Week of March 16, 2023
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JEFFERSON COUNTY, COLORADO
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VOLUME 157 | ISSUE 13
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And they call the thing rodeo
Avila’s trial in fatal hitand-run case set for August Court approves separate trials for Avila, codefendant Marquez BY CORINNE WESTEMAN CWESTEMAN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Wilson and participants explained. The March 11 event was a full rodeo but only lasted a day. Contestants competed in a slack in the morning, which featured all contestants, Wilson explained. Then, 10-12 contestants were randomly selected to rope and ride again at 4 p.m., when the bulk of the spectators were expected. For instance, 50 barrel racers signed up to compete in the morning’s slack, and then 12 ran later in the performance. This way, Wilson explained, the spectators get a taste
Ernesto Avila, 25, is scheduled for trial in last fall’s hit-and-run outside a Golden bar. Avila pleaded not guilty to a felony accessory charge last month, and he’s scheduled for a nine-day trial from Aug. 22-Sept. 1. He appeared in court on bond during his March 6 pretrial conference, where the judge granted his defense attorney’s request to sever his case from his codefendant, 30-year-old Ruben Marquez. In general, severing cases means asking for separate trials. A judge decides whether severance is necessary to achieve a fair determination of guilt or innocence for each defendant. Avila and Marquez were arrested Oct. 9 after Marquez reportedly drove Avila’s truck into a crowd of people outside The Rock Rest
SEE RODEO, P2
SEE HIT-AND-RUN, P3
Trent Johnson practices his roping outside the arena as he waits for his events to start.
Contestants enjoy wintertime rodeo at Jeffco Fairgrounds BY CORINNE WESTEMAN CWESTEMAN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Lakewood’s Mikayla Wilson practically grew up at the Jefferson County Fairgrounds, roping and riding in the county’s rodeo team with friend Joey Quintana. So, because Jeffco hadn’t hosted a rodeo at the fairgrounds in more
than five years, they decided to host one of their own. After more than six months of planning, more than 200 contestants and hundreds of spectators turned out for the March 11 Winter Rodeo at the fairgrounds. The Mountain Valley Rodeo Company hosted contestants from all over Colorado and surrounding states. While Colorado’s rodeo season typically starts in April, Wilson said, “We did this one as the winter rodeo to get people ready for the season and bring something back to Jeffco.” Not only was the time of year unique, but the schedule was too,
PHOTO BY SARA HERTWIG
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