>> his girls were in a wedding at the church. so he was going to see them walk down the aisle. he didn't get to see it. >> reporter: police say he had been stopped at a stop sign when this man, 28-year-old career criminal david garcia honked his horn. he doled police beret raised his middle finger so he drove up and shot him to prove his point. beret died from his wounds. >> his wife thought the world of m. same. >> reporter: mary spent thanksgiving day with her cousin. she says beret was an avid broncos fan. quiet and hard working and adored his wife and daughters. >> you are supposed to go to work. be good, work hard, do the right thing and everything will be okay. that is not what happened for him. >> reporter: police say rested garcia monday. he is also a person of interest in another homicide thanksgiving day. detective john white says in road rage cases, drivers should do their best to avoid confrontations. >> that can only escalate the

senseless act of violence, a heartbroken family is trying to pick up the pieces. >> there are still good people out there. those girls are going to honor him and be good people, too. >> reporter: the suspect has a long rap sheet including everything from domestic violence to assault, to abuse. he is facing charges of first degree murder. meanwhile, the family has set up a go fund me page to help the family. you find the information on cbsdenver.com. live in denver, tom cbs4 news. >> thank you tom. developing now, the investigation into a sex assault at ponderosa high school. 49-year-old gary postel, a campus security guard is accused of the crime. it happened around this time yesterday at the school. detectives have interviewed the victim. douglas county schools will not tell us much about the allegations saying due to privacy laws and the investigation surrounding this, we are unable to discuss this matter specifically.

chemicals found inside a hotel in golden. police and a bomb squad evacuated the marriott courtyard this afternoon. they are trying to find the people who booked the hotel room. new developments on a driver who hit and killed a colorado state patrol cadet. christopher gebers was sentenced to life in prison. he was driving high and wrecklessly at thyfault. trooper rushing was also hurt. kelly werthmann was at the sentencing at the boulder county justice center. kelly, you heard emotional testimony in the courtroom. >> reporter: there were a lot of tears. from the troopers who knew thyfault, some who only had worked for him a few hours. and his family who had known him all his life.

for a first degree murder conviction. it is a sentence his family says is fair given that he took the life of a young hero. >> we will live fiercely in his absence as he watches over us. >> reporter: trooper taylor thyfault was just 21 years old when he was killed in the line of duty. >> it got taken from him. >> reporter: taken by christopher gebers who crashed into thyfault eluding police on highway 66. 18 months later, au asked a boulder judge to give gebers the maximum sentence for his actions including trooper clinton rushing who was nearly killed by gebers. >> he will never have to experience that kind of things. i share that because it is the only memory i have of that day. not knowing what happened. not knowing that a man who you were supposed to be responsible for that day had died. >> reporter: thyfault's grandmother also read a letter he wrote to his mom when he was

i admire your strength as you seem to come out stronger every time. >> i will forever be his mom. but do you know how hard it is to be a mom when you don't get to see your child? it is heartbreaking. >> reporter: before a mandatory life in prison sentence was handed down, christopher addressed the family. >> i am sorry. if i could take it back, i could. and i am ... i am sorry. state patrol who was here today said that this was extremely difficult. especially since they recently lost another one of their own, trooper cody donahue just last friday. kelly werthmann, cbs4 news. >> thank you kelly. we have new information on a fire that badly damaged a business. this picture shows the flames engulfing the green door furniture store this morning.

