Safety within local homeless community questioned
Safety and violence among the area’s homeless population are under scrutiny after two recent assaults.
The latest occurred last Thursday in Manitou Springs. Authorities said homeless man Alan Mitcheff, 37, was attacked by a transient, Joshua Turner, 27, in Soda Springs Park, apparently over a misunderstanding about a dog.
Late Tuesday night, police issued a warrant for Turner’s arrest on a charge of first- degree assault.
“We don’t believe he’s still in Manitou Springs,” said Officer Odette Saglimbeni. “We don’t think other people or tourists are in danger. A violent crime like this rarely happens here.”
Friends said Mitcheff is in a hospital and partially paralyzed below his chest. A Go Fund Me page has been created on line to raise money for his expenses.
A woman who said she knows Mitcheff and was present during the assault said both men had been drinking before a verbal argument turned physical.
“(Turner) had only been in town for about 24 hours,” she said. “It was just him asserting his aggression and taking it out on someone. He probably didn’t mean to do what he did.”
Authorities said that on May 2, a homeless woman was thrown from the ledge of a bridge at the Cimarron and Conejos streets, then beaten and repeatedly raped while lying paralyzed.
She remained there for three days until a passing bicycle rider found her.
Police arrested a homeless man, Isaiah Perrin, 21, in the case. He’s in jail facing charges of attempted murder and sexual assault.
Volunteers held a fundraising event Tuesday night to raise money for the woman’s expenses.
Officer Dan McCormack of the Homeless Outreach Team in Colorado Springs said it’s impossible to prevent homeless-on-homeless violence.
“We’re patrolling the camps a lot,” he said. “The homeless aren’t being specifically targeted. A lot of crimes go unreported because people are afraid or don’t want to get involved. If there’s trouble, tell us. You can contact us anonymously if you need to.”
Police said in both cases, the suspects and victims were not strangers to each other.
