AURORA | An Aurora woman accused of setting two Aurora police officers on fire last November entered a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity in Arapahoe County District Court last week.
Kimberley Alimov, 37, has been charged with seven felony counts, including arson and threatening a peace officer, for an incident at her apartment near the intersection of East Florida Avenue and South Havana Street in November of last year.
Aurora police officers responded to Alimov’s apartment at 1510 S. Galena Way three different times over the course of about half an hour on Nov. 16, 2017, according to an arrest affidavit filed against Alimov.
An officer first responded to the apartment — unit 1135 — shortly before 9 p.m. after getting a report of a disturbance at the apartment complex caused by a woman yelling and throwing things off of the balcony, according to the affidavit.
Upon knocking on the door of the apartment, the responding officer heard Alimov throwing things inside the unit and yelling obscenities. She was also “talking about veterans, and kids committing suicide on pills,” according to the affidavit.
Alimov’s husband, who was also in the apartment, worked with officers to grant them access to the home so they could check on his wife.
Officers obtained a key to the apartment and tried to open the door, but realized it was barricaded shut and would only open about 6 inches. A hand holding “a silver object” stuck out of the partially opened door and poked one of the officers in the face, according to the affidavit. Officers then left the complex, but returned shortly thereafter to find Alimov still yelling and throwing things. Officers then left again.
Police responded a third time to the apartment after getting a report that water was dripping from Alimov’s apartment into the unit below.
Police then called for more officers to respond to the incident and Officer Nicolas Muldoon and Officer Daniel Pell used a shield and battering ram to force their way into the apartment. Upon breaking down the door, Muldoon and Pell were showered with a flammable liquid as another officer, Brad Graham, discharged his TASER, according to the affidavit.
Muldoon and Pell were then set on fire. It’s unclear from the report whether the TASER ignited the liquid, or if there was another source of ignition.
Officers used fire extinguishers in the apartment to douse the flames on Muldoon and Pell.
The affidavit did not provide details regarding possible injuries inflicted on Muldoon and Pell. Officer Matt Longshore, a spokesman for APD, said the department could not provide additional details on the case, or the status of the officers as prosecution of the case has been handed to the 18th Judicial District.
Vikki Migoya, a spokeswoman for the 18th Judicial District Attorney’s Office, said her office also could not comment on the ongoing investigation beyond what is mentioned in the affidavit.
None of the seven charges filed against Alimov indicate the officers were seriously harmed.
After entering the apartment, police arrested Alimov and took her to the municipal jail, where she threatened to “burn the place down,” and claimed she lit her apartment door on fire to protect herself, according to the arrest document.
Alimov, who is now incarcerated in Arapahoe County jail, was originally held on a $50,000 bond. That sum has since been doubled, according to jail records.
Alimov, who also goes by the nickname Star, has an extensive criminal rap sheet, spanning nearly 20 years and several jurisdictions, according to Colorado Bureau of Investigation records. In January 2008, Alimov — who then was using the surname Henderson — was sentenced to six days in jail in Boulder for a charge of theft under $500. She was also charged with forgery, but that charge was later dismissed by the local District Attorney.
A year later, Alimov was convicted on one charge of misdemeanor theft in Lakewood and sentenced to 15 months probation.
She was also charged with misdemeanor assault, disorderly intoxication and disturbing the peace in Denver in 2008.
Alimov has previously used the surnames Owens and Webb, and varied the spelling of her first name, according to CBI records.
The trial for the November arson incident is set to begin at the beginning of March, according to Migoya.
The proceedings in the case have been delayed so that both parties could receive and review a report on Alimov from the Colorado Mental Health Institute at Pueblo, according to Migoya.
Alimov is next due in court for a case management conference Nov. 26.