Lack of communication paved way for Astin’s hiring
The criminal history of a mentally disabled former CU employee who allegedly cut a student’s throat Monday morning went unchecked by the university and unreported by the placement agency that referred him, according to university officials.
Kenton Astin’s criminal record includes larceny, possession of a controlled substance, assault and attempted first-degree murder, stemming from a 2001 incident in which he attempted to stab a Longmont man. The Chinook Clubhouse, a vocational placement agency for mentally disabled individuals, never informed CU of the charges before Astin was placed as a cashier with the UMC from October 2006 to April 2007, said UMC Director Carlos Garcia.
Garcia said the university has maintained a successful relationship with the Chinook Clubhouse for 17 years, but he trusted the agency to screen its candidates based on criminal history.
“My perspective on the program is that we’ve been able to do something good for the community while maintaining a steady pool of temporary employment,” he said. “But we were never informed of the charges. We would have liked to know about them.”
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Monday, CU spokesman Bronson Hilliard said university policy states a criminal record check is run on anyone whose employment would give access to sensitive information, involve cash handling and/or have significant contact with students. Hilliard said he thought a cashier would qualify under those stipulations.
But Garcia said the UMC does not run criminal checks on food service employees.
“It depends entirely on the sensitivity of the work they will be doing,” he said. “Security, yes. Driving, yes. Busing tables, no.”
CU Chancellor C.P. “Bud” Peterson said Astin’s temporary employment was uneventful and Astin was treated for two years following his release from a state mental hospital after the 2001 attempted murder.
Peterson said the Chinook Clubhouse regularly monitors referred employees for stability.
Charlotte Wollesen, a supervisor for the Mental Health Center of Boulder County, whose organization treated Astin, said enrollment in the work placement program does not require treatment or medication, only that the patient be “stable.”
“We don’t weed out people based on history,” Wollesen said. “And we don’t disqualify a person based on criminal record.”
Astin, 39, of Boulder, allegedly grabbed freshman finance major Michael Knorps from behind on the south terrace of the UMC Monday morning, cut Knorps’ throat and then stabbed himself in the chest repeatedly before officers were able to subdue him.
