Tribune Tri Lakes 4/3/13
Tri-Lakes
Tri-Lakes Region, Monument, Gleneagle, Black Forest and Northern El Paso County
Here to stAy
April 3, 2013
Free
A Colorado Community Media Publication
ourtrilakesnews.com
Tri-Lakes Monument chief pick accepts Will start new job in May By Norma Engelberg
nengelberg@ourcoloradonews.com
Looking extremely photogenic, Sparky the Fire Dog waves at traffic. Thanks to about $1,500 in grants from the Monument Hill Kiwanis Foundation, Tri-Lakes American Legion and Tri-Lakes Monument Fire Protection District’s insurance company, VFIS of Colorado, Sparky the Fire Dog is now a permanent resident of the Tri-Lakes area. Sparky is a fully qualified firefighter but his job in the district is to educate residents about fire safety. He’ll be a regular part of the Tri-Lakes Monument Fire Protection District’s education programs. For more see Page 3 Photo by Norma Engelberg
Tri-Lakes Monument Fire Protection District’s offer to Christopher Truty, deputy fire chief for the village of Mount Prospect, Ill., has been accepted. He will start his new job on May 13. That gives him time to move to Colorado and gives district staff time to set up his cellphone account, and get his laptop, uniforms, personal protective equipment and chief’s vehicle, probably a Ford Explorer/Interceptor Utility SUV, ready for his arrival. According to acting Chief Bryan Jack, the dis- Truty trict budgeted $6,675 for the chief search. At the district’s March 27 meeting, he told the board of directors that, to date, the district has spent $5,778 and that once that last invoice for the background check conducted by Mountain States Employer Council arrive, spending will be right on target. March cold and snowstorms created a lot of work for district firefighters and emergency medical technicians. On March 9, the B-Shift assisted with a 15-car pile-up in Interstate 25. The crew was able to extricate one person who was trapped in a vehicle. On March 17, the district’s A Shift rescued a dog that fell through the ice at Monument Lake. On March 24, the snow and cold hampered operations at a structure fire on Walker Road but the crew was able to keep a garage fire from becoming a house fire. The district had 75 more calls to date in 2013 than they had by the same date in 2012, averaging 5.5 calls per day. The district board’s next meeting is scheduled for April 24. Board meetings are open to the public.
Arrest made related to gun that killed director Clements Woman purchased gun and allegedly transfered it to Evan Ebel By Lisa Collacott
lcollacott@ourcoloradonews.com The Colorado Bureau of Investigation has arrested a 22-year-old Commerce City woman for illegally transferring the firearm used in the shooting death of Department of Corrections director Tom Clements. Stevie Marie Vigil was arrested on March 27 and is being held at the Arapahoe County Jail on $25,000 bond. She is charged with one count of an un-
lawful purchase of a firearm, a class four felony. Investigators believe that Vigil purchased the firearm from a licensed firearms dealer in Englewood, and allegedly transferred the gun to Evan Ebel Spencer Ebel, 28, in what is known as a “straw purchase.” Because Ebel was a convicted felon, he could not legally possess a firearm. The weapon was recovered in Texas after Ebel was involved in a shootout and car chase with law enforcement on March 21. Ebel shot a deputy after being pulled over. Ballistic testing done by the Colorado Springs Metro Crime Lab determined that
the gun Ebel used to shoot at law enforcement officials in Texas, was the same gun used to kill Clements. Clements was killed March 19 after he answered the door at his home. Ebel died in the hospital, after Vigil sustaining a headwound during the shootout. Investigators are still trying to determine what motive was behind the shooting of Clements. Some news outlets are speculating that it may have been a hit, ordered from prison from members of the 211 prison gang, a white supremacist gang. Ebel was reportedly, a member of the 211 gang. He was released from
prison in January. However, Sgt. Joe Roybal, public information officer for El Paso Sheiffs Office, said the sheriff’s office has never said that the 211 gang may have ordered the hit. “We are looking into all associations of Evan Ebel. We are trying to determine if he acted alone or if he did it in conjunction with his associations,” Roybal said. Ebel is also suspected of killing Domino’s Pizza delivery driver Nathan Leon, in Denver on March 17. A Domino’s jacket, as well as a pizza box warmer, was found in Ebel’s car. The investigation is ongoing, and in a statement, the CBI has said that the licensed firearms dealer is cooperating, and “had no knowledge of Vigil’s actions, following her legal purchase of the gun.”