Firefighters rescue yak from frozen pond in Memorial Park

Evergreen Fire/Rescue firefighters rescued a yak trapped in a frozen pond in Evergreen Memorial Park on Wednesday afternoon.

Two firefighters waded in to the icy water to open a path to shore for the yak, while others waited for her on land. The firefighters freed the yak from the ice using what appears to be a chain saw in a Facebook video posted by Evergreen Fire/Rescue. The yak made it back to her herd, and no injuries were reported, according to the post.

The 3-year-old female yak initially was misidentified as a bison, a follow-up Facebook post stated.

The yak is part of a privately owned herd, according to Evergreen Fire/Rescue.

Man arrested in shooting death in Jefferson Park

A man was arrested Thursday in a shooting death in the 2600 block of North Zuni Street in Denver.

Denver police identified the arrested man as Rafael Acosta-Hernandez, 24, in a news release Friday afternoon.

He is being held for investigation of first-degree murder.

The police investigation indicates there was a verbal exchange between Acosta-Hernandez and the victim before the shooting, according to the release. It also mentioned there may have been conflict between Acosta-Hernandez and the victim in the week before the shooting.

Police responded to the shooting about 12:18 p.m., when they found a man with apparent gunshot wounds, the release stated.

The man was taken to a hospital, where he later died.

He has not been identified.

Acosta-Hernandez’s vehicle was seen in the area of West 26th Avenue and North Federal Boulevard, and officers started a vehicle pursuit that ended near West 20th Avenue, according to the release.

Acosta-Hernandez fled the vehicle on foot, and officers established a perimeter.

He was arrested with the assistance of Denver police’s SWAT team and canine unit, the release stated.

The Denver district attorney’s office will determine the final charges.

— Graeme Taskerud, The Denver Post

Arvada man arrested for fatal October hit-and-run

Aurora police say they have arrested an Arvada man who fatally struck a motorcyclist on Interstate 225 and fled the scene in October.

Brian Vondersmith, 37, was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of vehicular homicide, reckless manslaughter, first-degree assault and leaving the scene of an accident involving death, all felonies, police wrote in a social media post.

Officers responded to the crash near I-225 and Sixth Avenue on Oct. 20 and found the downed motorcyclist — Matthew Bouchard, 38, of Aurora — who died at the scene.

Witnesses told police that Bouchard appeared to be racing Vondersmith, who was driving a pickup truck, before Vondersmith swerved into Bouchard, knocking him into a guardrail. The truck was found abandoned in a parking lot about 3 miles away.

Vondersmith was being held at the Arapahoe County Detention Center on $150,000 bail as of Friday morning, according to jail records.

His next court appearance is scheduled for March 25.

— Max Levy, The Denver Post

“Wicked” star Erivo to talk at Conference on World Affairs at CU

“Wicked” star and award-winning actress and singer Cynthia Erivo will deliver a keynote address at the University of Colorados Conference on World Affairs in April, campus officials announced Friday.

Erivo will participate in a discussion with Stefanie K. Johnson, the director of the Boulder campus’ Center for Leadership, during the conference set for April 7-11.

Registration to see Erivo speak opens the week of March 17.

— Katie Langford, The Denver Post