Anger and sadness settled Saturday on those who remembered Larry Manzanares for his lifelong service to the community and blamed his suicide on excessive publicity surrounding the scandal that toppled his career.

Harvard-educated Manzanares, 50, who had been a popular and well- respected local judge for 15 years, resigned from his nearly 2-month-old post as city attorney in February after a stolen laptop was found in his possession. Felony charges of theft, embezzlement and tampering with evidence were filed against him June 13.

The former judge was dealing with a collapsing career, possible prison time and media scrutiny of his personal life. He shot himself Friday, just hours after he was advised of the charges against him in court.

"I think the media and the DA focused on facts that were not germane to what he was charged with," said Rosemary Rodriguez, U.S. Election Assistance commissioner and former Denver city councilwoman. "I hope my friend Larry is at peace, because he couldn't find it here. He's led a life of service ... and it's really sad that we couldn't give him any kind of benefit of the doubt when he needed it."

Manzanares was found dead Friday at 4:55 p.m. in Eisenhower Park under the walking bridge in the High Line Canal area. Manzanares is survived by a wife and two adult children.

"I think it's such a tragic incident that he took his own life," said Paul Sandoval, former state senator and a friend of Manzanares' for more than 20 years.

"He was an outstanding man, a great lawyer, a great judge. He had everything there. He must have been under a great deal of depression and probably saw no way out."

"Beloved and loyal"

Gary Lozow, Manzanares' attorney, released a statement on behalf of the family calling him a "beloved husband, father, son, brother, son-in-law and loyal friend."

"The Manzanares family extends its gratitude to the multitude of people who supported Larry despite unfair and one-sided attempts to publicly try him in the press by attacking his character," the statement said.

The Jefferson County district attorney's office filed three felony charges alleging Manzanares stole a Denver District Court laptop. An arrest affidavit showed the laptop was used to download pornographic images and movies.

The case was being handled by Jefferson County officials because Manzanares' background in Denver would have created a conflict of interest for the Denver DA's office.

Many friends and city officials declined to talk about the death and expressed anger at the district attorney and the media for how the case played out publicly.

They were concerned that his case got too much attention in the media and that prosecutors were overly zealous.

Prosecutors declined to address that criticism Saturday.

Friends and colleagues described Manzanares as talented, hardworking and community-minded. Many say he must have felt his life was over, but it wasn't, said Polly Baca, executive director of the Latin American Research and Service Agency (LARASA).

"I have no idea about any of those charges. All I know is that he was a good human being and a good person who spent a lot of time helping others," Baca said through tears. "He did so many good things. We all make mistakes. Not a single one of us is perfect."

Manzanares, a former LARASA board member, was the reason Baca now heads the organization. He asked her to consider the post years ago.

"He made a big difference in my life and the lives of so many others in a positive way," she said. "I'm just devastated; it is just such a loss."

His death is hard to take, said Estevan Flores, executive director of the Latino/a Research Policy Center at the University of Colorado at Denver and a longtime friend of Manzanares'.

"Here's someone who has such a stellar record. You look at his contributions and his résumé and the role model that he was and you have this one mistake," he said.

"There are so many people in our community who have made similar contributions, and if you looked at each of us, we probably have something in our closet we don't want people to know. The witch hunt that happened is unacceptable."

Latino leaders fear the same kind of witch hunt is happening with recently ousted Community College of Denver president Christine Johnson. State officials say she was fired primarily for telling the chief financial officer to underreport the amount of money in a reserve account, but Johnson's supporters say she isn't being treated fairly.

"It's a bad time to be a Hispanic in trouble in this city," Rodriguez said.

Flores recalled that in the early 1990s, a group of Denver Latinos including Manzanares started the Hispanic League, from which many of the area's Latino leaders grew, including Sen. Ken Salazar and Denver City Councilman Rick Garcia.

With his abilities and talents, Flores said, Manzanares could have been successful again.

"The way the media was going after him must have been hard to take," he said.

Post held shy of two months

Manzanares had an impeccable record on the bench. He had been a finalist for the city attorney post at the beginning of the Hickenlooper administration but lost out to Cole Finegan.

