Man pleads guilty to killing eight of neighbors’ cattle

A Larimer County man accused of shooting and killing his neighbors’ cattle while driving around on a personal, off-road vehicle in April took a deal and pleaded guilty last week, according to court records.

Michael Hester, 37, pleaded guilty on Friday to three counts of aggravated animal cruelty and three counts of animal theft — all felonies — as part of a deal, court records show. The plea deal dropped 12 additional charges of aggravated animal cruelty, animal theft, shooting from a public road and felony trespassing from Hester’s case.

Hester could face two to six years in prison and fines of up to $500,000 on each charge.

He was arrested in April after several of his neighbors filed police reports claiming he shot at their cattle while driving a utility terrain vehicle. Under Colorado’s “Open Range Law,” livestock owners are allowed to graze animals without containment.

Hester is next scheduled to appear in court on Jan. 31 for a sentencing hearing, according to court records.

Two workers rescued from trench at construction site

Two workers were rescued from a trench at a Centennial construction site Tuesday morning, according to South Metro Fire Rescue.

South Metro Fire Rescue crews responded to reports of people trapped in the trench along Cherry Creek Trail, near Parker Road and Broncos Parkway, around 7:27 a.m. Tuesday, the fire department said.

Paramedics took one person to the hospital with minor injuries, fire officials said. No details about the other trapped person were provided.

It’s not clear how the workers got trapped in the trench, but a rescue team was able to extract both people by 8:45 a.m., according to South Metro officials.

Rescue crews said the trench was 10 feet wide, five feet deep and 75 feet long.

— Lauren Penington, The Denver Post