Fort Collins: Hooligans smash 17 cars with rocks

Rock-throwing vandals have caused an estimated $8,000 in damage in Fort Collins, police said.

So far 17 car owners in Fort Collins have reported rocks being thrown through windows of parked vehicles, according to a Fort Collins Police Department media release.

The vandalism happened between 7 and 8:30 p.m. Thursday in an area bordered by Overland Trail, Mulberry Street, Shields Street and Drake Road.

Several witnesses described a suspect car to investigators, and police have contacted three juveniles and an adult as suspects in the case.

No charges have been filed and the investigation is ongoing.

Suspects charged in Fort Collins riot

Seven more people have been cited for their involvement in the Aug. 22 melee in Old Town Fort Collins that caused $12,000 in property damage.  [scroll down for the original story]

The total number of suspects cited is now at fourteen, said Fort Collins police spokeswoman Rita Davis.

[Most of the charges are misdemeanors: participating in a riot, resisting arrest, obstructing police, and disobeying orders under riot conditions.]

Police are working to identify other potential participants in the riot, Davis said.

400 riot in Fort Collins, burning and looting

‘til it breaks notes:

A longer media story and videos of the riot can be found here.

Apparently rioters were heard to shout “fuck the police” and generally deny the authority of the cops as the riot unfolded, at least until the cops and SWAT team deployed enough tear gas and other weapons to disperse them.

Arrests have been made in the wake of the riot as police reviewed video footage and issued warrants.  No matter how drunk you are during a riot, always remember to always cover your face!

FORT COLLINS — Five people have been cited for disorderly conduct and Fort Collins and Colorado State University police are reviewing videotapes to see whether they can identify others who spurred a riot that rolled through Old Town early Sunday morning.

So far, no students have been linked to the brawl, and officials are insisting that this won’t turn out to be another riot-plagued start to the school year.

Police used tear gas and pepper-spray balls to break up a crowd of 400 people near the intersection of North College and Mountain avenues after the Earth, Wind & Fire concert Saturday night at the annual Bohemian Nights at NewWestFest ended, said police spokeswoman Rita Davis.

It apparently all started after two men were ejected from a downtown bar. Several fights ensued.

Rioters began throwing beer bottles, patio furniture and other objects at police while damaging cars, stealing items from vendor tents and setting trash cans on fire, Davis said.

Some were injured in the fighting, including two men who went through the window of the Santa Fe Craftsman shop at 118 N. College Ave. They were taken to the hospital by ambulance before police could identify them, Davis said.

At least one vendor tent was burned in the rioting.

Arson investigation underway at Fort Collins million-dollar warehouse fire

FORT COLLINS – Firefighters Wednesday morning were still on the scene of a three-alarm fire that caused more than $1 million in damage in northwest Fort Collins on Tuesday evening.

The fire broke out shortly after 5 p.m. at a 75-by-200-foot single-story warehouse and workshop at Forney Industries, 1830 LaPorte Ave., sending a heavy cloud of noxious smoke over the city.

This morning, fire investigators with Poudre Fire Authority and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms were beginning to seek the fire’s cause and exactly what burned. Firefighters remained at the fire to douse any lingering hot spots, said PFA Capt. Sharon McNeil.

Air-quality tests last night prompted firefighters to conclude that the smoke, while irritating, posed little direct threat to the public. The visible smoke has dissipated this morning, although the smell still lingers.

At the fire site, foam and water still drip from the corrugated metal sides of the building, which collapsed as the fire roared through it. At least one of the metal beams supporting the roof appears to have buckled from intense heat.

PFA spokesman Patrick Love said no one was injured in the fire, but that one area resident complained of breathing difficulties due to the smoke. Love said no additional information about that person was available.

Forney Industries President and CEO Steve Anderson said the company, a longtime family-owned distribution company, won’t suffer too badly from the loss of the building.

“It was more overflow storage than anything,” he said on Tuesday evening. “We can re-order a lot of the product in there and it’s insured so I don’t think we’ll have too many problems.”

Forney Industries has operated in Fort Collins for more than 80 years. The company offers more than 4,500 products ranging from hardware, automotive and farm and ranch equipment, according to the company’s Website.

In 1949, a fire at Forney Industries caused $235,000 worth of damage to the company’s sole building at the time.

