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Tag: Criminal justice

Colorado Repeat Offender Freed by Court Accused of Killing Mother of Three
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Fox News, Approved, State

Colorado Repeat Offender Freed by Court Accused of Killing Mother of Three

By: Julia Bonavita | Fox News Thomas Perales allegedly killed Annette Marie Valdez following years of domestic violence incidents and court violations. A Colorado repeat offender is accused of brutally murdering the mother of his children before spending several days pushing her lifeless body around in a shopping cart just a week after being released from jail. Thomas Perales, a homeless man with multiple prior arrests, is accused of killing Annette Marie Valdez after her body was discovered inside a Westminster trash can Dec. 4, according to 9NEWS.  Perales had allegedly violated a protection order taken out by Valdez numerous times and had been released from jail just a week before the alleged murder, the outlet reported. The 37-y...
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Trump announces full pardon of Tina Peters in Truth Social post
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Rocky Mountain Voice, National, Top Stories

Trump announces full pardon of Tina Peters in Truth Social post

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice President Trump posted on Wednesday that he is granting a full pardon to former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters, who has served 14 months of a nine year prison sentence.  He announced it in a Truth Social post late in the afternoon.  Trump criticized Democrats in the post, saying violent crime has gone unaddressed while election-related cases moved forward after 2020. “For years, Democrats ignored violent and vicious crime of all shapes, sizes, colors, and types,” Trump wrote. He added that violent criminals “who should have been locked up were allowed to attack again.” Trump said Democrats instead chose to go after people who pushed for election security, writing that they “chose instead to prosecute anyone ...
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More Victims Coming Forward as Douglas County Tackles Growing Sex Crime Caseload
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DENVER7, Approved, Local

More Victims Coming Forward as Douglas County Tackles Growing Sex Crime Caseload

By Allie Jennerjahn | Denver7 Sex crimes can range from internet crimes against children, to adult sex assault, and George Brauchler said the county is working to find a solution. DOUGLAS COUNTY, Colo. — District Attorney for the 23rd Judicial District George Brauchler is speaking out about a surge in sex crime cases and why he thinks there's an increase. Sex crimes can range from internet crimes against children, to adult sex assault and Brauchler said the county is working to find a solution. “It's unclear to me if we're seeing an incredible uptick in it, or if because this jurisdiction that has invested so heavily in public safety, including creating subject matter experts in rape cases … if that, in and of itself, hasn't caused an increase in the number of...
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Trump Blasts Polis Over Continued Imprisonment of Tina Peters
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Washington Examiner, Approved, National

Trump Blasts Polis Over Continued Imprisonment of Tina Peters

By Washington Examiner Staff | Washington Examiner President Donald Trump took to Truth Social on Wednesday to scold Gov. Jared Polis (D-CO) regarding the case of former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters, who was sentenced to nine years in prison in 2024 for charges of giving unauthorized individuals access to the county’s election systems.  Trump lambasted Polis as a “sleazebag” for denying the release of “an elderly woman.” The president said Peters was “unfairly convicted” and should not be in jail. “The SLEAZEBAG Governor of Colorado, Jared Polis, refuses to allow an elderly woman, Tina Peters, who was unfairly convicted of what the Democrats do, cheating on Elections, out of jail!” Trump posted. “She was convicted for tr...
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Colorado theft crisis: More crime, fewer inmates, and mounting economic fallout
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Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

Colorado theft crisis: More crime, fewer inmates, and mounting economic fallout

By Shaina Cole | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice A Growing Problem That Stores Can’t Ignore Ask almost any retailer in Colorado what’s changed over the last few years, and you’ll hear some version of the same thing: theft isn’t a once-in-a-while headache anymore. It’s constant. The Common Sense Institute recently put numbers to what stores have been describing, and the scale is hard to miss. Police logged just over 27,000 shoplifting reports in 2024 — a jump of more than 22 percent in a single year. And that figure doesn’t capture most of what’s happening. Many stores no longer call police unless something turns aggressive. CSI cites national surveys suggesting that as much as nine in ten retail thefts never make it into official police statistics. If that holds true...
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Colorado’s clash with federal law: Why Tina Peters’ case poses a Supreme Court question
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Rocky Mountain Voice, Commentary, National, Top Stories