inside, but evacuated someone from a business next door. >> the flames were in the shop. there was red. red. going up high, the flames were pretty intense. then it got hot and the glass started crack. just watching it fall down. >> the fire did not spread to other buildings but the pearl street fitness canceled classes because of all the commotion there. wild fire on green mountain is now 100% contained. copter 4 scar this morning after walking the fire line. mapping out the scar. firefighters say 96 acres burned. at its peak, the fire could be seen for miles. forced the evacuations of dozens oaf people north of the mountains. i-70 is back open for the night following intermitten closures. cdot held up traffic throughout the day for rock scaling work. the job is expected to continue tomorrow. we are talking clear creek county between lawson and the

along the interstate. a hassle for drivers but, sure beats having boulders fall on the pavement. >> reporter: absolutely. tonight, drivers are told they expect anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours of delays. workers are dislodging really large boulders up there. an, those rocks are making their way all the way down to braving bone-chilling wind. >> i feel bad for the guys up there. >> reporter: three rock scalers used crowbars to finish what mother nature started here. >> when we looked at this, we saw additional rock features coming down. and we have been doing scaling operations throughout the summer. >> reporter: cdot officials telling us they will hopefully keep rocks from falling this winter.

this season. probably take it off again next summer. >> reporter: drone 4 shows us how high up these brave workers go. they are on safety harnesses as rocks crumble beneath their boots. >> rocks are making it onto the road. and, safety first. >> reporter: the traffic jams clearing up in under an hour. some of the same is expected again wednesday. and, tonight, cdot telling us they might have some minor will have to repair because of the large rocks hitting the surface of the road. we are live along i-70. matt kroschel, cbs4 mountain news room. >> thanks matt. latest on the homeless sweeps in denver. we told you the city was back out near park avenue and broadway cleaning out the area. many had move today the city county area. the interfaith alliance shared this video with us. police told the homeless they could not stay there. they did cooperate and moved

has a consumer alert for people who board their dogs. ask questions about security. she was out of town for thanksgiving when her dog got loose and vanished and hasn't been seen since. now as our britt moreno tells us, the dog's owner is hoping someone mr. spot lola with her pink collar on. >> reporter: pictures of brown- eyed lola is all her owner megafan has to hold onto. >> i was ke kennel for thanksgiving. >> reporter: she boarded her two-year-old pup for the first time at the doggy day care in denver. sunday, she got a devastating call. lola is missing. >> at first, i felt bad for them. then it all sunk in. and i was like well, i'm 1200 miles away. my flight doesn't get in until tomorrow morning. >> it has been sad. >> reporter: wolfen boots owner calls it a fluke. >> we have been in business

and we haven't had this happen. >> reporter: but how could it happen? >> the dogs were coming down these stairs? >> that is correct. we are rotating the dogs to go to a different play area. >> reporter: that is when his business partner opened the door to take out the trash. and lola slipped out. >> i was hoping maybe when i got back here, she would sense i was here and come back. >> reporter: lola's owner and staff continue to scour the neighborhoods in search of lola. they have called the local shelters, they hav on craigslist. but still, lola is still missing. >> i'm just sad. >> reporter: she is offering a $250 reward to anyone who finds her best friend. britt moreno, cbs4 news. prescription drug abuse is becoming a leading cause of death here in colorado. a group of people at the front lines of the crisis are trying to save lives. we will show you how in just a moment. >> he is a super fan of the denver broncos suffering from

surprise. >> and, the wrap around from the storm still bringing some snow showers into northeast colorado. and some mountain locations. but the skies are clearing. so, sunshine tomorrow. but, then, lauren andly show you some really ,,

>> happening now, the state is recruiting leading medical professionals to combat the epidemic of prescription drug abuse. so quick to give it if someone sprains their ankle or knees. >> feedback will be applied to the state's guidelines for prescribing and dispensing opioids. there was an outbreak of broncos fever at the university of the colorado hospital. >> a group of players an cheer leaders dropped by to visit patients. kathy walsh is here. one fan got a great surprise. >> reporter: one huge broncos fan. he happen to be fighting

