Elk-Killing Cop Has More Restrictions; Home Explosion Body Found

Officials are still examining the ruins and possible causes for the house explosion in Thornton, a suburban area of Denver, that occurred yesterday afternoon.  Three people lived in the house; two were at work when the explosion happened, and the third person was in the basement of the home.  Cadaver dogs found the body early this morning, but the remains cannot be removed due to the condition of the building and the continuing investigation of what caused the explosion.
  Ex-Boulder police officer Sam Carter, who was found guilty by a jury of his peers last month in the 4 felony and 5 misdemeanor charges filed against him for the killing of the Mapleton elk, was back in court this afternoon.  He was arrested for DUI in another county, and his drivers license was suspended.  He drove himself to his trial today, and was arrested again for driving without a license.  When he was arrested in November for the DUI, he kept yelling at the officer who stopped him that he (Carter) was a Boulder police officer and that he was the one who had killed the elk (Big Boy).  His blood alcohol level was 3 times the legal limit.  Following these happenings, and in a sealed motion to a local judge, the Boulder District Attorney asked that Sam Carter's personal recognizance bond of $20,000 be revoked, that the amount be changed to $100,000, and that several other conditions be added.
   Judge Berkenkotter modified Carter's bond, but kept it at $20,000, with several conditions today. They include no alcohol, no drugs, no weapons, no contact with the Boulder Police Department, no contact with the Colorado Parks and Wildlife staff, no contact with the Boulder County District Attorney's office, and no contact with Judge Patrick Butler (who presided over Carter's trial) and/or Judge Butler's staff.  The conditions also include substance abuse monitoring, electronic alcohol monitoring, and pre-trial supervision.  Carter is scheduled to be sentenced for his crimes on 29 August.
  (It sounds to me like Carter has been getting drunk and saying that he was going to shoot those involved in the trial...  Very bad conduct for an ex-law officer.)

Trial Begins in Death of Big Boy (aka Edward the Elk)

Picking a jury for the trial of ex-police officer Sam Carter was apparently difficult - it took all of yesterday and up until today's lunch break at the Boulder County Court House.  The attorneys agreed upon the choice of 8 women and 6 men for the empanelled jury.  Opening statements are scheduled to begin in one hour.  Former Boulder Police Officer Sam Carter is on trial on charges connected to the 1 January 2013 killing of a trophy elk in the residential neighborhood on Mapleton Hill.
  Carter is facing one count of attempting to influence a public official, a Class 4 felony; one count of forgery, a Class 5 felony; and two counts of tampering with physical evidence, Class 6 felonies.  He is also facing misdemeanor counts of first-degree official misconduct, illegal possession of a trophy elk with a Samson Law surcharge, conspiracy to commit illegal possession of wildlife, unlawfully taking of a big game animal out of season, and unlawful use of an electronic communication device to unlawfully take wildlife.
  Big Boy, also known as Edward the Elk, wintered in the Mapleton Hill neighborhood of Boulder for many years.  He was known to enjoy corn and sweet feed that neighbors provided for him during heavy snows.  In the two months before his death, a US Post Office mail man, who delivered on foot in the area, complained twice about Big Boy.  Both times, the large bull was standing on the path to the front porch and refused to move away, so the mail could not be delivered.  The last time, the mail man decided to continue his approach and Big Boy shook his rack at the mail man.  So the elk was reported for "bad behavior."  Residents have stated that if the elk was in front of their porch entry, all they had to do was open the door and the elk would move away.   The morning that Big Boy was shot and killed by Sam Carter, Carter had told the people in residence that the elk was injured and needed to be killed "humanely."   A necropsy showed that the elk was in excellent health.
   They'd never let me on that jury!  I'd want to shoot the ex-officer myself!

Sam Carter posing with Big Boy after shooting him

Coyote Bites Jogger; Edward the Elk

Reports have been growing about the number and tameness of the coyotes who live along the eastern part of the Boulder Creek Path - about a mile east of my apartment.  Last week there were several reports of coyotes chasing joggers and bikers along the Path, two days ago, one coyote bit a jogger in the calf of his leg.  The coyote has not been caught, and the jogger will undergo rabies shots as a precautionary measure.  I think maybe the Boulder Police Department should send officer Sam Carter over that way, since he was such a wonderful shot in killing Edward the elk on Mapleton Hill.  The coyote that bit the jogger on the leg is more of a danger to people and society than Edward, a neighborhood mascot, was.  I don't really like to see any animal killed unless there's a really good reason.  If the creature is a livestock killer in fields and pastures, it should be destroyed.  If it's a bear or mountain lion that has lost it's fear of people, it's better that the wild thing is "put down", for it is no longer truly wild.  If a coyote along a heavily used paved pathway is chasing and biting humans that are passing by, it, too, should be destroyed. (I have personally seen small children playing on roll-along bikes and trikes on that area of the BCP.)  If a wild animal is damaged irreparably, and cannot survive in the wild on it's own, it should be (considering the circumstances) put out of its misery, or taken to a wildlife rehabilitation center.  If a wild animal has lost its fear of man and is causing havoc by eating livestock and pets, or chasing people, or attacking a person without provocation, it should be put down. I would support whomever put that animal cleanly and neatly.
   The people who live on Mapleton Hill are, very rightly, upset about the killing of Edward the elk, or "Big Boy", as he was frequently called.  According to the home-owners where he was killed, he was acting normally, and was grazing in the front yard as usual, when officer Sam Carter knocked on their door s little before midnight and told them not to panic if they heard a gunshot.  The home-owners had no idea the officer was referring to killing the elk, who was 50 feet away, grazing in a corner.  This police officer did not tell his commanding officer, supervisor, or dispatch anything about the elk, or about firing his service shotgun, until the home-owners had provided the local newspaper and two TV stations with photos. It also seems highly suspicious that within 30 minutes of the shooting, an off-duty sheriff's deputy and two other men showed up with a pick-up that had a camper shell on the back, and they placed the carcass of the elk inside and drove off to butcher it. Sounds like it was planned to me.   In any event, the local Police, Sheriff, and the Department of Wildlife are each making their own investigation.  Then there's the fact that a shotgun was fired within Boulder city limits to bring down an apparently uninjured trophy elk....  Naughty, naughty!