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Mesa County judge wrongly acquitted bail bondsman, appeals court rules

By Michael Karlik 01/30/2025 | updated 6 months ago

Judge Katharine Lum investiture

Judge Katharine E. Lum speaks at her ceremonial swearing-in to the Court of Appeals on April 28, 2023. From left to right are Judges Elizabeth L. Harris, Terry Fox, Karl L. Schock and Matthew D. Grove.

A Mesa County judge incorrectly acquitted a defendant in the middle of his trial, Colorado’s second-highest court ruled on Thursday, concluding the evidence could have led to the man’s conviction for using a “ruse” or “trickery” to enter an apartment unlawfully.

Due to the constitutional prohibition on double jeopardy, defendant Kenneth Maurice Hill’s acquittal stands and he cannot be tried again. However, in a rare move, the district attorney’s office appealed the trial judge’s decision as legally faulty.

Hill was a bail bondsman seeking to apprehend someone with outstanding warrants in Grand Junction. To gain access to the suspect’s apartment, Hill spoke to employees of the property management company. Management gave permission for Hill to enter, and he briefly got into a gunfight at the door.

Prosecutors charged Hill with criminal trespass, which was a felony offense requiring someone to knowingly and unlawfully enter another person’s dwelling. In support of the theory that Hill used unlawful means, employees for the management company testified:

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• Hill wore a tactical, bulletproof vest along with a gun, handcuffs and other weapons

• Hill, in their view, appeared to be a SWAT member

• The words “Fugitive Recovery,” “AGENT” and “Warrant Division” were on Hill’s clothing

• There was a badge on Hill’s vest

• Hill did not identify himself as a bail bondsman

• Hill suggested he would kick down the door if he did not get permission to enter

• They believed Hill was a law enforcement officer, and company policy was to cooperate with law enforcement 

After the prosecution presented its case to the jury, the defense asked Chief Judge Brian J. Flynn to acquit Hill because the evidence was insufficient to prove a deceptive entry into the apartment. Flynn agreed.

“Mr. Hill did not identify himself as a law enforcement officer,” Flynn said. “He’s not wearing any clothing that identifies himself as a law enforcement officer. The badge that’s been described that was displayed on the clothing that was being worn by Mr. Hill does not indicate that he was a law enforcement officer.”

The prosecution subsequently appealed Flynn’s conclusion.

“The Defendant used a ruse to gain entry into the apartment. By every appearance, he acted as a law enforcement officer. He also threatened to kick the apartment door down if they did not unlock the door for him,” argued Deputy District Attorney Susan Manown. “Therefore, because the apartment manager was misled by the Defendant’s appearance and actions, consent for the Defendant to enter was not voluntary or knowing.”

Hill responded that if the management employees assumed he was a police officer, it was not because of any misrepresentation he made to them.

“Mr. Hill could not read the minds of the apartment complex employees,” wrote attorney Andrew Sidley-MacKie.

A three-judge Court of Appeals panel agreed that causing the management employees to believe Hill worked for law enforcement would amount to unlawful entry because of the “ruse, trickery, or deception” involved.

Giving the prosecution the benefit of the doubt, “the jury could reasonably have inferred that Hill used his clothing and manner as a way to deceive the (management) employees into believing he was a law enforcement officer to obtain their permission and assistance to enter,” wrote Judge Katharine E. Lum in the Jan. 30 opinion.

She further rejected the idea that Hill could not be responsible for the employees’ mistaken impression.

“(T)he way Hill presented himself — as an armed ‘agent,’ seemingly carrying police gear and displaying insignias and other symbols strongly resembling those used by governmental organizations, while saying he was there to ‘arrest’ somebody and that he would kick in the door if he wasn’t allowed access — so strongly evoked a law enforcement officer that a juror could reasonably infer an intentional deception,” Lum wrote.

The appellate panel agreed Flynn was wrong to acquit Hill rather than allow jurors to decide the outcome. 

The case is People v. Hill.

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Michael Karlik

Reporter

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