Stacks of local Colorado newspapers were stolen from their shelves Wednesday morning – just hours after a bombshell story detailing an alleged gang-rape by a teenager at the police chief’s home hit the front page.
The Ouray County Plaindealer announced the shocking news that three teenagers, including Chief Jeff Wood’s son, are accused of sexually assaulting a drunken girl on the bathroom floor while she was passed out.
Readers who prefer physical paper didn’t get a chance to read the piece, however, according to Plaindeadler co-publisher Erin McIntyre, who authored the story.
“All of our newspaper racks in Ouray and all but one rack in Ridgway were hit by thieves who stole all the newspapers. From what we know so far, it appears that this person put down four quarters and took all the papers on this shelf,” McIntyre wrote in a newsletter Thursday night.
“It is quite clear that someone does not want the public to read the news this week. I’ll leave it to you to draw your own conclusions about the stories they don’t want you to read,” he continued.
A suspect was identified Friday, McIntyre said. The identities of those people will remain withheld until the quote is released, but the co-producer teased that they are not related to Woods or the three accused rapists.
According to the Plaindealer report, a 17-year-old girl told investigators she was raped more than once at Chief Woods’ home in May during a late-night party with her stepson Nate Dieffenderffer and two other men.
Ouray County Plaindealer says hundreds of newspapers have been stolen from every shelf in the county. Ouray County Plaindealer
Gabriel Trujillo, 20, Ashton Whittington, 18, and a third man were arrested this week on suspicion of sexual assault, according to the Colorado Bureau of Investigation. Dieffenderffer has not been named by law enforcement because he was a teenager at the time of the crime.
The victim claimed she passed out from intoxication in the bedroom, but woke up naked with Dieffenderffer on top of her, raping her.
The police chief’s son restrained him when he tried to fight back and scream as other suspects, one of whom was laughing, watched, according to court records.
Accused rapist Nathan Dieffenderffer, then 17, was the stepson of Police Chief Jeff Wood. Colorado Bureau of Investigation Gabriel Trujillo allegedly participated in a brutal attack in the police chief’s bathroom. Colorado Bureau of Investigation
Chief Woods was reportedly sleeping at home during the attack.
Dieffenderffer and Trujillo then allegedly dragged her into a bathroom, where they took turns beating her and strangling her in an attack so brutal that she was left with chipped teeth, and she told police she remembered washing blood from herself in the shower.
“I remember really trying to scream for someone to hear me and scream because of how much it hurt,” she told investigators.
The victim said Ashton Whittington did not participate but also did not intervene. Colorado Bureau of Investigation
Whittington allegedly did not participate but did not intervene.
The girl woke up at about 4:30 a.m. on the bathroom floor and, unable to find her clothes, she grabbed a sweatshirt from the laundry pile, which turned out to be Wood’s.
Evidence collected through the sexual assault investigation matched Dieffenderffer and Trujillo, who told investigators the girl was a “pathological liar” and “crazy” but later admitted to having sex with her, according to the Plaindealer.
The alleged brutal rape took place at the home of Police Chief Jeff Wood during a party held by his stepson. City of Ouray County
Woods’ DNA also turned up, but not in large enough amounts to reflect wrongdoing.
The chief did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment.
According to McIntyre, an individual returned a garbage bag stuffed with stolen newspapers to the Plaindealer’s office Thursday night and confessed to stealing it.
Although police asked the Plaindealer not to provide further details at this time, the newspaper teased that the suspect has no connection to the defendants or any law enforcement.
However, the newspaper emphasized that the theft only encouraged his team to continue their work with more enthusiasm.
The newspaper was pulled from the shelves just hours after the Ouray County Plaindealer published a front-page story about the alleged assault. Ouray County Plaindealer
“Whoever did this doesn’t understand that stealing a newspaper doesn’t stop a story,” McIntyre wrote in his newsletter, hours before the suspect came forward.
“This person will not close the freedom of the press by stealing a few hundred newspapers. Our community will not support it and neither will we,” he added.
“If you mean to frighten us, you only strengthen our resolve.”
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