Last Friday was not a proud day for two Colorado detention facilities as both a prison inmate and an Adams County Jail inmate escaped from custody. According to the news reports, the Colorado Correctional Center in Golden, Colorado reported an offender as missing on Friday and notified law enforcement in the area that he may be dangerous. He has since been found, and is continuing to serve his sentences for Fraud and Criminal Trespassing out of El Paso County and a Second Degree Burglary conviction out of Pueblo County. He now faces an additional charge for Escape. The second Escape reported that same day was out of the Adams County Jail. In this case, the man was being held on a parole violation when he pretended to be another inmate who was set to be released. I don’t know how easy it would be to just pretend to be another inmate and fool the guards, but apparently it worked for him. He is now facing a new charge of Escape, which definitely adds fuel to the parole violation fire, as a person on parole is not supposed to commit any new law violations.
Weld County Escape Attorney: What is the Punishment for Escape?
All escapes are not created equal in Weld, Morgan, and Logan County. The level of misdemeanor or felony charged, depends on what you were originally charged with or convicted of. So, according to C.R.S. 18-8-208 – Escapes:
(2) A person commits a class 3 felony if, while being in custody or confinement following conviction of a felony other than a class 1 or class 2 felony, he knowingly escapes from said custody or confinement.
(3) A person commits a class 4 felony if, while being in custody or confinement and held for or charged with but not convicted of a felony, he knowingly escapes from said custody or confinement.
(4) A person commits a class 3 misdemeanor if, while being in custody or confinement following conviction of a misdemeanor or petty offense or a violation of a municipal ordinance, he or she knowingly escapes from said place of custody or confinement.
(4.5) A person commits a class 3 misdemeanor if he or she has been committed to the division of youth corrections in the department of human services for a delinquent act, is over eighteen years of age, and escapes from a staff secure facility as defined in section 19-1-103 (101.5), C.R.S., other than a state-operated locked facility.
(5) A person commits a class 1 petty offense if, while being in custody or confinement and held for or charged with but not convicted of a misdemeanor or petty offense or violation of a municipal ordinance, he or she knowingly escapes from said custody or confinement.
Based on the information above, both men would be looking at felony Escape charges. Since they were dealing with the Colorado Department of Corrections (one in prison and one on parole), this means they plead to or were found guilty of a felony charge in their original cases. Most likely, they are facing the class 4 felony Escape charge, which is punishable by 2 to 6 years in the Colorado Department of Corrections and up to $500,000 in fines.
If you or someone you love has been charged with Escape in Greeley, Erie, or Evans, be smart, exercise your right to remain silent, and contact the best criminal defense attorneys from the O’Malley Law Office at 970-616-6009 today. Together, we can protect your future.
Image Source: Pixabay – 2allmankind