>> it is incredible. i did not expect this. >> reporter: devoted broncos fan gary bowman found himself gushing. >> you are my favorite team. >> reporter: broncos bearing gifts, singled him out as they spread broncos fever through the university of colorado hospital. >> you guys have done more than i could ever imagine. >> reporter: gary is 61. and fighting bladder cancer. it was discovered at his annual was diagnosed with colon cancer. >> typical bloodwork they can do, it is owl there for a reason. if you catch it early you can beat it. >> reporter: gary joins uc health and the broncos in their commitment to men's health awareness. what they call mantenance. >> i was reading my mantenance is key manual. >> reporter: men often see doctors at the urging of their

is encourage men themselves to come forward. at least start a dialogue with physicians about men's health. >> go broncos. >> go broncos. >> reporter: gary bowman is on his second type of chemotherapy. he has his family, and now his favorite team rooting for him. >> all i can say is let's go to the super bowl. i want to go back to back. >> reporter: he's a great guy. and you may notice some denver sports venues in other buildings all lit up in blue. that is because blue is the health movement. i have to add this really quickly. guess what one of the gifts was? four tickets broncos raiders. >> oh my gosh. >> broncos raiders. new year's day. >> what a great day! >> reporter: you think gary was excited you should have seen his wife and children. >> thanks kathy. let's get to the weather. >> chilly weather today. not out of the 30s and we still have snow showers coming this way.

the sunshine returns but lit be brief. won't last very long. you will see that in a moment. there's the storm system still sitting in up the upper midwest. scraping eastern colorado with some of the snow showers around. here it is in the hour by hour forecast. everything dies down. there's the sunshine around the state for tomorrow. but, as we roll it on into thursday, you see some clouds beginning to move in from the west. a couple of scattered snow showers for the mountains. as we get into friday, we told you this last night. could see some of those spill across the front range. from laramie down to e southern metro, we see snow. that is at 6:00 a.m. maybe at the start of your rush hour. then, they hang around until 2:00 in the afternoon. that is as far out as our futurecast goes. clear skies out on the northeast. so, to the east, all over the u.s., we have all the action right back there. we are dry here with high pressure starting to build in with a few snow showers. here's the problem area. over southeast sections of the u.s., you see all the big yellow boxes here.

can also see, there you go. all the red boxes. those are tornado warnings. the in effect now. and the gold boxes are severe thunderstorm warnings in effect right now. so, a lot of moisture going on down there. they are talking heavy thunderstorms, tornadoes, but, we are going to talk about not only the chilly weather we saw today. but chillierwet their could be coming our way. let's go to lauren whitney on how chilly. >> it will get cold around here. it felt more like the season. felt festive outside. now, we are just at friezing in denver. 34 in bolder. fort collins, greeley. out in burlington. in the high country. it is 9 right now. as you head toward leadville. 25 in avon. 22 in craig. 29 in grand junction. now, taking a look, just up to the north, fairbanks, alaska at 27 below now. that is just regular right now. you can see tall pink and the whites up there. that indicates really cold temperatures.

air head down toward us. so right now, we have this system. still being developed way up into the north. this is going to bring, come down our area by about monday. so, that is really going to cool us off. some temperatures across the front range may have highs only in the 20s . overnight lows possibly close to zero in the single digits an the western slope could be pretty chilly as well. we will keep watching this one. today might feel downright balmy. >> today, we hit 38 at dia. 39 downtown after starts of 21 33 and 32 now north 14 for the winds. 16% humidity with a rising barometer. purgatory, great snow up there. and crested butte. all the ski areas getting a full action with that snow. temperatures tonight, teens, 20s over the other than plains. above and below the 0 mark in the mountains. temperatures in the single digits and teens. 20s , 30s , 40s over the eastern plains. temperatures in the 20s and the 30s . all right, here is the forecast now. for tonight, we will look for

temperatures only in the teens. fair, chilly, we see the sunshine. around 40 degrees. and then, for the next several days clouds move back in on thursday with 39. maybe some snow showers friday. and 32. but the weekend, sunshine returns. warmer temperatures. 48 by sunday. >> we look forward to that. thanks ed. we know the buffs have had a great season, but the odds makers seem to like the other conference game. >> colorado is there like hey man, what is going on? what do i have to do to get love? >> they are okay with that. they are embrg

