Deferred sentences occuring concurrently

[Nemesis102519]

What is the name of your state? Colorado

Defendant charged with ID theft receives a deferred sentence.

In the midst of this deferred sentence, the defendant is charged with Accessory to a Crime; Class 4 Felony (the crime being MURDER).

For the Accessory to Murder charge, she is offered a plea deal; to testify against her accomplice AND in return, her deferred sentence for the ID theft would not be revoked and she'd receive [another] deferred sentence for the Accessory to Murder charge. (plus the DA put the pressure on her to testify, threatening to add addition charges, that would increase her prison term to approx 26 years)

To avoid a potential lengthy prison stay, the defendant agreed to the plea deal. She testified and received a two-year deferred sentence for the Accessory to Murder charge.

(throughout this deferred sentence, she violated probation several times; failing to comply with conditions set, failures to appear to court (warrant issued), failed drug analysis, contributing to the delinquency of a minor, sexual exploitation of a child- Now, two years later, Probation filed no Complaint and still recommended termination- in which the judge granted)

Is this common practice to have TWO different deferred sentences occurring simultaneously??
What are your thoughts on this? Justice was not served here; she literally got away with murder. Two-year deferred sentence, she had the case sealed. My son is dead and she is now living her best life.

Please respond in layman's terms as I am not an attorney.
Thank you in advance.

ps. all this occurred in Colorado and I live 1,800 miles from there.

 

[quincy]

What is the name of your state? Colorado

Defendant charged with ID theft receives a deferred sentence.

In the midst of this deferred sentence, the defendant is charged with Accessory to a Crime; Class 4 Felony (the crime being MURDER).

For the Accessory to Murder charge, she is offered a plea deal; to testify against her accomplice AND in return, her deferred sentence for the ID theft would not be revoked and she'd receive [another] deferred sentence for the Accessory to Murder charge. (plus the DA put the pressure on her to testify, threatening to add addition charges, that would increase her prison term to approx 26 years)

To avoid a potential lengthy prison stay, the defendant agreed to the plea deal. She testified and received a two-year deferred sentence for the Accessory to Murder charge.

(throughout this deferred sentence, she violated probation several times; failing to comply with conditions set, failures to appear to court (warrant issued), failed drug analysis, contributing to the delinquency of a minor, sexual exploitation of a child- Now, two years later, Probation filed no Complaint and still recommended termination- in which the judge granted)

Is this common practice to have TWO different deferred sentences occurring simultaneously??
What are your thoughts on this? Justice was not served here; she literally got away with murder. Two-year deferred sentence, she had the case sealed. My son is dead and she is now living her best life.

Please respond in layman's terms as I am not an attorney.
Thank you in advance.

ps. all this occurred in Colorado and I live 1,800 miles from there.

No. It is not common. It is common practice to revoke a deferred sentence when another crime is committed and impose the original sentence plus add to it whatever sentence is imposed on the second crime.

I assume there were good reasons for doing what you say was done. What those good reasons are is impossible to tell from the limited amount of information you have provided.

 

[Nemesis102519]

No. It is not common. It is common practice to revoke a deferred sentence when another crime is committed and impose the original sentence plus add to it whatever sentence is imposed on the second crime.

I assume there were good reasons for doing what you say was done. What those good reasons are is impossible to tell from the limited amount of information you have provided.

18CR5251 - ID Theft
20CR1538 - Accessory to Murder

 

[quincy]

Nemesis/Kellie, your post was reported to have the link to your Facebook page removed.

If you are here to do research for an article, that really is not the purpose of this forum. The forum members assist people with their own real life legal issues. I take it from your link that you are neither the mother of the person murdered nor one of the parties involved in the Colorado murder.

 

[Nemesis102519]

Nemesis/Kellie, your post was reported to have the link to your Facebook page removed.

