The Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office is on the hunt for a Domestic Violence (C.R.S. 18-6-801) suspect who fled the scene of his arrest. Deputies continue to search East Denver and Aurora for this man, and are using a police dog to track his trail. It is unclear at this time as to what underlying charges he is facing, but domestic violence is a sentencing enhancer that is often paired with charges such as Assault (C.R.S. 18-3-202), Harassment C.R.S. 18-9-111) and Criminal Mischief (C.R.S. 18-4-501). He will also likely be facing a charge of Resisting Arrest (C.R.S. 18-8-103).
In Colorado jurisdictions such as Douglas, Jefferson, and Denver County, the law mandates the arrest of any person who law enforcement has probable cause to believe committed a crime of domestic violence. Whereas with most other crimes the police have the choice to either write a person a summons to come to court or to make an arrest, they have no discretion when the crime involves an alleged act of domestic violence.
Colorado’s mandatory arrest law (C.R.S. 18-6-803.6) can produce some absolutely ridiculous and unjust results. For example, we recently got a Domestic Violence/Harassment case dismissed in Broomfield County where our client had been arrested and charged with Harassment after she called 911. Believing that the police would help her get her drunk, violent ex-husband out of her home during an argument, she called law enforcement for help. However, when the police showed up, her ex accused her of pushing him and slapping him, which led the police to arrest her for DV Harassment. He, of course, was not charged with anything, and then coddled by the Broomfield County District Attorney’s Office as the “victim” in the case.
Luckily, we were able to make the District Attorney see reason about how ridiculous these charges were, but not before our client went through the hell of being arrested, charged, and hauled through the slow and scary Colorado court system.
If you have been charge with a crime of Domestic Violence in Weld, Arapahoe, or Adams County, Colorado, the attorneys at the O’Malley Law Office can help you. We will use every tool at our disposal to make the prosecutor understand the full picture of your case. You need an experienced criminal defense attorney on your side, so be smart, exercise your right to remain silent, and call us today at 303-731-0719. Together, we can protect your future.