WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2016 THe Monte Vista JOURNAL

PAGE 3A

Two face charges

in abuse of M.V.
mans remains

Photo by Anthony Guerrero

The meeting was one of the more well attended Neighborhood Watch meetings in recent months.

Neighborhood Watch
holds regular meeting
BY ANTHONY GUERRERO

MONTE VISTA- The Monte Vista

Neighborhood Watch Program held
its regular meeting on Monday, Oct.
10 at 6 p.m. The meeting was held at
the Monte Vista Information Center
and attendance was significantly increased. Attendees learned about all
the different projects and ideas Neighborhood Watch is currently involved
in or will be in the near future.
Gary Johnson is the current acting
president of the organization; he presided over the meeting and engaged
with the audience. Johnson began by
explaining the mission and purpose of
Neighborhood Watch. Johnson stated
the purpose was for everyone to be
comfortable reporting suspicious activity, looking out for their neighborhood and community, reducing crime
and also connecting with each other at
a personal level. Johnson also shared
the success stories of the program and
illustrated with the point that crime in
neighborhoods with the most active
Neighborhood Watch participants at
one point reached an average of zero.
Johnson then shared in detail the
different projects that Neighborhood
Watch is currently pursuing. He
explained the program is currently
in possession of some bikes that can
be given away to needy children
and community members. The bikes
were inherited from the KidVenture

program that stopped in town this

summer. Johnson led a brainstorming
session with the attendees to figure
out where and how to distribute the
bikes. Some ideas presented were a
partnership with the food bank and
church ministries. Specific Neighborhood Watch members were tasked
with looking into these possibilities.
Another organization mentioned
was the newly formed Citizens for
a Healthy Monte Vista. The group
is a political organization focused
on defeating the likely upcoming
ballot measure next year seeking to
legalize recreational marijuana in the
city. Johnson said the groups enemy
wasnt necessarily anyone trying to
pursue this initiative but rather a misconception of Colorado being a gold
mine for recreational marijuana with
dramatically positive effects. Johnson
said he did not believe that to be the
case and pointed to increased police
force activity in Denver to make the
point. He invited all those interested
to learn more about the group and
become involved in their plans.
Neighborhood Watch has also has a
hand in the ice rink, cruise nights and
the raffling of the El Camino donated
by the Skeffs. Johnson explained that
while these activities may not sound
like anything to do with deterring
crime they are still important. He
stated that it is a good way to engage

the community and local youth,

and it also helps show how strong
Neighborhood Watch is. He said it
makes people pause and think and
pay attention.
The Monte Vista Neighborhood
Watch is also in the process of planning
a formal gala as a fundraiser next year.
Johnson said it would be a fun activity and would give local residents an
excuse to dress up. Currently, the idea
centers around a silent auction, dinner
and big band. Neighborhood Watch
will continue to develop the idea and
solicit donations for the auction.
The Monte Vista Neighborhood
Watch Program is very active and is
serving as a leader and an example
to other communities throughout the
Valley. To become involved please
talk to your local block captain or be
on the lookout for future announcements regarding the many activities.

EL PASO COUNTY Jeffory

Calvert may have wanted to camp
peacefully sometime before June
23, but his remains still have yet to
be laid to a peaceful rest, according
to law enforcement reports. A Monte
Vista resident, Calvert, 52, was reported missing over the Memorial
Day weekend.
Conejos County Sheriff Howard
Galvez said he first learned about
it on Facebook, a couple of hours
after the remains were discovered
along the river bank in the Alamosa
Campground, located approximately
10 miles west of Colorado State
Highway 15 on Forest Road 250.
Calvert was officially identified and
the body was sent to El Paso County
for an autopsy.
On Aug. 30, Conejos County
Coroner Richard Martin announced
Calvert had drowned, but law enforcement was still investigating,
since the remains were not in or
near water.
Calverts body remained at the
El Paso County Coroners Office
until mid-September, waiting to be
claimed by family members or a
funeral director hired by the family.
The coroners office said Calverts
family had authorized them to give
the remains to representatives of
Acumen Funeral and Cremation Services in Colorado Springs. Efforts to
identify and contact Calverts family
members were fruitless at press time.
On Sept. 22, Craig Ryan Brown,
34, and J. Timothy Brown, 52, came
to pick up the remains in a white
U-Haul van. They later claimed the
coroners office had ordered the
removal, since the body had been
there a long time, but Acumen had
no place to store a body.

A few days after a neighbor found

the remains, Timothy called police
and told them he was missing a
body. He claimed the coroners
office had made them pick up the
body, but they didnt have anywhere
to put it. He also said the state hadnt
paid him for the funeral/cremation
services. He told police he had taken
the body to his grandmothers vacant
home at 2525 Cascade in Colorado
Springs, where it was kept in a body
bag and covered with a piece of
rug.
The company was in Craigs name
because Timothy, who had previously worked for the coroners office,
was a convicted felon and could not
get a funeral services license. The
license was granted on July 22, 2016.
But no one had paid for the service, Timothy Brown told police
during the investigation. It was
unclear whether the money was to
come from Calverts family or the
state of Colorado.
According to Colorado Springs
news station, KKTV, Craig Brown
said the two were storing the body
in the garage while they figured out
a better solution.
Timothy told police the funeral home was located on Acacia
Drive, according to the affidavit.
A Google listing showed the address as 2545 King Street #1. Police
determined the Acacia Drive address
was a single-family home where
Craig sometimes stayed. At the
King Street address, police found an
empty four-plex apartment building.
A For Rent sign was in the yard.
Neither building appeared to have
housed a business.
While a website is listed for
Please see REMAINS on Page 12A