Costly name change considered to alter Commerce City's image

Mar 04, 2007 09:03:47

Shawna Nelson. (Kathryn Scott Osler / The Denver Post) Greeley - A judge Friday tried to sidestep another potential conflict of interest in the case against the alleged killer of a former Greeley police officer's wife. Weld County District Judge Roger Klein ruled that only a "neutral" police agency could obtain DNA samples from the accused, 35-year-old Shawna Nelson. Klein barred both Greeley police and the Weld County sheriff's office from collecting physical evidence from Nelson because of links to the case. Nelson is a former Weld County sheriff's dispatcher and is married to Weld deputy Ken Nelson. Shawna Nelson is accused of shooting 37-year-old Heather Garraus on Jan. 23 in a parking lot outside a credit union where Garraus worked. Shawna Nelson reportedly had an affair with Garraus's husband, Ignacio Garraus, which produced a son. Ignacio Garraus ended the relationship with Shawna Nelson and did not want to care for their child, according to court documents. Ignacio Garraus recently quit the Greeley Police Department after 16 years. Shawna Nelson allegedly sent Ignacio Garraus threatening text messages before the shooting, including one telling him to "be prepared" because she felt betrayed by him, court documents said. Although the shooting occurred in Weld County, the prosecution of the case was handed over to the Larimer County district attorney after conflict-of- interest concerns were raised. Ken Nelson, while separated from Shawna Nelson, dated an attorney in the Weld County DA's office. He eventually returned to his wife, court documents said. Shawna Nelson's attorney, Kevin Strobel, argued Friday that Greeley police shouldn't collect or handle evidence taken from Shawna Nelson because the department had "an obvious conflict of interest in the case." Klein said he was confident Greeley officers could be impartial. But to be sure, he ruled that another agency - most likely the Colorado Bureau of Investigation - should collect the DNA samples. A preliminary hearing in the case was scheduled for April 19