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2nd man arrested in probe of prison chief's death

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Both of the suspected white supremacist prison gang members whose names surfaced during an investigation into the slaying of Colorado’s prisons chief are now behind bars.

Colorado Springs authorities arrested Thomas Guolee, 31, around 5:30 p.m. Thursday in Colorado Springs, according to El Paso County sheriff’s officials. They didn’t immediately release circumstances or details of his arrest. He was being held without bond for a parole violation, sheriff’s officials said.

The arrest came nearly a week after another alleged member of the 211 Crew, James Lohr, in Colorado Springs after a short chase. Lohr, 47, is now being held on charges including vehicular eluding. His bond has been set at $250,000.

Investigators say the two aren’t suspects in the shooting death of Colorado Department of Corrections head Tom Clements, but their names came up during the investigation. Authorities last week told law-enforcement officers to look out for both men, who had outstanding warrants unrelated to Clements’ death.

Court records show Guolee was arrested in 2001 after a member of the Crips gang told Colorado Springs police he was jumped by Guolee and another gang member because they believed he was a member of a rival gang. The witness told police Guolee and the other gang member punched and kicked him in the face and left him bleeding.

In 2007, Guolee was charged with assault and intimidating a witness while in the El Paso County jail after an inmate said he was assaulted by three men, including Guolee, because they thought he was going to testify against a suspect in another case. Authorities said the man was beaten so badly he could have been permanently disfigured.

The outcome of some of those cases was unclear. Authorities also have not released the subject of Guolee’s warrant.

Guolee’s mother, Debbie Eck, has said that her son called her husband last month — before he was named a person of interest — asking for help turning himself in for what she believed was a parole violation. But she said they never heard back from him.

She told KUSA-TV that she’s relieved now that he’s in custody.

“Thank God. It was way overdue. I just want him to get things taken care of so he can be part of his daughter’s life. My heart’s been

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Colorado police arrest second man in prison chief's death

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Authorities say a second white supremacist prison gang member whose name surfaced during an investigation into the slaying of Colorado’s prisons chief has been arrested.

El Paso County sheriff’s officials say Colorado Springs authorities arrested Thomas Guolee around 5:30 p.m. Thursday. He was being held without bond for a parole violation.

Investigators have said Guolee isn’t a suspect in the shooting death of Colorado Department of Corrections head Tom Clements, but his name and that of fellow 211 Crew member James Lohr came up during the investigation. Lohr was arrested in Colorado Springs last week after a short chase and is now being held on charges including vehicular eluding.

Evan Ebel is the only suspect that has been named in Clements’ death. Ebel later died in a shootout with Texas authorities.

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Man arrested in Colo. corrections director killing

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Authorities have arrested a member of a white supremacist gang linked to the killing Colorado’s prisons chief, who was shot answering the door of his home last month.

El Paso County sheriff’s spokesman Jeff Kramer says James Lohr was taken into custody early Friday. Lohr was wanted for questioning in the murder of Colorado Corrections Director Tom Clements. It’s unclear if Lohr has been charged.

Authorities believe the Lohr was in contact with gang associate Evan Ebel days before the murders of Clements and pizza delivery man Nate Leon. Police say they believe Ebel killed Leon and Clements before he was killed in a shootout in Texas. His motive in the killings isn’t clear.

According to the television station (http://tinyurl.com/d8bj8vt ), Lohr was arrested by Colorado Springs police after a short foot chase when police tried to stop a car.

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Colorado governor orders audit of inmate records

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Gov. John Hickenlooper on Thursday announced an audit to ensure the state’s prisoners are serving their correct sentences, two weeks after a parolee who was mistakenly released four years early was identified as a suspect in the killing of Colorado’s prisons chief.

The announcement came as authorities said they were looking for two other members of Evan Ebel‘s white supremacist prison gang. Authorities said the two men were not suspects but “persons of interest” in Tom Clements‘ death. Investigators are trying to determine whether Clements’ killing was an isolated attack or done at the direction of top members of the 211 Crew.

