Tag: Arvada Police
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‘Truly lucky’: Suspected car thief only one injured after Arvada crash
Arvada Police arrested one person who crashed a stolen car at Wadsworth Boulevard and 76th Avenue Monday morning, saying the number of injuries and amount of damage could have been higher. The Toyota FJ Cruiser, which was reported stolen in Adams County, crossed multiple lanes of traffic before smashing into a traffic control box, according…
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Arvada police officer died breaking up a violent child custody dispute, arrest warrant says
Arvada Police officer Dylan Vakoff was shot in the head and leg from just a car length away the night he was killed, according to an arrest affidavit released Monday. The affidavit said that Vakoff and another officer were responding to a dispute over the custody of two children when they pulled up to 6753…
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Hearing dates set for man accused of killing Arvada police officer
The man accused of killing Arvada police officer Dillan Vakoff waived hearing a reading of the 11 formal charges levied against him in a Jefferson County Courtroom Tuesday morning and a District Court judge set two future court dates. Suspect Sonny Almanza, 31, appeared in court from Jefferson County jail via Webex in an orange…
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Police Officer Dillon Vakoff, a goof, military veteran and ‘heroic lion,’ is laid to rest
Dillon Vakoff was so realistic about the dangers of the law enforcement career he loved so much that he made a pact with his mom. The military veteran said that if he died, he would go out as a “heroic lion.” To his family’s horror, that promise was kept last Sunday, when the young officer was…
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Dad, 16-month-old son watch police from all over in procession for fallen Arvada officer
Chris Whiteman and his 16-month-old son, Micah, stood alone at the crossroads of Colorado Highway 7 and 119th Street east of Lafayette, waiting for the hundreds of police and rescue vehicles to stream past them. The police procession was escorting the body of a slain Arvada Police officer. They happened to be the only two…
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Hundreds of police officers – some from as far as Utah – say goodbye to fallen officer Dillon Vakoff
Dillon Vakoff loved fishing. He loved his family. He loved spending time with the family dog. He loved Halloween costumes. But most of all, he loved Megan Esslinger, fellow Arvada Police officer. And the couple loved to do one thing together – dance. But not just any kind of dancing. “He would always want to…
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No bond for Arvada police shooting suspect
The man accused of fatally shooting Arvada police Officer Dillon Vakoff will be held in jail without bond, a Jefferson County District Court judge ruled Wednesday. Sonny Almanza, 31, appeared in a Jefferson County courtroom via video chat and stood, both hands holding on tightly to a podium. He was in an orange jail outfit…
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Suspect in Arvada police shooting a no-show for first court appearance
The suspect accused of killing an Arvada police officer early Sunday morning was a no-show in court Tuesday afternoon, prompting court observers to speculate that he is probably still in the hospital and unable to appear. He was expected to hear his recommended charges via video chat, but there was no official explanation during the…
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Police identify man arrested in shooting death of Arvada police officer
Arvada police have arrested Sonny Thomas Almanza, 31, of Arvada on suspicion of murdering a peace officer in connection with the shooting death of Officer Dillon Michael Vakoff, court records show. Vakoff was fatally shot around 1:40 a.m. Sunday while responding to a disturbance in the 6700 block of West 51st Avenue. Almanza and a…