narcotics
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Appeals court overturns Weld County drug convictions after officer gave improper testimony
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Colorado’s second-highest court on Thursday overturned a man’s drug convictions and 36-year prison sentence because a law enforcement officer improperly testified the defendant had met the legal elements to be found guilty. An expert witness cannot “usurp” the jury’s role by testifying about the conclusion jurors should reach. The Court of Appeals has previously ordered…
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Federal judge dismisses man’s claims against Jeffco SWAT officers for home raid
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A federal judge last month dismissed a man’s claims that Jefferson County SWAT team members violated his constitutional rights by forcefully entering his home with little warning, damaging the apartment and removing him half-naked while they executed a search warrant. Lance P. Schendorf is serving a 20-year prison sentence after a jury convicted him in…
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Colorado Supreme Court ponders constitutionality of delayed vehicle search
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Members of the Colorado Supreme Court suggested on Wednesday that Denver police could have moved more rapidly to obtain a search warrant for a man’s vehicle, but at the same time they doubted the delay amounted to a constitutional violation. A trial judge previously barred prosecutors from using evidence of narcotics found in Arthur Mills’…
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Federal judge bars government from using seized narcotics in drug trafficking case
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A federal judge last month barred the government from using more than two dozen pounds of narcotics seized from a vehicle as evidence against the defendants because a Colorado state trooper violated the prohibition on unreasonable searches and seizures. When Trooper Joshua St. Onge pulled over Ezequiel Pita-Chavolla and Manuel Pacheco for a traffic infraction,…
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Federal judge bars government from using seized narcotics in drug trafficking case
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A federal judge last month barred the government from using more than two dozen pounds of narcotics seized from a vehicle as evidence against the defendants because a Colorado state trooper violated the prohibition on unreasonable searches and seizures. When Trooper Joshua St. Onge pulled over Ezequiel Pita-Chavolla and Manuel Pacheco for a traffic infraction,…
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Federal judge bars government from using seized narcotics in drug trafficking case
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A federal judge last month barred the government from using more than two dozen pounds of narcotics seized from a vehicle as evidence against the defendants because a Colorado state trooper violated the prohibition on unreasonable searches and seizures. When Trooper Joshua St. Onge pulled over Ezequiel Pita-Chavolla and Manuel Pacheco for a traffic infraction,…
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Thornton officer’s unlawful search prompts appeals court to overturn Adams County drug conviction
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An Adams County judge wrongly allowed evidence from an unconstitutional search in a man’s trial, prompting Colorado’s second-highest court to overturn the drug conviction last month. Jurors convicted Thomas Sandoval of one count of drug possession, after a Thornton police officer discovered a small container of methamphetamine during a pat-down search for weapons. Sandoval appealed,…
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Colorado justices skeptical of combined murder-drug trial in Arapahoe County
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After an Arapahoe County jury convicted Joseph Wayne Washington of numerous charges related to a deadly shooting and drug possession, Washington argued there should have been separate trials for each type of offense, and that combining them was an error. In Washington’s view, jurors were more likely to reject his self-defense argument and convict him…
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10th Circuit upholds constitutionality of home search, Lakewood man’s gun conviction
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The federal appeals court based in Denver agreed last week that law enforcement had reasonable suspicion to search a Lakewood man’s home and, upon discovering a gun, there was sufficient evidence to convict him of illegally possessing it. Charles Ramon III is serving a sentence of nearly 20 years after a jury convicted him of…
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Colorado appeals court issues rulings on drug money, Pueblo councilman’s vandalism
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Colorado’s second-highest court on Thursday decided a pair of cases involving financial restitution to crime victims, finding defendants are not obligated to repay police departments for money used in drug purchases and also upholding a Pueblo council member’s duty to pay $3,800 for his vandalism. Under Colorado law, most convictions require judges to consider whether…