Amid that backdrop, state officials announced the audit and a review of state parole procedures by the National Institute of Corrections. Ebel had slipped his ankle bracelet five days before the Clements killing, but authorities did not issue a warrant for his arrest on parole violations until the following day.

During that time, police believe Ebel also was involved in the slaying of a pizza deliveryman and father of three in Denver.

Ebel was sentenced to a combined eight years in prison for a series of assault and menacing convictions in 2005. He was convicted of assaulting a prison guard in 2008 but a clerical error led his new four-year sentence to be recorded as running simultaneously to his others, rather than to start after they finished. As a result, he was released Jan. 28.

“The Department of Corrections will prioritize the review of cases with the greatest level of risk, going back 10 years, and reviewing the required consecutive sentencing,” Hickenlooper said in a statement. “The Department of Corrections will work with the attorney general’s office on any issues that may need further action.”

Meanwhile, the announcement Wednesday night that authorities are looking for two other 211 gang members was the first official indication of a possible tie to the gang.

James Lohr, 47, and Thomas Guolee, 31, aren’t being called suspects in Clements’ killing, but are considered persons of interest. Their names surfaced during the investigation, El Paso County sheriff’s Lt. Jeff Kramer said. He wouldn’t elaborate.

Authorities say the two Colorado Springs men are members of the 211 gang and have been associated with Ebel in the past.

Both are wanted on warrants unrelated to Clements’ death, and authorities believe they are armed and dangerous.

Ebel is the only suspect that investigators have named in Clements’ killing, but they haven’t given a motive. They have said they’re looking into his connection to the gang he joined while in prison, and whether that was connected to the attack.

“Investigators are looking at a lot of different possibilities. We are not stepping out and saying it’s a hit or it’s not a hit. We’re looking at all possible motives,” Kramer said Wednesday.

Investigators have said the gun Ebel used in the Texas shootout was also used to kill Clements when the prisons chief answered the front door of his Monument home.

Sheriff’s investigators said they don’t know the whereabouts of Lohr and Guolee or if they are together, but it’s …read more

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2 more sought in Colo. Prison chief's death

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Two more men connected to a violent white supremacist gang are being sought in connection with the slaying of Colorado’s prisons chief, and authorities are warning officers that they are armed and dangerous.

The search comes about two weeks after prison gang member Evan Ebel — a suspect in the death of Department of Corrections chief Tom Clements on March 19 and of Nathan Leon, a pizza deliveryman, two days earlier — was killed in a shootout with Texas deputies.

While it’s not clear whether the gang, the 211 Crew, is linked to the killing, the warning bulletin issued late Wednesday by the El Paso County Sheriff’s Department is the first official word that other gang members may be involved.

James Lohr, 47, and Thomas Guolee, 31, aren’t being called suspects in Clements’ death, but their names have surfaced during the investigation, El Paso County sheriff’s Lt. Jeff Kramer said. He wouldn’t elaborate.

Kramer said the two are known associates of the 211 gang.

Ebel is the only suspect that investigators have named in Clements’ death, but they haven’t given a motive. They have said they’re looking into his connection to the gang he joined while in prison, and whether that was connected to the attack.

“Investigators are looking at a lot of different possibilities. We are not stepping out and saying it’s a hit or it’s not a hit. We’re looking at all possible motives,” Kramer said Wednesday.

Investigators have said the gun Ebel used in the Texas shootout was also used to kill Clements when the prisons chief answered the front door of his home.

Sheriff’s investigators said they don’t know the whereabouts of Lohr and Guolee or if they are together, but Kramer said it’s possible one or both of them could be headed to Nevada or Texas.

Both are wanted on warrants unrelated to Clements’ death, and authorities believe they are armed and dangerous.

Guolee is a parolee who served time for intimidating a witness and giving a pawnbroker false information, among other charges, court records show. Lohr was being sought on warrants out of Las Animas County for a bail violation and a violation of a protection order, according to court records.

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Members Of White Supremacist Gang Sought In Colorado Prison Chief Death

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By The Huffington Post News Editors

DENVER — Authorities investigating the death of Colorado’s prisons chief told law enforcement officers Wednesday to be on the lookout for two known associates of a white supremacist prison gang.