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>> now for the ford sports desk brought to you by the best selling trucks for 39 years stra. >> mike mcintire was named the pack 12 coach of the year today. he was an obvious choice. the buffs checking in at number eight in the latest college footballplay rankings. c had two players make the first team all conference team. now, if the rest of the nation the trying to give the buffs some extra motivation, it appear to be working. washington, a touchdown favorite to win friday's pack 12 title game. but then again, the buffs,

subpoena long. maybe the disrespect is not a bad thing. and the buffs don't seem to be minding. don't seem to mind being overlooked. >> i don't this anyone is picking us to win. or anyone wants us to win. that is totally okay. you know. we know what we are capable of and what uw is capable of. we have to go out there and play, maybe not a flawless game, but you have to go out there and play very well in three phases. >> century link poll question. would you believe the buffs are back? yes? no? maybe so? go to cbsdenver.com to vote. the avalanche hopes to get revenge on nashville tonight. the last time the predators were in town, they handed colorado one of the worst losses of the season. they continue the deal with injury concerns. gabe landeskog out.

some consistency on the flower place of employment the avalanche are scoring on 15% of their chances an improving that will lead to more wins. >> now, we are just kind of hovering around. that san area where we are having trouble scoring goals, if that could be a real dangerous unit which we like to get into that point. and then, that helps our team win. high school football, pomona and valor. saturday, they will meet again. in a rematch of state title game. valor beat them last year by a field goal and both teams say they are eager for a rematch. >> coach logan said people do not realize how hard it is to do it twice. and, he called to congratulate us. it was hard. but this is a great group to do it with. >> that is what i love about this team. they have a chip on their shoulder. they will have come out with the toughness on saturday.

tiger woods is back. and this time it is for real. he is teeing off in the hero world challenge and will play professional golf for the first time in more than a year. the good news, he is playing in a tournament he has won five times. the bad news the last year bubba watson won the tournament shooting 25 hundred dollar. so the 14 time major champ knows he has to bring his a game this weekend. >> i'm going to try and do the same thing i always do. i will try to win this thing. i know that will be a tall order. i haven't played in a while. it will be a little hard. practice schedules. training. all of that has evolved but the mind set of competing has not. i know the guys out there are going to try and beat me. i would rather beat them. >> 25 under? it will be a little hard. [ laughter ] >> we'll see what happens. bottom line is, golf is much better when tiger woods is playing. >> it is.

a wild fire in tennessee turns deadly and forces thousands of people out of their homes. you will see the destruction at a popular resort area in tennessee. >> plus, why video of a craft store confrontation is going viral. this ,,

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>> live, from colorado's news channel, this is cbs4 news at 6:30. >> daylight shows the burn scar of the fire on green mountain. you watched it here on cbs4. firefighters will monitor the 96-acre burn area for any hot spots. all of the people evacuated have returned home. investigators now trying to figure out what started it. meteorologist chris spears is in the mobile weather lab. while the mountains are getting quite really is dry along the front range. >> reporter: way too dry, we need a good soggy storm system to come through here. we valec have a lot of mature dead vegetation. the grasses are tall. when we get a situation like yesterday, though it was not terribly warp, we had incredible wind. and what sparked that fire, it just took off. and, burned fast. take a look here at the latest

monitor. you will see a lot of color across colorado. 98% of our state is in some stage of drought at this time. as we start to zoom this map on in here and get closer to the front range, you will notice a lot of tan color on the eastern plains. that is moderate drought includes all of metro denver, but to the north in larimer county and to the southeast in lincoln county, you will notice two darker brown areas. that is severe drought. that is what we sa u.s. drought monitor. back out here live on the side of lookout mountain, it is a cold one. 24.7 degrees. we have seen the wind from 6 to 15 miles an hour. definitely putting a chill in the air. jim and karen, this chill, nothing tom compared to what is coming down the pike. >> chris spears, thank you sir. talking ability the winds, still a problem back east.