When Aurora cracked down on massage businesses involved in human trafficking, the “bad apples” moved their operations across city lines into Denver. Now Colorado’s capital city — thanks to a massage parlor ordinance passed in July and one of the only district attorney’s offices and police departments in the state with dedicated human trafficking units […]
Denver District Attorney’s Office
Posted inCrime and Courts, News
Denver DA’s husband pleads guilty to two counts of attempted arson
The husband of Denver’s District Attorney pleaded guilty Thursday to leaving several slash fires burning unattended near his home in Grand County during a fire ban last year. Christopher Linsmayer, 69, pleaded guilty to two counts of attempted arson, one felony and one misdemeanor, in exchange for a deferred sentence, according to the 14th Judicial […]
Posted inCrime and Courts, News
Black, Hispanic people disadvantaged in Denver courts, study of felony cases shows
A study of decisions made by the Denver district attorney’s office has said Black and Hispanic people charged with felonies in Denver face “a persistent set of disadvantages” compared with their white peers. The study found that white people facing drug charges were more likely than Black or Hispanic people to be referred to drug […]
Posted inCrime and Courts, News
Two of three teens arrested in fatal northeast Denver fire will face adult murder charges
Two of the three teenage boys accused of murder related to a house fire that killed five members of a family in northeast Denver last summer will be tried as adults and Denver’s district attorney is asking for the case of a third defendant to be moved from juvenile court. Denver District Attorney Beth McCann […]
Posted inOpinion, Opinion Columns
McCann: Keeping our community safe from gun violence by averting potential disaster
In January, Colorado’s Extreme Risk Protection Order or “red flag” law takes effect, as readers of The Colorado Sun know from Jesse Paul’s recent story: “Colorado’s guidance to police on the red flag law doesn’t include what to do if someone won’t give up their guns.” Pursuant to the new law, a family member or […]
Posted inCrime and Courts, News, Politics and Government
Recent mass shootings have renewed debate about universal background checks. Here’s how they’ve worked in Colorado.
A pair of mass shootings over the weekend in Texas and Ohio that left more than 30 dead reignited the national debate about gun violence and how to prevent it. One of the suggestions being floated once again is a federal universal background check for gun purchases and transfers. Thousands of private gun sales have […]
Posted inUncategorized
Denver unveils new system for clearing thousands of low-level marijuana convictions
By Kathleen Foody, The Associated Press A simplified program will make it easier for thousands of people to seek the elimination of low-level marijuana convictions they received in Denver before recreational use became legal in Colorado, officials said Wednesday. Based on a review of digitized court records between 2001 and 2013, Denver officials have estimated 10,000 […]
Posted inCrime and Courts, News
A jury acquitted Clarence Moses-EL of rape after 28 years in prison. But is that enough for him to be repaid for his time behind bars?
When Clarence Moses-EL walked out of a Denver courthouse two years ago after a jury in a new trial found him not guilty of a crime for which he had already served 28 years in prison, he felt free. “This moment is a moment I’ve fought for for a long time,” he told The Denver […]