James Lohr, 47, and Thomas Guolee, 31, aren’t being called suspects in the death of Colorado Department of Corrections chief Tom Clements, but their names have surfaced during the investigation, El Paso County sheriff’s Lt. Jeff Kramer said. He wouldn’t elaborate.

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2 white supremacist gang members sought in Colorado prisons chief death

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Authorities investigating the death of Colorado’s prisons chief have issued an alert seeking two members of a white supremacist prison gang.

El Paso County sheriff’s Lt. Jeff Kramer said Wednesday that deputies are seeking 47-year-old James Lohr and 31-year-old Thomas Guolee in connection with the death of Tom Clements. He says their names surfaced during the investigation and the men could be headed to Nevada or Texas.

The Denver Post reports both men are members of the white supremacist prison gang 211 Crew. That’s the same gang whose members included Evan Ebel, who is suspected in the fatal shootings of Clements on March 19 and of a pizza delivery driver two days earlier.

Ebel was killed in a shootout with Texas authorities after their deaths.

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Texas mother, son indicted in 1977 murder of Army officer

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The wife and stepson of a decorated Army officer killed in a decades-old cold murder case have been charged with his death, the El Paso Times reported.

Roger Evan Garrett, 54, and his mother, Lisbeth Ann Garrett, 74, were indicted on murder charges in the Jan. 3, 1977, killing of Army Maj. Chester Garrett, according to the newspaper.

West Texas investigators said in February they had solved the murder of the Army Green Beret, who was found with a fractured skull and stab wounds in an El Paso County desert 35 years ago.

Roger Garrett was extradited from Knoxville, Tenn., where he had been living, to El Paso, the newspaper reported. Both Roger and Lisbeth Garrett are being held in the El Paso County Jail on $1 million bonds.

The 35-year-old major’s bloody body was found in the back seat of his 1972 Volkswagen in the desert east of El Paso. Investigators say he’d been stabbed 10 times but died of a skull fracture.

At the time of his death, investigators found footprints and a set of tracks belonging to a different car in the area, but no signs of a struggle, according to the newspaper.

The case eventually went cold after all leads became exhausted. The investigation was not reopened until 2006.

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Texas puts prosecutors on high alert after district attorney, wife shot dead inside home

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After one of his assistant prosecutors was gunned down in January, Kaufman County District Attorney Mike McLelland carried a gun everywhere, even when walking the dog.

He was extra careful when answering the door at his home outside of Forney, about 20 miles east of Dallas. And a neighbor said a sheriff’s deputy was stationed outside the home for about a month after the killing.

On Saturday, McLelland and his wife, Cynthia, were found shot to death in their house.

Authorities haven’t said much about their investigation, including whether they have any leads or a theory about why the couple was killed. But law enforcement throughout Texas is on high alert, and steps are being taken to better protect other DAs and their staffs.

Tarrant County District Attorney Joe Shannon said his staff has been cautioned, but he declined to discuss the specific security measures that have been taken. Dallas County District Attorney Craig Watkins declined to comment on the issue, citing safety concerns.

Harris County District Attorney Mike Anderson said he accepted the Houston sheriff’s offer of 24-hour security for him and his family after learning about the killings, mostly over concerns for his family’s safety. Anderson said he also would take precautions at his office, the largest one in Texas, which has more than 270 prosecutors.

“I think district attorneys across Texas are still in a state of shock,” Anderson said Sunday.

Kaufman County Sheriff David Byrnes said little at a brief news conference Sunday about the McLelland investigation, and he deflected questions about possible suspects. He said security would be stepped up at the courthouse in Kaufman, but he declined to say what other steps might be taken to protect the other prosecutors in McLelland’s office. The DA‘s Office will remain closed Monday.

McLelland, 63, is the 13th prosecutor killed in the U.S. since the National Association of District Attorneys began keeping count in the 1960s.

The couple’s killings came less than two weeks after Colorado’s prison chief was shot to death at his front door, apparently by an ex-convict, and a couple of months after Kaufman County Assistant District Attorney Mark Hasse was killed in a parking lot a block from his courthouse office. No arrests have been made in Hasse’s slaying Jan. 31.

