Photo Of Kyle B. Sawyer
Photo Of Kyle B. Sawyer

Charged With A Crime? It Doesn’t Mean You’re Guilty.

Second Degree Kidnapping with Domestic Violence

On Behalf of | Jun 17, 2013 | Kidnapping |

The crime of Second Degree Kidnapping sounds terrible – like something you’d only see on television. Yet, did you know the District Attorneys in Arapahoe, Douglas and Denver County charge this crime when a man pushes or pulls his girlfriend from one room to another during a fight? Anyone who has ever been in an argument with a boyfriend or girlfriend knows that couples sometimes elevate things where one person pushes or pulls the other and is charged with Domestic Violence.

Common Circumstances in a Fight Can Result in Domestic Violence Kidnapping

Imagine the woman who is pushing her boyfriend and he backs into a bedroom or kitchen from another room. That woman has established the elements for a charge of Second Degree Kidnapping, C.R.S. 18-3-302, with Domestic Violence. Here are the elements of the primary form of Kidnapping in the Second Degree: “Any person who knowingly seizes and carries any person from one place to another, without his consent and without lawful justification, commits second degree kidnapping.” In Adams, Arapahoe and Bromfield County, This definition can be met too easily in circumstances where there is no intent to keep and hold another for an improper purpose like a ransom. Unintended consequences result in good people convicted of serious crimes, when a law is written loosely. We see this happening in many cases, like Kidnapping.

Good District Attorneys Can Do the Right Thing, Bad Ones Do Not

While I will admit that there are many circumstances where good District Attorneys will dismiss charges where the law is not intended to cover innocent acts, that is not always the case. Some District Attorney offices reward their lawyers for obtaining convictions for the worst charges possible. Other District Attorney offices don’t give the line deputies discretion to dismiss felony charges and plea bargain the case down to the misdemeanor crimes which were actually committed. The result is that men and women have criminal records which don’t accurately reflect who they truly are.

If you feel the government is overcharging you or that you have done something wrong – but not what you’ve been charged with, be smart, exercise your constitutional right to remain silent and call the experienced lawyers at the O’Malley Law Office, P.C., today. Together, we can protect your future.