8 FEBRUARY 8-14, 2024 westword.com WESTWORD | MUSIC | CAFE | CULTURE | NIGHT+DAY | NEWS | LETTERS | CONTENTS | sidewalks are clean, pressure washing and other things,” Hinds says. In response, the BID received a $200,000 reimbursable grant through the Department of Safety, and designed a plan in three phases. “In the immediate, police are doing op- erations weekly and making arrests each month,” Locantore says. “So that’s continu- ing, and they’re working to make sure their efforts don’t fall fl at by continuing to patrol that block. In the near term, that’s where the $200K comes in. Improving the envi- ronmental infrastructure, adding lighting to the street both with pedestrian-scale light poles and ones on buildings where there are parking lots and behind the alley where there are dark spots. In the long term, we are having conversations with the businesses there on how they can make this a vibrant place like Larimer Square. Can we turn this into a festival street? That’s a two- to three-year plan.” According to Locantore, the “best anti- dote to negative activity is positive activity.” That’s where the infrastructure improve- ments come in, he says — but it’s not all that’s being considered. “The real long-term, sustainable angle on this is, ‘Why does crime happen here? Why is this happening here and not down the street? Is it opportunity? How do we help our society have the tools to be able to live without committing crime?’” Lo- cantore says. “So I do think we have to talk bigger, because these things did not hap- pen overnight. While it may have seemed to have moved from other 7-Elevens and blocks overnight, the real issues have been around.” While the BID and the city look at solu- tions, the Corner Beet extended its hours of operation to 9 p.m. Tuesday through Satur- day, which neighbors credit with helping to keep criminals at bay while also creating a sense of community and support. “At night or in the later hours, when Corner Beet is open, it makes people feel safe,” says nearby resident Drew Zwilling while grabbing an afternoon coffee there. “When it’s not open, it’s pretty desolate and prone to activity.” Neighbors and clients alike are grate- ful for all that the Corner Beet and other businesses are doing. They just hope they don’t give up on the block and leave the neighborhood. “It would be really unfortunate for the neighborhood to see businesses like the Corner Beet and the apothecary leave due to this stuff,” Zwilling says. “Places like Corner Beet are what make Cap Hill special. It would be really disappointing to see them move to RiNo or something like that. These places are what give Cap Hill its charm and protect the community.” The Lowdown on LoDo Although there are defi nite hot spots, crime is down around the city. Really. According to the Denver Police Department, crime dropped 33 percent year over year from 2022 to 2023 across the city. And during the fi rst month of 2024, crime was still trending low in LoDo and near Coors Field, with no murders and few major incidents reported in January. “Increased police presence has brought renewed safety and security, and I’m now here to say LoDo is back,” said Lissa Druss, government relations director for Riot Hos- pitality Group, which hosted an event thank- ing the DPD on February 1. RHG has helped to operate Dierks Bentley’s Whiskey Row with Montfort Companies since the venue opened on New Year’s Eve 2021 at 1946 Market Street; the partners opened a Riot House down the block to kick off 2024. There are changes across the street, too. The northwest side of Market is now occupied by ventures run by Handsome Boys Hospitality, which Mon- fort Companies approached early last year about taking over buildings that had run into legal and liquor problems with the city. Since then, the block has defi nitely seen less trouble — but there have been a few well- publicized incidents. Riot Gives Back, the non- profi t arm of RHG, hosted an event on February 1 to show its appreciation for the offi cers who were on the job on September 16, when seventeen-year-old Keanna Rosenburgh shot and injured fi ve people after being denied entry to Dierks Bentley’s because she had a fake ID. At the gathering, Druss described how offi cers immediately took action, triaging victims before paramedics arrived and can- vassing the neighborhood to fi nd a person who’d been with the shooter. After identi- fying Rosenburgh through that person and video footage, the department sent under- cover offi cers to apprehend the team in California, where she’d fl ed. As thanks for the offi cers’ actions, Riot Gives Back donated $5,000 to the Denver Police Orphans’ Fund. “I am not surprised at the response im- mediately after that incident occurred, but I am certainly proud of every offi cer who took action to