Colorado Victims of the State

Location

Defendant(s)

Date of Alleged Crime

Denver County, CO

Willard Powell

Mar 28, 1908

(Federal Case tried in Council Bluffs, IA) Willard Powell was convicted of participating in a massive swindling scheme that had operated in 14 cities and had taken in millions of dollars. The organizers of this scheme ran a "Millionaires' Club" for the purpose of operating fake horse races, wrestling matches, foot races, and boxing matches. They then had a "steerer," to induce a "mike," to join with the club's secretary in betting against the club, the "mike" believing that the race or match was to be "thrown" in his favor. After the stakes were put up, with the club's secretary as stakeholder, the event was instead thrown to the club and the "mike" got a dose of his own medicine. The scheme was cleverly worked out, inducing persons to surrender their money, yet leaving them in such a compromising position that they were not anxious to report the affair to the authorities.

Powell was indicted because of testimony that he knew and associated with some of those clearly involved in the scheme. However, there was no evidence that he conspired with anyone. He and his attorney expected a directed verdict of acquittal. However, at the last minute in the Mar. 1910 trial, a “mike” was recalled as a witness and identified Powell as a participant in the group who fleeced him in a fake horse race near Denver, CO. This “mike” could not fix the date when he was fleeced, beyond saying it was between March 20 and April 10, 1908. The only other witness who had testified about this swindle had already been dismissed and had left town.

The date was important, because Powell had alibis in different locations during this time period and did not have time to collect alibi evidence covering the entire period. Powell had two witnesses testify that they returned from Cuba with him around the first of April. Another witness testified that he was in Denver when Powell arrived about the middle of April. However, the jury disregarded this evidence and convicted Powell.

Following Powell's conviction, his attorneys established that the horse race occurred on Mar. 28, 1908, and that Powell was clearly in Tampa, Florida on this date, having returned from Cuba two days before. U.S. President Taft granted Powell a full pardon in July 1910. (CTI) [11/07]

El Paso County, CO

Todd Newmiller

Nov 20, 2004

Todd Newmiller was convicted of murdering 22-year-old Anthony Madril. On the night of Madril's death a dispute arose between two groups of young men at a Colorado Springs nightclub. The club management forced one group to leave while the other left shortly thereafter. Two vehicles carrying these men subsequently stopped a short distance away on Conrad St. near Terminal Ave. The first vehicle, a pickup truck, was driven by Charles Schwartz, with Chisum Lopez on the passenger side and Anthony Madril in the middle. The second vehicle, a Jeep, contained Todd Newmiller, his brother Joel, Mike Lee, Jason Melick, and Brad Orgill. The dispute had primarily been between Madril and Orgill.

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Gilpin County, CO	Laura Kriho	May 1996
In May of 1996, Laura Kriho was the only one of 12 jurors voting to acquit a 19-year-old woman on trial for possession of methamphetamine. One of her fellow jurors passed a note to the presiding judge snitching on Kriho for disobeying the judge's order not to discuss the possible jail sentence. The judge declared a mistrial and charged Kriho with contempt of court, obstruction of justice, and perjury. The state contended Kriho had failed to volunteer that she had a past drug arrest and was philosophically in disagreement with some of the drug laws. Kriho had honestly answered every question that was asked of her. Kriho was convicted of contempt in 1997, but exonerated in 2000 prior to sentencing. (FJDB) (Rocky Mountain News) [10/07]

Hinsdale County, CO	Alferd Packer	1874
Alferd Packer was convicted of murdering five prospectors he had guided into the mountains during the winter of 1873-74 and who had become stranded there with him. Packer contended that one day when he returned to camp after looking for food, one of the prospectors, Shannon Bell, had killed the others and was roasting a piece of meat he had cut out of leg of one of them. Bell then attacked Packer with a hatchet and Packer shot Bell in self-defense. Packer said he tried to find a way out of the mountains every day, but could not, so he lived off the flesh of the dead men. Packer escaped execution on a technicality. Under pressure from a campaign led by a Denver Post columnist, Packer was granted a conditional parole in 1901 after 18 years in prison. Modern forensics and the journal of a Civil War veteran who had seen the bodies appear to confirm Packer's story. [6/05]

Huerfano County, CO	Loren Hamby	June 22, 1937 (Walsenburg)
Loren Hamby was convicted of the murder of George T. Carnes. Carnes was killed during a holdup at his filling station located at the corner of First and Walsen in Walsenburg. Hamby claimed he was listening to a broadcast of the Louis-Braddock heavyweight fight at the time of the holdup. Following conviction, Hamby began a life sentence in 1939. Some time later, Professor Leonarde Keeler was brought in from Chicago with his invention, the modern-day lie detector. He found Hamby was telling the truth. The chief prosecution witness then repudiated his testimony. In April 1946, Governor John Vivian pardoned Hamby and he was released. In 1947 the Colorado Legislature awarded Hamby $10,000 for his wrongful imprisonment. (Evening Independent) (Carnes Obituary) [11/08]

Larimer County, CO

Tim Masters

Feb 11, 1987 (Fort Collins)

Tim Masters was convicted in 1999 of the 1987 murder of Peggy Hettrick. Hettrick's body had been found in a south Fort Collins field just hours after she was last seen leaving a nearby restaurant. This location was 100 feet north of the mobile home of Tim Masters. Masters' father told police that his 15-year-old son had walked through the field as he did every day to take a bus to school.