Byrnes would not give details Sunday of how the killings unfolded and said there was nothing to indicate for certain whether the DA‘s slaying was connected to Hasse’s.

After Hasse’s shooting, McLelland said, “We lost a really, really good man. We are going to find you. We are going to pull you out of whatever hole you are in and we are going to let the people of Kaufman County prosecute you to the fullest extent of the law.”

El Paso County, Colo., sheriff’s spokesman Sgt. Joe Roybal said investigators had found no evidence so far connecting the Texas killings to the Colorado case, but added: “We’re examining all possibilities.”

Colorado’s corrections director, Tom Clements, was killed March 19 when he answered the doorbell at his home outside Colorado Springs. Evan Spencer Ebel, a white …read more
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Texas district attorney found dead in home had spoke of arming himself after assistant's murder

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Kaufman County District Attorney Mike McLelland took no chances after one of his assistant prosecutors was gunned down two months ago. McLelland said he carried a gun everywhere he went and was extra careful when answering the door at his home.

“I’m ahead of everybody else because, basically, I’m a soldier,” the 23-year Army veteran said in an interview less than two weeks ago.

On Saturday, he and his wife were found shot to death in their rural home just outside the town of Forney, about 20 miles from Dallas.

While investigators gave no motive for the killings, Forney Mayor Darren Rozell said: “It appears this was not a random act.”

“Everybody’s a little on edge and a little shocked,” he said.

The slayings came less than two weeks after Colorado’s prison chief was shot to death at his front door, apparently by an ex-convict, and a couple of months after Kaufman County Assistant District Attorney Mark Hasse was killed in a parking lot a block from his courthouse office. No arrests have been made in Hasse’s slaying Jan. 31.

McLelland, 63, is the 13th prosecutor killed in the U.S. since the National Association of District Attorneys began keeping count in the 1960s.

Sheriff David Byrnes would not give details Sunday of how the killings unfolded and said there was nothing to indicate for certain whether the DA‘s slaying was connected to Hasse’s.

El Paso County, Colo., sheriff’s spokesman Sgt. Joe Roybal said investigators had found no evidence so far connecting the Texas killings to the Colorado case, but added: “We’re examining all possibilities.”

Colorado’s corrections director, Tom Clements, was killed March 19 when he answered the doorbell at his home outside Colorado Springs. Evan Spencer Ebel, a white supremacist and former Colorado inmate suspected of shooting Clements, died in a shootout with Texas deputies two days later about 100 miles from Kaufman.

McLelland himself, in an Associated Press interview shortly after the Colorado slaying, raised the possibility that Hasse was gunned down by a white supremacist gang.

The weekend slayings raised concerns for prosecutors across Texas, and some were taking extra security precautions. Byrnes said security would be increased at the courthouse in Kaufman but declined to say if or how other prosecutors in McLelland’s office would be protected.

Harris County District Attorney Mike Anderson said he accepted the sheriff’s offer of 24-hour security for him and his family after learning about the slayings, mostly over concerns for his family’s safety. Anderson said also would take precautions at his Houston office, the largest one in Texas, which has more than 270 prosecutors.

“I think district attorneys across Texas are still in a state of shock,” Anderson said Sunday.

McLelland, elected DA in 2010, said his office had prosecuted several cases against racist gangs, who have a strong presence around Kaufman County, a mostly rural area dotted with subdivisions, with a population of about 104,000.

“We put some real dents in the Aryan Brotherhood around here in the past year,” he said.

In recent years, the DA‘s office also prosecuted a case in which a justice …read more
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Woman accused of providing gun used to kill Colorado prisons chief

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The Colorado Bureau of Investigation agents on Wednesday arrested a woman accused of illegally transferring the gun authorities say was used to kill Colorado’s prisons chief.

Investigators believe Stevie Marie Vigil, 22, of Commerce City, legally bought the firearm from a licensed dealer in the Denver suburb of Englewood and transferred it to Evan Ebel, who was a felon who couldn’t legally possess a firearm, the CBI said.

