By GLENN WALLACE | The Gazette
Derrick Patrick Bernard is the figure at the center of a federal indictment and political dust-up involving an alleged hate crime hoax in the closing days of the 2023 Colorado Springs mayoral election.
But before his complicated career in Colorado Springs, Bernard had already had his share of run-ins with the law in his home state.
Born in Florida in 1989, Bernard was 15 when state records indicate he was first arrested for petty theft. Just two months later he would be arrested again, this time for felony burglary and grand theft.