If you are here to do research for an article, that really is not the purpose of this forum. The forum members assist people with their own real life legal issues. I take it from your link that you are neither the mother of the person murdered nor one of the parties involved in the Colorado murder.

It is not a Facebook link I sent. It is a report for case 18CR5251.
I do not write articles. I am the mother of murdered Thomas Anthony Faircloth murdered on 10/25/2019 by Randy Bishop and Catherine Sanford.
What proof do you need to validate my identity?

 

[quincy]

It is not a Facebook link I sent. It is a report for case 18CR5251.
I do not write articles. I am the mother of murdered Thomas Anthony Faircloth murdered on 10/25/2019 by Randy Bishop and Catherine Sanford.
What proof do you need to validate my identity?

The link you provided did not direct to the case. But I trust you are who you say you are.

And I am really sorry to read about the senseless killing of your son.

The killer received life in prison without the possibility of parole so at least in that way some justice was done. The prosecutors may not have felt they had evidence enough to convict him without offering a (admittedly way too generous) plea agreement in exchange for Sanford’s testimony.

What is it that you are hoping to do now?

 

[Nemesis102519]

I don’t believe the probation dept or DAs (State of Colorado) have held Catherine accountable for her actions during her deferred sentence. I mean why give her a deferred sentence if she allowed to violate it without consequence?!

How do I find that the State of Colorado is negligent in this deferred sentence?
Two concurring deferred sentences… All of her violations going unreported in court…

 

[quincy]

I don’t believe the probation dept or DAs (State of Colorado) have held Catherine accountable for her actions during her deferred sentence. I mean why give her a deferred sentence if she allowed to violate it without consequence?!

How do I find that the State of Colorado is negligent in this deferred sentence?
Two concurring deferred sentences… All of her violations going unreported in court…

Again, I have to assume there was some reason for the State to sentence Sanford as they did. And I don’t know the terms of her probation so I can’t comment on why her probation was not revoked if in fact she committed another crime or crimes during her probationary period for which she was found guilty.

There might be some clues in the sealed case files but ... the case is sealed.

If you believe that Sanford was, for some reason, unfairly given preferential treatment by the probation department, the prosecutors and/or the State, you can consult with an attorney in Colorado - perhaps one who is familiar the case - to see if the attorney can better tell you if you have any legal action to pursue.

I am not unsympathetic, by the way. It has to inflict new pain when you know that a key player in your son’s death is not in prison.

 

[Nemesis102519]

Thank you so much for your time and reply. I’m going to have to think about what criminal attorney is privy to this case.

 

[quincy]

Thank you so much for your time and reply. I’m going to have to think about what criminal attorney is privy to this case.

I think speaking with an attorney in Colorado, who can access all of the facts and perhaps discover the reasons why the case was handled as it was, is the best action you can take right now.

I wish you good luck in finding the answers you seek. I am sorry for your loss.

 

[Nemesis102519]

I think speaking with an attorney in Colorado, who can access all of the facts and perhaps discover the reasons why the case was handled as it was, is the best action you can take right now.

I wish you good luck in finding the answers you seek. I am sorry for your loss.

thank you again!

 

[quincy]

thank you again!

You’re welcome. Thanks for the thanks.

 

[Taxing Matters]

What is the name of your state? Colorado

Is this common practice to have TWO different deferred sentences occurring simultaneously??

I practice in Colorado, though I don't get involved in any criminal cases other than criminal tax offenses. Nevertheless, from my years of practice here and conversations I've had with colleagues and judges, I've never seen or heard of that particular kind of outcome in any other serious felony case. So my thought is that such deals are indeed not very common. But bear in mind that the circumstances in which the prosecution would benefit from that kind of plea bargain in a murder case or other serious felony are also not very common.

What are your thoughts on this? Justice was not served here; she literally got away with murder. Two-year deferred sentence, she had the case sealed. My son is dead and she is now living her best life.