Ebel is suspected in the shooting deaths of Colorado Department of Corrections head Tom Clements on March 19 and of Nathan Leon, who was shot March 17 while working as a pizza delivery driver in the Denver area.

Ebel died after a shootout in Texas last week. El Paso County, Colo., sheriff’s investigators have said the gun Ebel used in the shootout was the same weapon used to kill Clements when he answered the front door of his home.

The identity of the Englewood firearms dealer wasn’t disclosed. Authorities described the dealer as “extremely cooperative” and said the dealer had no knowledge of Vigil’s alleged actions after buying the gun.

Vigil was being held on one felony count of unlawful purchase of a firearm. Her bail was set at $25,000.

Records associated with her arrest have been sealed, and an El Paso County sheriff’s office spokesman didn’t immediately respond to an email seeking comment.

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Woman tied to gun used to kill Colo. prisons chief

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The Colorado Bureau of Investigation agents on Wednesday arrested a woman accused of illegally transferring the gun authorities say was used to kill Colorado’s prisons chief.

Investigators believe Stevie Marie Vigil, 22, of Commerce City, legally bought the firearm from a licensed dealer in the Denver suburb of Englewood and transferred it to Evan Ebel, who was a felon who couldn’t legally possess a firearm, the CBI said.

Ebel is suspected in the shooting deaths of Colorado Department of Corrections head Tom Clements on March 19 and of Nathan Leon, who was shot March 17 while working as a pizza delivery driver in the Denver area.

Ebel died after a shootout in Texas last week. El Paso County, Colo., sheriff’s investigators have said the gun Ebel used in the shootout was the same weapon used to kill Clements when he answered the front door of his home.

The identity of the Englewood firearms dealer wasn’t disclosed. Authorities described the dealer as “extremely cooperative” and said the dealer had no knowledge of Vigil’s alleged actions after buying the gun.

Vigil was being held on one felony count of unlawful purchase of a firearm. Her bail was set at $25,000.

Records associated with her arrest have been sealed, and an El Paso County sheriff’s office spokesman didn’t immediately respond to an email seeking comment.

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Family remembers slain Colo. pizza delivery driver

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A memorial service is being held for a Colorado pizza delivery driver who authorities believe was shot to death by the man suspected of killing the state’s prisons chief.

The service for 27-year-old Nathan Leon, a married father of three, is scheduled for 11 a.m. Wednesday in Lafayette.

The Commerce City man was reported missing after leaving to make a pizza delivery March 17. Police later found his body with gunshot wounds in Golden.

Denver police say they’re confident the suspect in Leon’s death is the same man who was killed in a shootout with Texas authorities last week. El Paso County sheriff’s officials say the gun that suspect Evan Ebel (EE’-bul) used in Texas was the same weapon used in the death of Colorado Department of Corrections director Tom Clements on March 19.

Investigators are trying to determine whether Leon’s slaying was to procure a pizza box and Domino’s Pizza uniform to help persuade Clements to open his front door.

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Gun evidence links Colorado parolee to corrections chief's murder

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Gun evidence links a Colorado parolee fatally shot in Texas with the death of Colorado’s corrections’ chief, investigators said Monday.

The El Paso County sheriff’s office said that “unique and often microscopic markings” found on shell casings in Texas and Colorado leads investigators to conclude that the gun Evan Ebel used to shoot at authorities in Texas was the same gun used to kill Tom Clements at his home on Tuesday.

It had been known that the casings found at both scenes were of the same caliber and brand but Monday’s announcement was the first time Colorado investigators made a direct link between Ebel and Clements’ death.

What remained unknown though was why Clements was killed when he answered his front door Tuesday night and whether Ebel acted alone.

“There are no answers at this time surrounding motive and gaining these answers could be a lengthy process for investigators,” sheriff’s spokesman Lt. Jeff Kramer said in statement.

The announcement came just hours after hundreds of people, including corrections officials and guards from as far away as Morocco, gathered for a memorial service to honor Clements.

The crowd at New Life Church included 39 current and former corrections’ chiefs as well as guards from 14 states. A delegation of corrections officials from Morocco also attended along with dignitaries including Gov. John Hickenlooper and U.S. Attorney John Walsh.

