Shane Benjamin

Position: Herald Staff Writer

Hilltop House director with history of sexual harassment complaints resigns

The longtime director of a community corrections center in Durango who has been accused repeatedly of sexual misconduct will leave his job by the end of the month. John Schmier resigned earlier...

DATE: March 19, 2019 | CATEGORY: Local News

Two trucks crash within an hour on Wolf Creek Pass

Two semitrailers crashed within an hour of each other Tuesday morning on Wolf Creek Pass, including one carrying a load of potatoes that spilled onto the highway. The first crash occurred about...

DATE: Dec. 19, 2018 | CATEGORY: Local News

Woman taken into custody after brief standoff with police

A La Plata County woman was arrested after a brief standoff with police Thursday north of downtown Durango. Michelle Lewis, 40, was being held Thursday night in the La Plata County Jail on...

DATE: Sept. 7, 2018 | CATEGORY: Local News

Victim in fatal vehicle crash on Wolf Creek Pass is identified

The victim of a fatal crash involving multiple vehicles Monday near the base of Wolf Creek Pass was identified Tuesday as Joseph Leo Guarino, 63, of Elephant Butte, New Mexico, according to the...

DATE: Aug. 28, 2018 | CATEGORY: Local News

Camper rescued from backcountry near Lemon Reservoir

A man experiencing medical complications, possibly high-altitude sickness, was rescued by helicopter Monday evening near Lemon Reservoir. The outfitter set up camp in the Young’s Canyon area, on...

DATE: Aug. 28, 2018 | CATEGORY: Local News

Jury convicts husband of strangling his wife

A Durango man suspected of strangling his wife last year in the Lightner Creek Mobile Home Park was found guilty Wednesday of first-degree murder. Silvino Martinez-Perez, 36, showed no obvious...

DATE: Aug. 22, 2018 | CATEGORY: Local News

Jail escapee captured; schools placed on lockout during chase

A jail escapee was captured Wednesday after an hour-long foot pursuit up and down the Animas River Trail north of downtown Durango. The chase resulted in lockouts at Durango High School, St....

DATE: Aug. 22, 2018 | CATEGORY: Local News

Michael Jones convicted of first-degree murder

A Texas man who shot and killed another man in a marijuana robbery was convicted Wednesday of first-degree murder. Michael Jones, 20, will spend the rest of his life in prison as a result of the...

DATE: Aug. 22, 2018 | CATEGORY: Local News

Halfway house director has history of sexual harassment complaints

The director of Hilltop House, a community corrections center for adult offenders, has been accused of at least a half dozen incidents of sexually inappropriate behavior during the last 20 years...

DATE: Aug. 5, 2018 | CATEGORY: Local News

Irongate residents among first to attack 416 Fire

Al Chione loves to watch the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge train chug past his house several times a day north of Durango. But as a former volunteer firefighter, he is also keenly aware of the...

DATE: June 5, 2018 | CATEGORY: Local News

Former Pagosa Springs man pleads guilty to tax fraud involving hot springs

A former resident of Pagosa Springs with connections to the Springs Resort & Spa has pleaded guilty to filing a false tax return. William Marvin “Bill” Whittington, 68, of Scottsdale, Arizona,...

DATE: May 4, 2018 | CATEGORY: Business

Highway 160 reopens after bomb threat at Durango hotel

A bomb threat called into a hotel closed U.S. Highway 160 for more than two hours Tuesday in west Durango. The highway reopened at 5:13 p.m. A man called the Holiday Inn & Suites with the bomb...

DATE: March 20, 2018 | CATEGORY: Local News

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