I know nothing about the case other than what you posted here, and as the case is sealed, I won't be able to find out the details of the case as contained in court records. I have looked at a few of the news reports, but they don't give a whole lot of insight to the various legal proceedings and evidence available in the case. Mostly just reports of the final outcome. However, I'll give you my perspective of what I think is most likely, if that might help you.

Most prosecutors in this state, whether in a conservative area like Grand Junction or a liberal area like Boulder want to prosecute murderers and their associates to the fullest extent possible. If the prosecutor had great evidence against both the primary actor and the accessory/accomplice to the murder (other than than testimony of one of them against the other) she would not have have been given such a favorable deal.

It is not uncommon for the prosecution to have less than ideal evidence against a defendant. In this case, if the evidence the prosecution had wouldn't be strong enough to convict either of them without the testimony of the other then both actors in the murder might have walked away scott free. In that situation, the prosecutors need one of them to turn on the other and provide the testimony needed to get the conviction of the other.

The prosecutor would most want to lock up the primary actor in the murder, hopefully to never again see the light of day outside prison. So they'd lean on the other person whose role was secondary to the one who actually pulled the trigger to at least get the primary actor convicted and locked away. It may well be that the deal struck was the best one the prosecution could get to secure that necessary testimony. And it appears from the information provided in this threat that the prosecution did succeed in getting the primary actor convicted and locked away. Part of that was due to the testimony of another witness for the prosecution, a cell mate of the primary actor who testified that the primary actor confessed to the crime while in jail. That certainly helped the prosecution, but testimony by other criminals in jail, perhaps trying to get a better outcome in their own case, presents risks for the prosecutors too. The defense presumably tried as hard as it could to discredit that testimony, pointing out that as a criminal himself the testimony can't be considered very reliable. Bolstering his account of the confession with the account from the accessory/accomplice to the crime would go a long way to getting over that problem.

Is it a totally fair outcome? No. If she was indeed an accessory she ideally would have gone to prison for a long time too. But, as the old expression goes, sometimes it is better to get half a loaf of bread than no bread at all. The half loaf here being the conviction and life sentence of the primary actor at the expense of the other half, which would be locking up the accessory for a long time too. The primary actor in the murder had a long criminal record and the prosecution would really want that guy off the streets for good. If you can't get both, then at least some measure of justice is exacted by getting the primary actor in prison for life. As her role was apparently driving the murderer to the where the victim was, it may well have been the case that it would be hard to prove to a jury beyond a reasonable doubt that she knowingly assisted in the murder. So giving away that half loaf at least assured that the primary actor would be locked up for good. It is hopefully some measure of justice and solace to the family that at least the triggerman was put away.

I sympathize with the grief you have over the loss of your son. No result in the criminal case would ever heal the heartached of that loss by itself. It may take some therapy to reach some point of closure and move forward. I have to think your son would want you and the rest of the family to live their best lives and not let their grief stand in the way of that. We only get a limited time on this earth to make the most of our lives.

 

[not2cleverRed]

It is not a Facebook link I sent. It is a report for case 18CR5251.
I do not write articles. I am the mother of murdered Thomas Anthony Faircloth murdered on 10/25/2019 by Randy Bishop and Catherine Sanford.
What proof do you need to validate my identity?

My condolences on your loss.

I don’t believe the probation dept or DAs (State of Colorado) have held Catherine accountable for her actions during her deferred sentence. I mean why give her a deferred sentence if she allowed to violate it without consequence?!

How do I find that the State of Colorado is negligent in this deferred sentence?
Two concurring deferred sentences… All of her violations going unreported in court…

I understand how you feel, and your frustration. It's just the way that the system works.

 

[Nemesis102519]

I think speaking with an attorney in Colorado, who can access all of the facts and perhaps discover the reasons why the case was handled as it was, is the best action you can take right now.

I wish you good luck in finding the answers you seek. I am sorry for your loss.

Thank you.
Would you happen to know what type of attorney I should seek? Criminal?