Hickenlooper and his widow both spoke about Clements’ strong belief in redemption. His family said he decided as a teenage to work in corrections after visiting his uncle in prison, and he worked to reduce the use of solitary confinement in Colorado prisons.

Standing with her two daughters, Lisa Clements said her husband of 28 years would want justice as well as forgiveness.

“We want everyone who hears Tom’s story to know that he lived his life believing in redemption, in the ability of the human heart to be changed. He would want justice certainly but moreover he’d want forgiveness. Our family prays for the family of the man who took Tom’s life and we will pray for forgiveness in our own hearts and our own peace,” said Lisa Clements, a psychologist who oversees Colorado’s state mental health institutes.

Hickenlooper, who hired Clements about two years ago, told mourners that Clements was both pragmatic and principled.

“He had common sense and he had courage,” Hickenlooper said.

Authorities say the car Ebel had in Texas is also similar to one seen not far from Clements’ home the night he was killed.

A federal law enforcement official said Ebel had been a member of the 211s, a white supremacist prison gang in Colorado. El Paso County sheriff’s spokesman Lt. Jeff Kramer said Monday that investigators are trying to determine whether there was any gang involvement in the killing, but he stressed that’s only one aspect of a broad investigation.

Denver police say Ebel is also a suspect in the March 17 slaying of pizza delivery man Nathan Leon.

Hickenlooper is a longtime friend of the suspect’s father, attorney Jack Ebel, who testified two years ago before state lawmakers that solitary confinement …read more
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Evan Spencer Ebel Officially Named Suspect In Colorado Corrections Director Tom Clements Slaying

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By The Huffington Post News Editors

DENVER — Colorado investigators on Saturday said for the first time that a former prison inmate who was killed in a gunfight with Texas authorities is a suspect in the death of Colorado’s state prison system chief.

The evidence gathered in Texas after the death of Evan Spencer Ebel provided a “strong, strong lead” in the fatal shooting of Colorado Department of Corrections director Tom Clements, who was killed at his front door, El Paso County sheriff’s spokesman Lt. Jeff Kramer said Saturday.

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Man killed in Texas called suspect in Colo slaying

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Investigators are saying for the first time that a man who was killed in a gunfight with Texas authorities is a suspect in the shooting death of Colorado’s state prison system chief.

El Paso County sheriff’s spokesman Lt. Jeff Kramer said Saturday that evidence gathered in Texas after the death of Evan Spencer Ebel provides a “strong, strong lead” in the slaying of Tom Clements, director of the Colorado Department of Corrections.

Kramer stressed that investigators have not yet confirmed a link between Ebel and Clements’ death.

Clements was shot Tuesday night when he answered the door of his home in a rural area north of Colorado Springs.

Ebel, who was paroled from a Colorado prison in January, was fatally shot by authorities in Texas Thursday.

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Attorney dad of dead suspect possibly linked to prison chief's killing friends with Colorado governor

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Attorney Jack Ebel testified before the Colorado Legislature two years ago that solitary confinement in a Colorado prison was destroying the psyche of his son, Evan.

When Jack Ebel‘s longtime friend, Gov. John Hickenlooper, was interviewing a Missouri corrections official for the top prisons job in Colorado, he mentioned the case as an example of why the prison system needed reform. And once Tom Clements came to Colorado, he eased the use of solitary confinement and tried to make it easier for people held there to re-enter society.

Now authorities are investigating whether Evan Spencer Ebel, who was paroled in January, is linked to the death of Clements, who was shot and killed Tuesday night when he answered the front door of his house in a rural neighborhood.

The bullet casings from that shooting are the same caliber and brand as those found at the site of a bloody gun battle Thursday between Evan Ebel and Texas law enforcement officers that ended with Ebel being shot and killed, according to court records.

Authorities said Friday they had not yet done ballistics tests on the shells to determine if the gun used in Texas was the same one used to kill Clements.

