Story Archive

Freaks of Nomenclature, Bilateral Division

Two weeks after graduating from the University of Colorado, a 21-year-old student allegedly went into someone else’s Boulder house at 3:30 in the morning. When the shadowy figure entered the bedroom, the homeowner yelled at the intruder to get out — and he had a gun. When the figure came closer, the homeowner fired a shot, and the intruder dropped. Zoey Ripple, 21, police say, had a blood-alcohol level of “above” 0.2 percent; she was hospitalized with a gunshot wound to her hip. The homeowner will not be charged, police say, as Timothy Justice was acting in self defense. Ripple will be, though: felony criminal trespass. She likely won’t see jail time. “We see this pretty frequently,” said District Attorney Stan Garnett, and the goal of prosecutors is for the court “to help the person get the treatment they need for their drinking.” (RC/Denver Post) ...After the trespass: just one shot. Before the trespass: way too many shots.