When Finegan moved to private practice last year, Hickenlooper tapped Manzanares, who was sworn in Jan. 4.

Finegan, who knew Manzanares for years, said Saturday: "The events of the past several months have been unbelievably difficult to comprehend, and this has been a tragedy in all respects."

Manzanares worked at city hall for only two months before the computer scandal broke. He said he bought the computer in January for $300 from a man in a parking lot in order to save money. Mayor John Hickenlooper placed Manzanares on leave before he resigned in late February.

On Saturday, Hickenlooper issued a statement about the suicide.

"There are no words capable of conveying the depth of this tragedy. The loss of this devoted father, beloved husband, and longtime civic leader is difficult to understand or accept," the statement said.

Manzanares was on the board of directors of the Colorado Hispanic Bar Association, the Colorado I Have Dream Foundation, and Project PAVE (Promoting Alternatives to Violence Through Education). He also served as president for both LARASA and the Mi Casa Resource Center for Women.

"I've known him since law school; he was a huge mentor of Latino students; he always took the time for everyone," said Karen Perez, a Denver lawyer and former CHBA board member with Manzanares. "These events are so out of character. It doesn't make sense."

Denver City Councilman Charlie Brown, who lives catty-corner to the Manzanares family, said Manzanares swore him in when he took office. His death, Brown said, was "devastating."

"He was a good man. A family man," Brown said. "He did a lot for the community that people don't even know about."

Dan Recht, a veteran Denver lawyer who practiced in front of Judge Manzanares, said he couldn't stop thinking about Manzanares.

"Over the course of his entire adult life, Judge Manzanares developed a reputation for doing the right thing and doing it with dedication, humility and the respect of peers," Recht said.

"Losing that well-deserved reputation and respect was obviously more than he could bear."

Staff writer Elizabeth Aguilera can be reached at 303-954-1372 or eaguilera@denverpost.com.

Service today

A memorial service is planned for 4 p.m. at Sunken Gardens Park, near Speer Boulevard and West 11th Avenue.

Manzanares served as Denver judge since 1992

1975: Graduated from Arapahoe High School in Littleton

1979: Graduated magna cum laude from the University of Denver

1982: Graduated from Harvard Law School

1982-92: Served in private practice specializing in corporate law and commercial litigation

1992: Appointed as Denver County Court judge

1998: Appointed as Denver District Court judge in the civil division

2006: Received the Judicial Excellence Award from the Denver Bar Association

Jan. 4, 2007: Sworn in as Denver city attorney

Jan. 26: A laptop computer worth $1,579 is reported missing from the Denver City and County Building by a state court administrator worker. The computer has "tracking software" on it.

Jan 31: Police determine the computer had logged onto the Internet, and an Internet Protocol address is recorded.

Feb. 15: Denver police determine the computer is in Manzanares' home.

Feb. 16: Manzanares returns the laptop to the court administrator with no explanation.

Feb. 20: Carol Haller, legal counsel for the state court administrator's office, requests that no criminal charges be brought against Manzanares "at this time."

Feb. 21: A Denver prosecutor decides not to prosecute the case. Her supervisors overrule her decision and request a special prosecutor.

Feb. 23: Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper puts Manzanares on "investigatory leave."

Feb. 24: Manzanares says he purchased the computer for $300 from a man in a parking lot and didn't know it was stolen.

Feb 27: Manzanares resigns.

March 21: Manzanares takes a polygraph test and denies stealing the computer.

April 30: The Jefferson County district attorney's office is given the results of the test, which find that Manzanares was "being truthful in his assertions." However, investigators do not agree with the polygraph results on Manzanares' "truthfulness."

June 13: Jefferson County District Attorney Scott Storey files three felony charges against Manzanares alleging he stole a computer, used it to download images and movies, many of which were "sexually explicit," and tried to cover his tracks when confronted by police. Manzanares is booked and released on a personal recognizance bond.

Friday: Senior District Judge Gaspar Perricone issues a temporary gag order in the case at the request of Manzanares' attorney. The judge said he would make a final decision by July 6.

Later that afternoon, Manzanares kills himself.

Sources: City of Denver, affidavit for arrest warrant, news reports