sentencing
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Appeals court rebuffs Alamosa County judge for flippant denial of sentence reduction
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An Alamosa County judge’s single-sentence explanation denying a defendant’s request for a sentence reduction – that it was “not well taken” – was itself not well taken by Colorado’s second-highest court. Prosecutors originally charged Desiree Lee Espinoza with multiple serious offenses, including attempted murder and assault. She pleaded guilty to kidnaping and received a 16-year prison sentence…
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Federal judge says ‘hands are tied,’ cannot resentence defendants under drug reform law
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A federal judge last month told two men serving life sentences that her “hands are tied” and she cannot reduce their prison terms, even in the face of recent federal legislation addressing the historical disparities in punishment for cases involving crack cocaine. U.S. District Court Judge Regina M. Rodriguez denied the resentencing requests from Lee…
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Divided appeals court upholds defendant’s longer sentence for not saying ‘sorry’
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Colorado’s second-highest court on Thursday upheld an Adams County judge’s decision to give a defendant five more years in prison solely because he did not tell the judge he was sorry. By 2-1, a three judge panel for the Court of Appeals agreed that under certain circumstances, a defendant’s silence at sentencing cannot be used…
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Appeals court says judge, DA, corrections agency could blow past deadlines, still send man to prison
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Colorado’s second-highest court determined last month that an Arapahoe County judge, prosecutors and corrections officials could disregard the deadlines in state law and still have the ability to send a youthful offender to prison. The state’s Youthful Offender System enables defendants who were at least 18 at the time of their criminal offense but younger…
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10th Circuit rejects claim that judge sentenced man ‘in advance’
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A judge in Colorado did not improperly sentence a man “in advance” when he promised the type of consequence he would impose for a repeat offense and then followed through on that promise, the federal appeals court based in Denver ruled on Monday. Maitise Crews, who has a lengthy criminal history, is serving a 21-month…
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10th Circuit orders resentencing for brutal assault after judge’s error
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Although the federal appeals court based in Denver rejected nearly all arguments from a man convicted of brutally beating his wife into unconsciousness, it conceded the trial judge had improperly sentenced him at a higher level than guidelines allow. A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit vacated the 30-year…
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10th Circuit divided on whether judge sentenced Denver man too harshly
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When Rhyan Littlejohn-Conner appeared for sentencing before U.S. District Court Senior Judge R. Brooke Jackson in June of last year, he faced a range of 84 to 105 months in prison for the crime of possession of ammunition by a convicted felon. Littlejohn-Conner’s attorney asked the judge for a lesser sentence, saying his client’s use…
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Justices asked to endorse hybrid model of calculating parole eligibility
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In an unusual display of unity before the Colorado Supreme Court, both the government and inmate Nathanael E. Owens agreed that he was entitled to have his parole eligibility date calculated in a way that would move his potential release date one year earlier. However, Owens asked the justices to go further and order the Colorado…
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Resentencing hearing set for I-70 trucker sentenced to 110 years in prison
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A judge on Monday set a hearing to potentially resentence Rogel Aguilera-Mederos, the truck driver ordered to serve 110 years in prison for killing four people in a crash on Interstate 70 in Lakewood in 2019. The resentencing hearing is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Jan. 13 at the Jefferson County courthouse in Golden. Judge A. Bruce…
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Former Colorado city councilman sentenced to probation for child sex crimes
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A former Craig city councilman will avoid jail time after he was caught trying to solicit sex from an underaged girl online. Brian MacKenzie, 50, was sentenced Friday to 10 years of probation in Colorado’s Sex Offender Intensive Supervision Program. He will register as a sex offender and participate in sex offender treatment, the First…