Colorado’s clash with federal law: Why Tina Peters’ case poses a Supreme Court question

By RMV Editorial Board What began as a state prosecution of former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters now sits at the junction of presidential pardon pertaining to federal election law and state authority. Colorado barred key evidence from the jury, sealed portions of the grand jury record, then fought to keep those materials from appellate review.  A recent analysis by Amuse asserts that the Supreme Court has never ruled on whether a presidential pardon can neutralize a state conviction when the conduct arises from a federal duty. Amuse also argues that when a state interferes with administering a federal election, those prosecutions become offenses against the United States—whatever the state calls them. https://twitter.com/amuse/status/1989394815616770528?s=46 Appe...
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Phil Weiser’s Failed Experiment in Criminal Justice
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Rocky Mountain Voice, Commentary, State, Top Stories

Phil Weiser’s Failed Experiment in Criminal Justice

By Mike O’Donnell | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice  It has become a common theme in many states and cities that the authorities who are responsible for the long-term safety and security of their residents, nevertheless subscribe to the popular fallacy that locking up criminals does little to deter future offenses and is less effective in the long run that social programs or rehabilitation efforts, however those might be defined.  The theory here is that criminals aren’t responsible for their actions, Society is primarily to blame.  The policies of Colorado’s attorney general, Phil Weiser, and the Democrat dominated Colorado legislature prove how foolish and misguided this theory is.  In 2019, the Colorado legislature eliminated the option of cash bail for...
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Tina Peters Placed in Solitary as Officials Warn Polis Against Federal Intervention
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The Gateway Pundit, Approved, State

Tina Peters Placed in Solitary as Officials Warn Polis Against Federal Intervention

By: Brian Lupo | The Gateway Pundit In a disturbing update shared on X, the official account for 70-year-old Gold Star mother Tina Peters announced that she has been transferred to solitary confinement in the Colorado prison where she has been held for the past year. According to the post, Peters filed a grievance after a prison teacher allegedly told inmates that Peters “was never going to leave prison” and that the state would “never let her out.” When Peters confronted the teacher in the hallway, the teacher and several inmates reportedly began “antagonizing” her and “ganging up on her verbally.” https://twitter.com/realtinapeters/status/1991721475565343225?s=20 Colorado Officials Urge Gov. Polis to Block Federal Transfer At the suggestion of another inmate, Peters file...
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Colorado’s “Reform Paradox”: Falling Recidivism, Rising Violence, and the Real-World Cost of Dangerous Releases
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Rocky Mountain Voice, Commentary, State, Top Stories

Colorado’s “Reform Paradox”: Falling Recidivism, Rising Violence, and the Real-World Cost of Dangerous Releases

By Shaina Cole | Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice The Common Sense Institute’s October report shows Colorado’s three-year recidivism rate falling from about 52 percent in 2019 to near 31 percent in 2022. On paper that looks like improvement. In practice, the number tells only a small piece of the story.  CSI makes it clear that the number drops mostly because fewer people are going to prison at all. The state’s incarcerated population has shrunk, felony filings are down, and more defendants are getting funneled into diversion programs or handed PR bonds under Colorado’s evolving bail practices. When the state isn’t locking people up, fewer people return to prison later. That’s not a public-safety miracle. It’s just the math. Ask people who actually live here whether things...
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Colorado Drug Bust Exposes Cartel Ties After 1,000 Pounds of Meth Seized
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Just The News, Approved, State

Colorado Drug Bust Exposes Cartel Ties After 1,000 Pounds of Meth Seized

By Natalia Mittelstadt | Just the News Of those indicted, 11 have been arrested, while four others remain at large. Fifteen people have been indicted in Colorado after roughly 1,000 pounds of methamphetamine was seized following a two-year investigation into a drug trafficking organization from Mexico operating in the state, according to federal officials. Of those indicted, 11 have been arrested, but four others, including the organization’s alleged leader, are still free and believed to be in Mexico, according to the Colorado U.S. Attorney’s Office, the Associated Press reported. Drug Enforcement Administration special agent in charge Dave Olesky said in a Wednesday news conference that the investigation revealed ties “to elements in Mexico involving the Sinaloa and Ja...
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