The car Ebel drove matched the description of the one spotted outside Clements’ house on the night of the prison director’s death. Authorities also found a Domino’s pizza delivery box in the trunk and a jacket or shirt from the pizza chain. Denver police say Ebel is now a suspect in the Sunday slaying of pizza delivery man Nathan Leon.

Hickenlooper confirmed his relationship with Jack Ebel to The Denver Post and KUSA-TV Friday evening and then in a written statement Friday night. State records show Ebel donated $1,050 to the governor’s 2010 campaign. But there’s no indication that Hickenlooper’s relationship with the Ebels played a role in the shooting.

Hickenlooper said he did not having any role in Evan Ebel‘s parole.

“Although Jack loved his son, he never asked me to intervene on his behalf and I never asked for any special treatment for his son,” Hickenlooper’s written statement said.

State prisons spokeswoman Alison Morgan said Evan Ebel was paroled Jan. 28 as part of a mandatory process after serving his full prison term. He had most recently been sentenced to four years for punching a prison guard in 2008, according to state records.

Hickenlooper said he never mentioned Ebel’s name to Clements or anyone else connected with the prisons system. He said he only heard about the role of his friend’s son Thursday night.

“I didn’t know Evan was out,” the governor told The Denver Post and KUSA, adding that he called Jack Ebel after being told of the connection. “He was distraught, he was devastated. I’ve never heard him so upset, and he’s had some hard things in his life.”

Lt. Jeff Kramer of the El Paso County sheriff’s office said Friday evening that he was unaware of the relationship between Hickenlooper and Ebel’s father.

Jack Ebel did not return multiple phone calls seeking comment.

A federal law enforcement official …read more
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Tennessee soldier shot, killed in Colorado home

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Authorities say a soldier from Tennessee has been shot and killed at his home in Colorado, and a juvenile member of his family is a suspect.

Army Sgt. James Fleming died Saturday in Widefield, a town near Fort Carson, where he was stationed.

The juvenile’s name hasn’t been released. El Paso County sheriff’s Lt. Jeff Kramer declined Wednesday to describe the juvenile’s relationship to Fleming. Kramer says the juvenile isn’t in custody but the public isn’t at risk.

The 36-year-old Fleming was a mechanic from Cordova, Tenn. The 11-year veteran had deployed to Iraq three times and Kuwait once.

He’s the second Fort Carson soldier fatally shot at home in two months. Staff Sgt. David Dunlap and his wife, Whitney Butler, were killed when they surprised a burglar Jan. 14.

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2 arrested in 1977 cold case murder of Texas Army officer

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Investigators in West Texas say they’ve solved the murder of an Army Green Beret who was found with a fractured skull and stab wounds in an El Paso County desert in 35 years ago.

The El Paso Times reports thatLisbeth Garrett, 74, was arrested Thursday in El Paso and charged in the 1977 death of her estranged husband, Army Maj. Chester Garrett.

An El Paso County Sheriff’s Office statement said that his stepson, 54-year-old Roger Evan Garrett, was arrested in Knoxville, Tenn.

The 35-year-old major’s bloody body was found in the back seat of his 1972 Volkswagen in the desert east of El Paso. Investigators say he’d been stabbed 10 times but died of a skull fracture.

At the time of his death, investigators found footprints and a set of tracks belonging to a different car in the area, but no signs of a struggle, the El Paso Times reported.

The case eventually went cold after all leads became exhausted. The investigation was not reopened until 2006, according to the paper.

“We’ve been working this case for many years,” sheriff’s Cmdr. Paul Cross told the paper. “The homicide guys did a tremendous job never quitting that case. It’s a great night, and hopefully this is the first step in getting justice for him and his family.”

Garrett, who was an executive officer of the student battalion at the Fort Bliss Air Defense School, also coached basketball and boys baseball at the school, according to the report.

Sheriff’s Capt. Mac Stout told the El Paso Herald-Post in 1977 described Garrett as a “Special Forces type” and said “[w]hoever got him must have been mighty tough, too, and probably more than one, and probably took him by surprise.”

Both Lizbeth Garrett and Roger Garrett are charged with murder and are being held on $5 million bond, according to the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Click here for more from the El Paso Times.

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