Carlos Echeandia spoke three words to a 4th Judicial District judge on Thursday. All were the same: “Yes,” as he elected to waive his right to a preliminary hearing.

Echeandia owns Carlos’ Bistro, an award-winning restaurant located near the intersection of West Cimarron and South 21^st Streets in Old Colorado City.

The restaurant owner, 62, is accused of making unwanted sexual advances toward a woman inside his restaurant while she was being trained. Echeandia faces two felony counts of sexual assault and one misdemeanor count of sexual contact.

He was arrested in early December.

His lawyer, Joshua Tolini, declined to comment after the hearing in Colorado Springs. In a statement previously provided to The Gazette, Echeandia’s lawyer stated the owner “steadfastly denies” the charges and that justice must not be “dictated by speculation in the court of public opinion.”

“While the charges are serious, they remain allegations — not proven facts,” the statement reads. “As is the right of every citizen, Mr. Echeandia is entitled to a fair trial and the presumption of innocence.”

Plaintiffs were not present in the courtroom and instead joined the proceedings virtually. They did not speak.

Path Forward Legal, a criminal defense firm in Denver, lists three main reasons a defendant may waive a preliminary hearing. One is to preserve plea deals that are in the works, with the group saying a deal may become worse after a preliminary hearing.

Another factor is that the hearing may give the prosecution a practice run for a trial. And finally, waiving a preliminary hearing may help preserve defense strategies.

Echeandia was arrested in December for the alleged crimes after a monthslong investigation by police.

Echeandia will appear in court again on April 16 at 9:30 a.m.  

The Gazette’s Nick Smith and Cleo Westin contributed to this report.