False Imprisonment is charged in Greeley and Weld County, when a person is accused of confining another person without their consent. We often see these cases related to an act of Domestic Violence, when the two people involved are or have been in an intimate relationship. The most common cause for these charges is an argument with a partner. At some point during the discussion, one person blocks the other from leaving the room, or attempts to keep one person inside the room when the other wants to walk away. It can be for a just a few seconds and that is enough to get charged with this crime.
Greeley False Imprisonment Lawyer: How is False Imprisonment Charged in Colorado?
The Greeley, Colorado, law definition of False Imprisonment – C.R.S. 18-3-303 – is:
Confine would be keeping someone in a certain place i.e. closing the door to keep someone in or blocking the doorway. An example of detaining someone would be holding someone’s arm to keep them from walking away.
Penalty for False Imprisonment in Firestone and Windsor
False Imprisonment is usually a class 2 misdemeanor. This level misdemeanor is punishable by up to 120 days in the Weld County Jail. However, if certain aggravating factors apply, then it can be charged as a class 5 felony. Here are the aggravating factors that would result in a felony False Imprisonment charge:
- The person uses force or threat of force to confine or detain the other person; and
- The person confines or detains the other person for twelve hours or longer;
OR
- The person confines or detains another person less than eighteen years of age in a locked or barricaded room under circumstances that cause bodily injury or serious emotional distress; and
- Such confinement or detention was part of a continued pattern of cruel punishment or unreasonable isolation or confinement of the child;
OR
- The person confines or detains another person less than eighteen years of age by means of tying, caging, chaining, or otherwise using similar physical restraints to restrict that person’s freedom of movement under circumstances that cause bodily injury or serious emotional distress.
The penalty for the class 5 felony False Imprisonment is 1 to 3 years in the Colorado Department of Corrections.