Legal Question in Criminal Law in Colorado

wongful prosecution

I have been charged for theft. In the account of 1 missing phone, battery to a phone as well as 545.10 in a nightly deposit. the only problem is, when cleaning out my car,my friend found a deposit bag with money in it. Not thinking or more along the lines of not sure what to do(if i turn it in they might think that i took the other money and phone) or keep it so there is no evidence. I left the state with it,NOT taking any of the money,came back returned it ALL,and voluntaraly went to talk to the pd. Was put in the county jail for a night, went to court the next morning, was let out on a pr bond of 2000.00. Never have had an offense or any felony, misdemeanor,etc. on my record, should i get a lawyer first off, and also what do you think is going to happen to me if found gulity for any of the above. P.S.- there also are no cameras at that place of employment, does this also help my case.


Asked on 7/02/04, 10:40 pm

2 Answers from Attorneys
Deborah Grohs Deborah J. Grohs, P.C.

Re: wongful prosecution

Theft, of the amount that you mentioned, is a class 4 felony and is punishable 2-4 years in prison. Because you have no prior record, you would also be eligible for probation.

Being charged with a felony has very serious ramifications. If you receive a conviction on your record, it never goes away. it is very important that you have an attorney to represent you and to protect your rights in court.

It is difficult to predict what will happen without speaking with you in more detail and without seeing what the prosecution's case consists of. It is important that we get all of the police reports and interview all witnesses in an effort first of all to win the case. From what you have mentioned so far, it sounds like the case against you is very circumstantial.

After a thorough investigation, if we felt that we could not beat the case, and conviction was likely, we could enter into plea negotiations with the DA. As long as you have no prior felony convictions, probation would be the most likely outcome. It could be possible to get the case reduced to a misdemeanor. It is also possible that you could receive a deferred sentence. This would be a dispostion that would not show as a conviction on your record.

I would be happy to discuss this matter with you further. Please feel free to call me 719-228-9200.

Good luck to you.

Deb Grohs

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Answered on 7/04/04, 2:48 pm
Daniel Fenaughty FENAUGHTY & ASSOCIATES, PC

Re: wongful prosecution

severity of theft charge depends on value. If value is $100 to $500, it is a class 2 misdemeanor. If over $500 but less the $15,000, a class 4 felony. Get the DA to drop the value to below $500 and you're looking at a m2.

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Answered on 7/03/04, 1:25 pm


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