In Fort Collins and Larimer County, felony False Imprisonment is charged when a person uses force or threat to detain someone without their consent. A man was recently arrested and charged with this crime after he was accused of using a gun to keep his girlfriend in a hotel room. According to the report, the girlfriend reported that her boyfriend was acting ‘bizarre’ that day and at one point, pointed a loaded gun at her, refusing to let her leave the hotel room. She was able to leave eventually and when he saw her speaking with law enforcement, he left the hotel. Police were able to locate him a few hours later and arrested him for felony False Imprisonment and many other weapons related charges.
Larimer County Felony False Imprisonment Lawyer: Definition of False Imprisonment in Colorado
The Larimer County, Colorado law definition of False Imprisonment – C.R.S. 18-3-303 – is:
Basically, simply stopping someone from leaving a room can be considered False Imprisonment. Anytime a person claims they were preventing from leaving a location, the law sees this as being detained against their consent. We often see situations where one party is desperately trying to get their significant other to talk to them and may block the doorway in order to keep the conversation going. They aren’t trying to be threatening or harmful, just caught up in the midst of an argument.
Sentence for False Imprisonment in Loveland and Estes Park
In Fort Collins, Loveland, and Estes Park, False Imprisonment is generally charged as a class 2 misdemeanor unless certain aggravators apply. If one or more of the following aggravating circumstances apply, then it is charged as class 2 felony False Imprisonment. One situation where felony False Imprisonment is charged is:
- 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.
The use of a gun would definitely constitute force or threat of force, like the situation above.
Another situation where felony False Imprisonment would be charged is:
- 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.
If you or someone you love has been charged with False Imprisonment, be smart, exercise your right to remain silent, and contact the best criminal defense attorneys from the O’Malley Law Office at 970-658-0007 to schedule a free initial consultation. Together, we can protect your future.
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