Tag: murder
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Divided appeals court upholds $111,600 restitution order in Denver murder case
Colorado’s second-highest court last week upheld a Denver judge’s crime victim restitution order as valid, but with continued disagreement over how to apply the Supreme Court’s recent guidance about the state’s restitution law. In Colorado, when a convicted defendant is required to pay financial restitution, prosecutors typically must provide the requested amount by the time…
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Man sentenced to decades in prison for killing father of 8 at Colorado Springs convenience store
An El Paso County judge on Wednesday sentenced a man to 38 years in prison for shooting and killing a Colorado Springs man during an argument at a convenience store in 2022. Brian Alford, 26, was found guilty of of second-degree murder in a two-week-long jury trial in 2023 for killing 36-year-old Jeremy Diaz at…
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Qualin Campbell: One year following his murder, more questions than answers remain
On June 2, 2023, Talija Campbell called police to report that her husband was being held hostage in his car in the Taco Bell parking lot a mile away from Colorado Springs police headquarters. An hour later, she was one of the first on the scene and found him dead. A year after the murder…
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Man accused of ordering death of aspiring rap artist in El Paso County opts to represent self, pleads not guilty
The man accused of causing the death of an aspiring rap artist in 2019 requested to represent himself in court on Thursday and pleaded not guilty to all charges. Derrick Bernard, 35, is accused of ordering Aeeshawn Mathews, 26, to kill aspiring rap artist William Underwood, who went by the rapper name “FYL Jackk,” on Sept. 17,…
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Colorado Supreme Court upholds Arapahoe County murder, drug convictions
Even if an Arapahoe County judge was wrong to combine a defendant’s drug and murder charges in one trial, the move did not likely affect the jury’s verdict, the Colorado Supreme Court ruled on Monday. Joseph Wayne Washington argued there should have been separate trials for his murder charge and for the other counts largely…
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Appeals court: Defendant’s traumatic brain injury not a basis for finding life sentence unconstitutional
Despite the state legislature’s recognition that traumatic brain injuries lead to a greater risk of involvement with the criminal justice system, Colorado’s second-highest court on Thursday ruled such injuries do not make a defendant’s life sentence cruel and unusual. Stanley Paul Jurgevich, who is serving life in prison with the possibility of parole for his 1988…
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Appeals court orders resentencing of Denver defendant convicted of elderly man’s death
Colorado’s second-highest court on Thursday determined a woman convicted of killing an elderly man in Denver must be resentenced for a less-serious offense to avoid a violation of her constitutional rights. Stephanie Martinez did not dispute that she was responsible for the death of George Black, 80, who she attacked in May 2020 at the state Capitol.…
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Colorado Supreme Court permits Boulder prosecutors to use murder suspect’s statements to police
The Colorado Supreme Court ruled on Monday that prosecutors in Boulder County may use a murder suspect’s statements to police as evidence because officers did not need to give the defendant a Miranda warning prior to asking about all of the blood on him. Brandon Mason Bohler stands accused of first-degree murder for fatally stabbing…
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Colorado Supreme Court tells Delta County judge to revisit alternate suspect order in light of recent decision
The Colorado Supreme Court directed a Delta County judge on Thursday to revisit his order requiring a defendant accused of murder to disclose evidence to the prosecution about an alleged alternate suspect. In a brief Feb. 29 order, the justices told District Court Judge Steven L. Schultz to follow the guidance the Supreme Court issued…
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No constitutional right to plead guilty, appeals court says in upholding El Paso County convictions
An El Paso County judge was not constitutionally obligated to accept a defendant’s guilty plea, Colorado’s second-highest court concluded last week. Appealing his convictions, Timothy Ray Scott Jr. argued his trial judge violated his constitutional right to “autonomy” by not letting him plead guilty. The U.S. Supreme Court has previously interpreted the Sixth Amendment’s guarantee of…