WEEK OF JANUARY 16, 2025
VOLUME 136 | ISSUE 24
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Scam phone callers use threats of arrest warrants Sheriff’s offices offer tips to identify scam calls that impersonate official agencies BY NINA JOSS NJOSS@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Audience members at the Jan. 7 Littleton City Council meeting applaud after District 4 representative Andrea Peters suggested postponing a controversial residential zoning proposal. PHOTOS BY NINA JOSS
Littleton indefinitely postpones zoning decision
Hundreds attend city council meeting to oppose proposed change in housing rules BY NINA JOSS NJOSS@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
In front of a crowd that filled the council chambers, packed the overflow community room and spilled into the hallway, Littleton’s city council voted to indefinitely postpone a proposed code change that would have expanded the types of housing allowed around the city. The Jan. 7 meeting came after approximately a year of study sessions and city discussion about how to expand “missing middle” housing options in Littleton to allow for more diverse housing types in the community, according to the city’s website. The scheduled public hearing regarding the zoning change never happened SEE ZONING, P14
From left, Littleton Mayor Kyle Schlachter, District 4 City Council Member Andrea Peters and At-Large City Council Member Gretchen Rydin take part in the Jan. 7 council meeting that drew a large crowd because of a zoning proposal that was indefinitely postponed.
VOICES: 10 | LIFE: 12 | CALENDAR: 15
In November, Sandy Barber received a phone call from a number she didn’t recognize. When she picked up, a man on the line told her he was an officer with the Arapahoe County Sheriff ’s Office and that there was a warrant out for Barber’s arrest because she didn’t show up for a court hearing. Barber, who had recently received news that a loved one had passed away, was already emotionally distraught and became confused about the caller’s claim. She said she hadn’t received any notification about a court hearing, but the man insisted that they had mailed a summons to her former address. “I just kept saying, ‘I don’t understand,’” Barber said. “And he kept pushing me.” The man told Barber she had to go to the Arapahoe County Sheriff ’s Office, and that she would be arrested once she arrived. He told her not to hang up the phone and not to tell anyone about the situation. Then, he told her she needed to bring $4,500 in cash and he asked her which bank she was going to withdraw the money from. “Finally, I went, ‘I’m not talking to you anymore,’” Barber said. “I said, ‘I’m headed to the sheriff ’s department and I will find out what’s going on. I don’t believe you.’” When the man swore at her after that, she said she knew she had made the right decision. “At that point, I was absolutely convinced it was a scam,” she said. Barber, who lives in Aurora, is one of many victims across the metro region who have been targeted by scammers that pretend to be members of law enforcement agencies and convince people they have a warrant out for their arrest. These scammers will often say the victim missed jury duty or a court date. The scammers also tend to ask victims to pay “fines” or “bonds” in the form of gift cards, prepaid cards or sometimes cash. SEE SCAMS, P16
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