Surprisingly enough, False Imprisonment in Fort Collins, Loveland and Estes Park is not always as involved as locking someone in a basement for days. It can be as simple as blocking the doorway during an argument with your girlfriend. You aren’t really imprisoning anyone, but you may still be charged with this crime – with the added Domestic Violence sentence enhancer if it happens with an ex or spouse.
What is False Imprisonment in Fort Collins?
Colorado law defines C.R.S. 18-3-303 – False Imprisonment as:
“Any person who knowingly confines or detains another without the other’s consent and without proper legal authority commits false imprisonment.”
This obviously does not apply to police officers or other lawful authority when they are acting within their job.
Sentences for False Imprisonment in Larimer County
False Imprisonment is charged as a class 2 misdemeanor or a class 5 felony. A class 2 misdemeanor is punishable with up to a year in Larimer County Jail. If force or threat of force is used and the person is detained for 12 or more hours, then it is a class 5 felony. This level felony is punishable by up to 3 years in prison. Both force and time need to be proven in order to be convicted of False Imprisonment as a class 5 felony.
Examples of False Imprisonment
The accused is not intending to break the law or hurt anyone, yet they still received this harsh charge.
In Larimer, Boulder and Grand County, we have handled cases where, in the heat of an argument, a husband has blocked a doorway so his wife cannot leave the fight. We have defended a boyfriend who closed his girlfriend in a room after she began to get physical during an argument. In these and many similar cases, the accused was not intending to break the law or hurt anyone, yet they still received this harsh charge.