and cross-stitch gifts for her friends. According to The Denver Post, she had been adopted from Los Angeles when she was 1 month old. Her birth mother was only 13 when she had Jonelle. On Dec. 20, 1984, Jonelle vanished from her home shortly after a friend's father dropped her off following a school Christmas concert. The middle school student was alone for just over an hour before her father returned from Jennifer's basketball game to find her missing. Her mother was out of state, caring for a sick relative. 'You could tell Jonelle had been there,' Jim said in a November 2024 episode of 48 Hours. 'I yelled out 'Hi Jonelle,' 'Jonelle, are you there?' No answer.' After Jim called the police, investigators found footprints in the snow near the windows of the Matthews' home. He told 48 Hours that it looked like someone had tried to mess the prints up with a garden rake. The young girl was never seen again. Jonelle's case caught national attention after she became one of the first kids featured in the Missing Children Milk Carton Program. President Ronald Reagan even discussed her disappearance during a 1985 meeting with the National Newspaper Association. On the tenth anniversary of her disappearance in 1994, her family had Jonelle declared legally dead, The Denver Post reported. Her case went cold until July 2019, when a group of oil and gas workers discovered her remains while digging a pipeline in an unincorporated area less than 20 miles from the Matthews' home in Greeley. Jonelle's death was ruled a homicide, and her autopsy report revealed that she had been shot in the head. Pankey was a fellow Greeley resident, living just two miles away from the Matthews' home. Though he was a stranger to Jonelle and her family, they attended the same church, where he served as a youth minister. In 1977, Pankey allegedly left the church after being accused of sexual assault by a woman he was seeing. Prosecutors later dropped the charge, and he told the Idaho Statesman in 2019 that the police have been suspicious of him ever since. Prosecutors said during the trial that Pankey had been excommunicated after the incident, which also cost him his job there as a janitor. He also worked as a used car salesman and a security guard, according to The Girl on the Milk Carton. His ex-wife later claimed during trial testimony that Pankey held a grudge against the church and his former boss, a parishioner named Russel Ross, who also happened to be the father of Jonelle's best friend and the same father who dropped her off at home the night she disappeared. After Jonelle went missing, Hicks said that her ex-husband began acting 'suspiciously.' He made them leave town, spent hours digging a hole in their yard and became fixated on news coverage around her case. She started collecting evidence against Pankey in 1999. Pankey also inserted himself into the police's search for Jonelle and repeatedly hinted to investigators that he had knowledge of what happened. When his son was shot and killed by his girlfriend in 2008, Hicks claimed that she heard him say, 'I hope God didn't allow this to happen because of Jonelle Matthews.' In his interview with the Idaho Statesman, he denied having any involvement in Jonelle's case and told the outlet that he was preparing for a trip with his wife the night the girl disappeared. 'I never met Jonelle, I never met her family, I didn't know she existed or disappeared until Wednesday, Dec. 26 (1984),' Pankey said, noting that he didn't learn of the case until he returned from his trip. The former janitor and government candidate later relocated to Twin Falls, Idaho, where he unsuccessfully ran for governor twice in 2014 and 2018. Two months after Jonelle's body was found, police served a search warrant for his home. Pankey was indicted by a grand jury in October 2020 on charges of murder, kidnapping and crimes of violence. According to 48 Hours, the indictment alleged that he took Jonelle from her family home and shot her sometime 'during the course of the kidnapping.' The document also claimed that Pankey was aware of the rake used to blur the footprints. He was first tried in October 2021, but it ended in a mistrial after the jury failed to reach a verdict on the murder and kidnapping charges. However, he was found guilty of false reporting. Two years later, he was tried again and found guilty of felony murder and second-degree kidnapping. Pankey was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole, per the Greeley Tribune. Following the sentencing, Gloria told reporters she just wanted 'to cry.' 'I cannot forgive him for how he killed Jonelle,' she said while clutching a picture of her late daughter. "God is the only one who can forgive evil, and I feel that this is evil.' Pankey only made a brief statement in court, maintaining his innocence and claiming that his conviction was 'not justice for Jonelle.' Pankey is currently serving his sentence at the Arkansas Valley Correctional Facility in Ordway, Colo. According to the Colorado Department of Corrections, he will be eligible for parole in 2040, when he is 89 years old. 'He's an evil person,' Jonelle's sister told The Independent. 'I think he can't let go of things and holds grudges and doesn't like people in authority over him ... I don't have a complete understanding of what he did that night, but if you are so driven by anger towards another sector, like a church or people in the church, that you are willing to commit a crime ... that says something about you.' But she added, 'I'm not fixated by him. I am not going to harbor just anger towards him, because I will not give him another victim.' Read the original article on People
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Yahoo
2 arrested for menacing couple, Weld County deputy and barricading inside home