Button-down-shirt bandit hits Fort Collins bank

A Fort Collins bank was robbed at 9:39 a.m. today.

Fort Collins police said the man entered the Key Bank, 100 E. Drake Road, through the front door, approached a bank teller and demanded money.

The robber did not show a weapon or indicate to the teller he had a gun, said police.

He left the bank with an undisclosed amount of cash.

Fort Collins park hit by senseless vandalism

Someone took a machete or axe, walked down a path at Fort Collins’ newest community park and hacked down 19 trees Tuesday night, leaving city officials and local residents appalled by the destruction.

When Doug Kokes, a crew chief with the Fort Collins Park Department, arrived at Spring Canyon Community Park at 5:30 a.m. Wednesday he couldn’t believe the havoc the vandals had caused.

Strewn along a path in the park were a variety of trees, laying on their sides.

“It was disappointing. We tried to develop the park into a beautiful place,” said Kokes. “It is very disappointing.”

He said neighborhood residents are very upset, unable to comprehend why anyone would engage in such vandalism.

When the park opened in 2007 the young trees were an integral part of the park’s development.

Ralph Zentz, the city’s assistant forester, said he couldn’t believe what he saw when he got to the southwest Fort Collins park Wednesday morning.

“I saw the first two trees and said ‘this is bad’,” Zentz recalled. “Then I rounded a bend and saw eight more trees down.

“This is the city’s newest community park, right up against the foothills. It is really attractive. This is a sad, sad situation. I can’t comprehend what motivates people to do this,” said Zentz.

May Day 2010 Fort Collins

This May 1st we’ll come together and celebrate our collective radical history, the struggle for workers’ rights, and autonomous people’s movements, while building our current communities of resistance!

The day’s activities begin at 2 p.m. Meet at the Old Town Square–look for the black flags and a banner or two. We’ll set out on a celebratory street dance and head to a nearby park where we can enjoy free food and each others’ good company.

Bring yourself, your friends, and revolutionary desire! If you wanna bring a banner, masks, costumes, extra food for the picnic, or anything else you feel is appropriate–please do!

Check it: http://mayday2010.blogspot.com/

Government vans arsoned in Fort Collins

Anonymous communique from Colorado Indymedia follows:

Two US government vans parked outside a military recruitment center in Fort Collins, CO were set on fire a couple of nights ago.  The extent of damage is unknown.

These wars go on and on.  We read about the dead.  Across an ocean and their names are not spoken here.

Kimya Hamid

Aji Agha Pather

Fereshta and her brother Ali

Rahmet Wali

Nejeba Mohd

Faisal Karim

Habdul Wajad

Malik Nabi Jan

Fatima Sarajiddin

Saya Begum and her sister Rayhan Begum

These flames are our way of remembering.

We fight here.

Shootout in Fort Collins wounds cop

A police officer and a burglary suspect were wounded in a shootout at a Fort Collins home late Christmas night, authorities say.

The conditions of Officer Allen Heaton and suspect Andrew Nardello were not released, although neither received life-threatening injuries, according to Rita Davis, Fort Collins police spokeswoman.

Heaton and Sgt. Richard Zeigler drove to the 2400 block of West Stuart Street at 11:23 p.m. Friday on a report of suspicious activity, Davis said.

When they arrived, they were confronted by an “intruder in the residence,” she said. Shots were exchanged.

Nardello, 24, and Heaton were rushed to the Medical Center of the Rockies, Davis said.

Both officers have been placed on administrative leave during the investigation, as is customary after a police-involved shooting.

from the Denver Post.

Wells Fargo bank attacked in Fort Collins

Anonymous communique:

We smashed up a Wells Fargo bank last night in Fort Collins, Colorado.  We don’t really need to explain our reasons–you probably already know them.  But we’ll share a few things.

We are enemies of capitalism.

We are sick and tired of people being locked in cages.

Wells Fargo is the single largest investor in the Geo Group, which owns many I.C.E. detention facilities–private prisons–around the U.S.  The Geo Group and Wells Fargo profit from imprisoning people in Colorado.

We want smashed prisons and the destruction of capitalism, not just windows–the question is how do we create moments in which insurrection is possible?

We are everywhere.

Strength to us all!

from Colorado Indymedia.