Tag: mesa county
-
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis grants clemency to Tina Peters, makes her eligible for release from prison
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis on Friday granted clemency to Tina Peters and made the former Republican county clerk eligible for release from state prison as soon as early June, capping months of speculation that the Democratic governor would shorten a nearly nine-year sentence related to Peters’ role in a scheme to breach secure voting equipment.…
-
Federal judge sides with Mesa County school district in ex-student’s First Amendment claims
A federal judge concluded last week that Mesa County Valley School District 51 and three of its administrators did not violate the First Amendment rights of a former student when they imposed minor discipline in response to disruptive behavior. In the landmark 1969 decision of Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District, the U.S. Supreme Court…
-
Colorado appeals court orders new sentencing for Tina Peters, upholds convictions
Colorado’s second-highest court determined on Thursday that a trial judge improperly sentenced former Mesa County clerk Tina Peters based upon her exercise of protected speech, while at the same time upholding her convictions. The three-judge Court of Appeals panel also concluded that President Donald Trump’s attempted pardon of Peters for state-level convictions last year was…
-
Former Rep. Rose Pugliese vies for Mesa County Treasurer
Former Republican Leader Rose Pugliese has jumped into the 2026 primary for Mesa County Treasurer. Pugliese moved to Grand Junction after resigning from the Colorado House in September, citing a “collapse of integrity” within the Colorado House. She previously served two terms, from 2013 to 2021, as a Mesa County commissioner. Pugliese announced she is…
-
Appeals court decides violations of child custody orders may be prosecuted per child
Colorado’s second-highest court concluded for the first time on Wednesday that a defendant may be charged with violating a child custody order based on the number of children affected, not the number of orders violated. Mesa County jurors convicted Tiffany Jean Wilson on four counts of violating a custody order. She drove off with her…
-
Federal judge rejects Tina Peters’ request for release pending appeal
A federal judge rejected the petition of former Mesa County clerk Tina Peters on Monday to be released from incarceration pending the resolution of her criminal appeal. Chief U.S. Magistrate Judge Scott T. Varholak wrote in a Dec. 8 order that Peters satisfied none of the criteria that permit federal courts to intervene in ongoing…
-
Appeals court wipes away defendant’s $66,000 restitution obligation after trial judge did not follow law
Colorado’s second-highest court voided a defendant’s obligation to pay more than $66,000 in crime victim restitution last week, finding a Mesa County judge neglected to follow the process laid out in state law. In Colorado, as part of sentencing, judges must consider whether defendants owe financial restitution to their victims. If so, prosecutors generally need to…
-
Mesa County judge wrong to conclude hatchet not a ‘knife,’ says appeals court
Colorado’s second-highest court determined last week that a Mesa County judge incorrectly reduced a defendant’s menacing charge from a felony to a misdemeanor after finding his hatchet did not meet the definition of “knife.” A person commits menacing as a misdemeanor if they use threats or physical actions to place another person in fear of…
-
Colorado EDC approves incentives to bring new fabrication facility to El Paso County
A mechanical contracting and systems engineering company is considering opening a new fabrication facility in Monument, north of Colorado Springs. The Colorado Economic Development Commission approved up to $453,000 in Strategic Fund incentives to the unnamed company labeled as “Project Cobalt” on Thursday. The EDC often does not disclose company names to protect confidentiality throughout…
-
Colorado justices consider whether man can be convicted for convincing mom to lie for him
There was no dispute that Michael Thomas Hupke asked his mother to lie to his parole officer on his behalf. Further, Hupke acknowledged Mesa County prosecutors could have charged him as an accomplice to his mother’s deceit, or for soliciting her to do it. But Hupke maintained prosecutors could not do what they actually did:…