Tag: Self Defense 2
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Denver murder conviction reversed for incomplete self-defense instruction
Colorado’s second-highest court reversed a defendant’s murder conviction last week because a Denver judge gave an incomplete instruction to the jury about the man’s right to self-defense. Donald R. Gonzales and Gary McLaughlin met up in a Capitol Hill parking lot one night in May 2021 for a sexual encounter in Gonzales’ car. According to…
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10th Circuit grants immunity to officers for fatal Manitou Springs shooting
The Denver-based federal appeals court ruled on Wednesday that responding officers from Manitou Springs and El Paso County cannot be held constitutionally liable for shooting and killing a man after a 20-minute standoff. Wilford Deweese allegedly pulled out a gun in self-defense at a Manitou Springs bar, prompting a call to 911. Officers cornered him…
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Domestic assault victim stabs man in self-defense: Colorado Springs police
A Colorado Springs man was arrested on Saturday following a domestic violence incident in which he sustained multiple injuries, including stab wounds, according to an online blotter entry The incident took place just after midnight on Saturday at a residence in the 1700 block of Kallos Loop, police said. When officers responded to a call…
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Appeals court orders new menacing trial after faulty self-defense instruction
Colorado’s second-highest court ordered a new trial last week for an El Paso County defendant convicted of felony menacing, concluding an erroneous self-defense instruction may have influenced the verdict. Under Colorado law, self-defense is an affirmative defense, meaning the prosecution must disprove at least one component in addition to proving the underlying offense. Judges are…