When False Imprisonment is charged in Fort Collins and Larimer County, it is commonly a Domestic Violence situation. A man was recently arrested for this crime after his girlfriend alleged that he prevented her from leaving the home while they were having an argument. According to the report, the two were arguing over property in their shared home. The girlfriend wanted to leave, but the man stood in the doorway. She claimed that over a ten-minute period, she requested he let her go multiple times, but he refused. When speaking to police, the man claimed that the reason he didn’t want her to leave was because he didn’t want her to take his belongings.
Larimer County Domestic Violence False Imprisonment Attorney: Definition of False Imprisonment
The Larimer County, Colorado law definition of False Imprisonment – C.R.S. 18-3-303 – is:
Much like the situation above, blocking a doorway in an attempt to resolve an argument can result in a False Imprisonment charge. When the alleged victim is someone that you have been in an intimate relationship with (currently or previously), then the Domestic Violence sentence enhancer will be added to the charge.
Sentence for False Imprisonment in Loveland and Estes Park
In Fort Collins, Loveland and Estes Park, False Imprisonment is usually a class 2 misdemeanor. However, if certain aggravating factors are present, then it can be charged as a class 5 felony. Those aggravating factors include:
- 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; or
- 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.
None of the aggravating circumstances apply to the case above, so the man would likely be facing the class 2 misdemeanor. This level misdemeanor is punishable by 3 to 12 months in the Larimer County Jail.
If you or someone you love has been charged with or arrested for 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 your free initial consultation. Together, we can protect your future.
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