A federal judge agreed last week that two Denver detectives could not be held liable for malicious prosecution because there was probable cause to pursue a murder charge against a defendant, even if jurors ultimately acquitted him.

Michelle Jacobson died from a gunshot wound to the head in September 2019. Although there was evidence her death was a suicide, prosecutors charged her fiancé, Micah Kimball, with murder. After a jury found Kimball not guilty, he turned around and sued two detectives for malicious prosecution, arguing they withheld evidence that showed no probable cause of a crime existed.

But in an April 17 order, U.S. District Court Judge Charlotte N. Sweeney listed several pieces of evidence that suggested Kimball might be guilty, including the statements of eyewitnesses the night of Jacobson’s death, the crime scene itself, and Kimball’s own words and actions.

“If there was no evidence at all that Plaintiff killed Ms. Jacobson, the Court struggles to see how the jury could deliberate for two full days,” she added.

On the night of Sept. 26, 2019, Jacobson and Kimball were at a bar drinking when he decided to go home and she decided to stay. Kimball subsequently sent text messages and left voicemails for Jacobson suggesting he was angry and jealous.

When Jacobson returned home shortly before midnight, she was locked out. Jacobson and Kimball got into a verbal fight, with Jacobson calling her a derogatory name and leaving her another accusatory voicemail. Jacobson entered the basement, then exited and finally entered through the front door. 

Minutes later, she died of a gunshot in the bedroom. Kimball called 911 and said, “We were playing with a gun” and “it went off.” He added, “I didn’t even squeeze the trigger.”

Some evidence suggested Jacobson’s death may have been a homicide with Kimball as the perpetrator:

• There were numerous 911 calls from neighbors about the fight between the couple

• The medical examiner “strongly considered” homicide as the manner of death

• Acquaintances spoke about the “toxic” relationship between the two

Other factors indicated Jacobson died by suicide:

• There was no gunshot residue on Kimball’s hands and face, nor “high impact blood spatter”

• The deputy director of the crime lab, Angela Deadmond, believed the evidence “did not comport with the theory of homicide”

• The medical examiner ultimately ruled the manner of death “undetermined”

Following his acquittal, Kimball sued Detectives Jami Sisneros and John Meoni, alleging they withheld Deadmond’s “highly relevant opinion” from prosecutors.

“Probable cause dissipated within weeks of Plaintiff’s arrest, when, among other things, results of forensic testing such as the GSR (gunshot residue) did not support homicide, the autopsy report stated manner of death was ‘undetermined,'” Kimball’s lawyers wrote, “Plaintiff’s clothes contained no high impact blood spatter, and, vitally, Deadmond informed at least Meoni that the bloodstain evidence did not support homicide.”

But Sweeney did not agree that probable cause was missing from Kimball’s prosecution. She noted that three times during the case, judges found probable cause to proceed.

On the third occasion, the district attorney’s office did not disclose to the defense an email from Meoni to prosecutor Dan Cohen explaining that police did not have “any concrete evidence that Kimball shot her, other than his lies and weird behavior.” Nor did it disclose Deadmond’s opinion that the case was a suicide.

Denver District Court Judge Jay S. Grant acknowledged the email, which involved the lead detective “opining on the weakness of the government’s case,” should have been turned over to the defense. He reached the same conclusion about Deadmond’s opinion.

But the evidence was not “of such significance” that he would have found probable cause was missing, Grant wrote.

Sweeney, in turn, indicated she would not “second-guess” Grant’s probable cause decision. Based on the evidence that could have pointed to homicide, Sweeney agreed there were grounds to prosecute Kimball.

“There is no evidence that Defendants distorted any evidence to convince DA Cohen to press charges,” she wrote. “At best, Plaintiff disagrees with Defendants’ investigation skills and techniques.”

The case is Kimball v. Sisneros et al.