In April of 2018, the Nederland Police Department issued 59 non-parking traffic tickets, 3 city ordinance tickets, 25 miscellaneous tickets and two parking tickets, for a total of 94.

On April 1, a Nederland officer recognized a man who had two active warrants for his arrest. He placed the man under arrest and transported him to the Boulder County Jail. The man’s possessions included marijuana, a glass pipe, a lighter, a wallet, a skate board and other miscellaneous items which were taken to his residence.

On April 4, an NPD officer received a report of criminal mischief: a person had keyed a parked car. The victim had dash cams inside his vehicle and recorded the suspect putting a 16-inch scratch on the passenger door. The camera shows the man leaving his car and approaching the victim’s vehicle holding a bunch of keys, with one horizontal. A scraping sound can be heard on the audio part of the recording.

The man was identified and contacted. When he came to the PD, he was shown the picture and he said the vehicle was double parked, but denied keying it. He said if he did key the vehicle, it was an accident and that his walking was hindered because of a hip issue. The Ned officer said he could pay for repairing the vehicle or go to court. The victim had received a copy of a repair estimate, which came to $1,163.

On April 5, a patrol officer contacted the driver of a vehicle which had expired plates. He learned the man had a warrant out of Boulder County and that his driver’s license was cancelled. It turned out the vehicle was owned by the suspect’s employer. The man was taken into custody, issued a Boulder County Summons and transported to the Boulder County Jail.

On April 5, an NPD officer was called to investigate a report of a bottle of prescription medicine found outside a local business. The medication was prescribed to a woman known to the officer. The restaurant was empty and looked as if it had been abandoned in a hurry.

Water was running in the sink and appliances were switched on. He contacted the woman, who asked him to leave the medicine by the register, saying she really needed it.

The officers returned to the restaurant and noticed two boxes labeled Novelty Urine with empty hand warmer pouches, equipment associated with the preparation of fake, clean, urine to be used to fool chemical testing for controlled substances.

The report says the suspicion of illegal drug use has been raised and the attempt to circumvent testing should not be ignored.

On April 12, a Ned officer responded to a report of a Felony Menacing incident. When he arrived at the scene he saw two white males speaking with another officer having them write out a witness statement. The officer said the vehicle, with Wyoming plates, had been kicked and stabbed. The officer photographed a clear footwear impression in the depression on the driver’s side door.

The witness told the officer he had been attacked by a man with a knife.

The officers tracked down the suspect and went to his residence and covered the back and front door. The suspect said he had been accosted by a man who pulled a silver folding knife from his pocket and charged at him. The man got in his car and the suspect kicked and stabbed the door of the vehicle with his knife. He said he was in fear for his life.

The victim said he received a text from a woman who said she was concerned for her safety; that she believed the suspect was also after her and that he had a gun in the glove box of his truck. She was at work in Boulder and feared he would come after her and shoot everybody.

The NPD officer contacted BC Dispatch and deputies were sent to the store.

Boulder officers found the suspect at the store and placed him in custody.

He was booked into the Boulder County Jail on charges of Felony Menacing as well as additional charges from the Boulder Police Department.

On April 11, the NPD received a call of an escalating disturbance at a local bar. When the officer tried to talk to the suspect, he was verbally and physically non-compliant. He said he went into the bar and saw his wife with another man. The officer talked to the other man who said the suspect wanted to go outside, was threatening the man, and that he had was known to have a weapon. He asked the bartender to call the police.

The officer noted the man had put his glasses on top of a jacket near the door as if he thought there might be an altercation. The officers took him outside and advised him to stay away from his wife and the other man, who didn’t want to pursue charges.

The officer stated that the situation has the potential to get out of control and that the people involved should stay away from each other.

On April 14, the NPD received a report of graffiti at the Nederland Skate Park. Two of the larger bowl areas were targeted with The Robot of Game Boy style tag, a stencil used with black spray paint. The officer stated he did not recognize the tags and there are no suspects at this time.

On April 14, a man reported that a miners’ ore car was missing from its usual location at the intersection of Hwy. 119 South and East Second Street. The ore cart had been at the site for over 20 years. The officer saw drag marks headed to the roundabout. The marks indicated the use of a backhoe to move the 600-pound cart.

A photo of the ore cart site on March 14 shows that the disappearance had gone unnoticed for over a month. There are no suspects at this time.

On April 16, the NPD received a report of the theft of pea gravel. She said two men in a blue-colored dual wheel pickup truck were seen shoveling gravel into the back of the truck, but when approached, they drove away. A search of the area did not turn up any suspect vehicles. The witness says about one wheelbarrow full of gravel was taken.

On April 21, a Nederland officer was dispatched to East Street on a report of an assault. When he arrived, the officer saw a man sitting on a large flower pot, bleeding heavily from the head and face. The officer was told the victim was playing pool and noticed three men who were not local hanging out. The three men had been reported earlier by a business owner who said the males were intoxicated and aggressive and that one of the men had a knife on his hip.

A woman in the pool area left the bar and left her handbag with a purse in it. When she returned to recover the handbag, her purse fell to the ground. The victim saw the three men leave and believed one of them had taken the purse. He followed them onto the pedestrian bridge and saw one of the men throw a purse into a bush. He tried to block the men’s escape when he was blindsided with a punch to the side of his head. He wrestled with one of the men, who then got up and began to kick him. The men ran away, and the victim waited for help.

Witnesses saw the fight and watched two men punch and kick the other man, who was down.

A witness described the men as “A tall black male with a red shirt and brown jacket, a beard and large hiking boots. The other man was shorter, probably Hispanic, wearing an old ski jacket. The Nederland Fire Protection District firefighters arrived and transported the victim to the hospital for his injuries.

The woman’s purse was located in the bushes. Witness came forward and said he saw two suspicious men on the trail south of the high school. The Ned officer found fresh footprints and tracked the suspects, finding them near Haul Road. They were crouched down in tree cover. One of the men had a knife in a sheath and a full-size bottle of Kentucky whiskey in his jacket pocket with a third of the content missing.

The men said they were out for a hike. One of the men had swollen knuckles and the other had damage to the outside of his fingers. One of them had blood stains on his jacket and jeans. The men were placed in custody and taken to the NPD.

The suspects verbally abused the officers and said they were happy the victim was hurt. They were transported to the Boulder County Jail.

On April 23, a woman contacted the NPD asking if the officer remembered her telling him last September that another woman was at NedFest and had an active protection order in place. The officer remembered and asked where the woman was now. At the time she had purchased a VIP pass, but the woman was not sighted.

The first woman said she had filed a business fraud against the second woman, who was claiming to own the NedFest name through the Secretary of State Business Registration. The board member did not want to file charges but wanted to have proof that the woman was violating the restraining order. The officer recommended closing the case because the solvability is very low.

On April 27, a Ned officer received a report of damaged inflicted at the Nederland Visitor Center. The damage was on the northwest corner facing into the parking lot. Photographs were taken, but there are no suspects or further evidence at this point and the officer recommending closing the case.

On April 30, a Ned officer found a written statement in his box from a woman who reported that she and a friend were at a local restaurant when they were approached by a man. A few weeks prior to that incident, the man had applied for a brewery/tasting license in Ned. Several people spoke for and against the request. The woman had spoken against the brewery.

On the date of the incident, the women said the man moved close to her at the bar, in her personal space, and he had glazy eyes. The two of them talked about the brewery. He accused her of ruining his life-long dream and hurting him financially. Then he stormed out of the bar. The report was taken as information only, as no crime occurred.

(Originally published in the June 21, 2018, print edition of The Mountain-Ear.)