deploy life-saving measures,” Denver Police Chief Ron Thomas said. The block has been much quieter since then. The DPD’s crime map, which tracks National Incident-Based Reporting System data, reports that only three crimes occurred near Dierks Bentley’s in January, and those crimes fell in the “all other crimes” category. That means they weren’t related to aggravated assault, arson, auto theft, burglary, drugs or alcohol, larceny, murder, other crimes against persons, public disorder, robbery, theft from motor vehicles or white-collar crime — all specifi c crimes noted on the database. While the DPD continues to work to keep crime low in the area, Rosenburgh’s case has passed to the Denver District At- torney’s Offi ce; she was charged as an adult for attempted murder, assault, possession of a handgun by a juvenile and illegal discharge of a fi rearm. Rosenburgh is currently in cus- tody, with her bond set at $500,000; she has a status conference scheduled for February 26. And DA Beth McCann’s offi ce is working to prosecute those involved in other high- profi le LoDo crimes, too. Raoul Jones — one of those allegedly involved in the shooting that injured ten people after the Denver Nuggets’ champion- ship win on June 14, 2023 — was arraigned on charges of possession of a weapon by a previous offender on February 1. Ricardo Vazquez, who’s been charged with four counts of attempted murder in addition to drug charges in connection with the shoot- ings, is scheduled to be arraigned on Febru- ary 8. Kenneth Blakely is also being held on attempted-murder charges; he has a disposi- tion hearing March 21. Investigators suspect Blakely and Vazquez are the two who fi red their weapons that night. On January 30, Jordan Waddy — whose actions kickstarted a July 2022 police shoot- ing on the 2000 block of Larimer Street — was supposed to be sentenced after pleading guilty to one count of possession of a weapon by a previous offender, which is a felony. But on January 30, Waddy’s defense requested his sentencing be postponed until February 8. Offi cer Brandon Ramos, who was indicted by a grand jury for shooting unsafely into the crowd leaving bars after last call that night, injuring seven people including Waddy, has already been sentenced to eighteen months’ probation after accepting a guilty plea for third-degree assault, which is a misdemeanor. “Given the fact that Offi cer Ramos clearly did not intend to shoot innocent bystanders, I believe a conviction for third-degree assault, for recklessly causing the victims’ injuries, is the appropriate resolution in this case,” McCann said in a statement. “Of course, none of this would have happened had Jordan Waddy not been carrying an illegal weapon, and for that reason, I am pleased that Mr. Waddy has pleaded guilty to a felony charge and will be held accountable for his role in the events of that night.” Crime isn’t just down in the area around Dierks Bentley’s. It’s low across downtown, according to the DPD crime map. In the Ballpark neighborhood, measured from 20th Street to Broadway between Blake and Arapahoe streets, there were just 48 crimes reported in January, mainly drug- and alcohol-related, along with fi ve thefts from motor vehicles and fi ve aggravated assaults. In LoDo itself — which runs from Cherry Creek to 20th Street, between Wynkoop Street and the alley between Market and Larimer streets — only 44 crimes were reported last month. Most fell into the “other” category, though a white-collar crime was reported at 1822 Blake Street, where Sta- tus Ultra Lounge is located. Union Station was the site of a fi fteen-crime cluster in January; there was a ten-crime cluster at 17th and Wewatta streets, be- hind Union Station. Between the two locations, there were six public-disorder reports, six larceny reports, two aggravated- assault reports and one robbery. “Typically, DPD has in- creased staffi ng on Friday and Saturday evenings downtown; this includes on-duty and off- duty resources,” the department says of its push to deter crime in the area. “These efforts have remained the same throughout this winter in hopes that extra visibility serves as a deterrent for downtown crime.” Deterring crime is just part of the city’s push to bring people back downtown. “When we set out and decided to develop in this neighborhood, it wasn’t about build- ing buildings,” says Kenneth Monfort, son of Rockies owner Dick Monfort and partner in Dierks Bentley’s Whiskey Row and other projects on the block. “It was about creating and adding to a very vibrant neighborhood, which I think we’ve done, and we’re well on our way to creating something that’s extremely special here.” — CATIE CHESHIRE News continued from page 6 Surveillance video outside of Dierks Bentley’s captured Keanna Rosenburgh. DENVER POLICE DEPARTMENT