DENVER (KDVR) — A 37-year-old man and his wife were arrested in Weld County after the man allegedly menaced a deputy and a couple while driving in the early morning hours on Monday. The Weld County Sheriff's Office first encountered the man, identified as Jose Mejia, at 3:30 a.m. on Monday. A deputy reported that he was being tailgated by a blue sedan. 2 suspects arrested on first-degree murder charges in deadly Aurora parking lot shooting The man behind the wheel was allegedly driving aggressively, speeding up and slowing whenever the deputy sped up or slowed, and failed to stop at the stop sign at the corner of 25th Avenue and O Street. The deputy continued to the sheriff's office and reported the driver pulled up alongside him, driving eastbound in the westbound lane. The vehicle was last seen by the deputy on Monday morning near the Platte Valley Detention Center and heading west. 'Minutes later' a couple called law enforcement and said a man in a blue sedan had pointed a gun at them and followed them on O Street. He allegedly followed the couple to 8th Avenue and D Street, pulled alongside their vehicle's passenger side and pointed a handgun at the passenger. The couple 'sped away,' according to the Greeley Police Department, but heard several gunshots at the same time. Nearby officers heard the gunshots as well. The department reported that an officer saw the blue sedan pull into the gas station at the corner of 35th Avenue and 4th Street and tried to pull the vehicle over. The man fled, according to Greeley police, driving south on 35th Avenue. The agency said that Mejia was driving at a high rate of speed and flattened both passenger-side tires during the pursuit. Mejia pulled into a townhome subdivision in the 2100 block of 35th Avenue, ran into one of the townhomes with a door already open, and shut it behind him, the Greeley police reported. Aurora police issue street racing warning: 'You will be caught' At 4:25 a.m., the department sent a Reverse911 call to the neighborhood's residents. Local schools were placed on a secure status. The safety precautions were lifted at 10:34 a.m. Mejia was arrested at 9:25 a.m., according to the agency, and is facing charges of menacing, vehicular eluding, illegal discharge of a weapon, reckless endangerment, obstruction of police and failure to leave premises upon request of a peace officer. Mejia's wife, Elena Garza-Mejia, 41, was also arrested. She is facing charges of obstruction of a police officer and failure to leave premises upon request of a peace officer. The agency is still investigating the incident. Anyone with information is asked to contact Detective Elizabeth Finch at 970-350-9682. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Yahoo
Suspect, accused of brandishing knife at officers, dead after shooting
DENVER (KDVR) — A man who was reportedly on parole and accused of brandishing a knife at officers and cars is dead after an officer discharged his firearm on Wednesday afternoon. According to the Weld County Sheriff's Office, the Greeley Police Department received numerous calls regarding a man in the 500 block of 16th Avenue of Greeley who was brandishing a knife. The man was seen walking west toward 21st Avenue and was located by an officer in the 1900 block of 2nd Street. Free on Your TV • New FOX31+ App for Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV The sheriff's office said that the man was observed 'walking down the street swinging a knife aggressively at passing cars.' The agency did not provide details about the knife. The man allegedly refused to comply with the officer's orders to drop his weapon and began walking quickly toward the officer with the knife. 'The officer discharged his firearm,' the Weld County Sheriff's Office reported. 'Additional officers arrived on scene. Officers attempted life-saving measures until medical personnel arrived on scene.' The agency said the man was pronounced dead at 2:25 p.m. No one other than the man was injured in the incident. The incident is under investigation by the 19th Judicial Critical Incident Response Team and the identity of the suspect will not be released until the coroner's office notifies the next of kin. The agency did not say if the involved officer will be placed on administrative leave or modified duty while the investigation is underway. Anyone with information about this case is asked to contact Weld County Sheriff's Office Lt. Kevin Halloran at 970-400-2837 or Lt. Ben Endreson at 970-400-2870. Detective Grady Nicholson is leading the investigation and can be reached at 970-400-4293. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
25-02-2025
- Yahoo
Police search for leads in 1985 cold case of missing UNC student found in river
DENVER (KDVR) — It's been 40 years since a University of Northern Colorado student was reported missing to the Greeley Police Department. Denise Davenport was last seen on Feb. 24, 1985, driving from the Greeley mall. A few days later, the vehicle she had been driving — her boyfriend's blue Mazda RX-7 — was discovered on 9th Avenue near Frazer Hall, a dorm on the UNC campus. Davenport was last seen wearing a bright pink two-piece suit, with a white blouse and black pumps, according to the Weld County Sheriff's Office. Man gets life sentence for killing Denver schools employee On April 20, 1985, kayakers found Davenport's remains in the South Platte River between 18th Street and Highway 34, east of Greeley. Police said foul play is suspected and her death is being investigated as a homicide. The Weld County Sheriff's Office shared details published in the county's newspaper, where friends said Davenport 'always had a smile on her face,' and that 'everything was precious to her, life was precious to her.' The paper reported that detectives had interviewed over 100 friends, acquaintances and potential witnesses, and had also investigated over 70 tips. 'Detectives also examined the dirt from the area Denise's body was discovered for more clues, and there were no noteworthy findings,' the Weld County Sheriff's Office said on Facebook. Anyone with information about Davenport's murder is asked to contact Det. Byron Kastilahn at bkastilahn@ or 970-400-2827. Tips can also be submitted to the Northern Colorado Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
15-02-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
2 dead after head-on crash in Greeley
DENVER (KDVR) — Two men were killed in a crash in East Greeley on Thursday. The crash happened in the 3400 block of East 8th Street around 1 p.m., the Greeley Police Department said in a press release Friday. Snowy conditions, crashes cause road closures, traffic back ups Police responded to reports of a crash with injuries, however, two people ended up being extricated from their vehicles and taken to hospitals where they were pronounced dead. The initial investigation suggests that a man driving a Chevrolet truck was driving west when it crashed head-on with a Dodge 3500 that was traveling east. Police said a 60-year-old man and a 66-year-old man were the only occupants of the vehicles, and both died of their injuries. Police said the investigation is ongoing. The names of the men who died have not yet been released. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
