Loveland False Imprisonment Defense Attorney
What Does it Mean to Illegally Confine or Detain Someone in Colorado?

In Loveland and Fort Collins, False Imprisonment is charged when a person is accused of illegally keeping someone from leaving an area. This is an easily charged Domestic Violence crime. We often have clients who are in the midst of an argument with a girlfriend or boyfriend and they simply block a doorway in an attempt to continue the conversation. It’s not what you imagine – locking someone in a room or putting someone in a closet to stop them from leaving. Yet, this simple action of stepping in front of a doorway can result in a False Imprisonment charge.

What is False Imprisonment in Larimer County?

The Larimer County, Colorado law definition of False Imprisonment – C.R.S. 18-3-303 – is:

What Does it Mean to Illegally Confine or Detain in Colorado?

The two most important terms in the False Imprisonment are ‘confine’ or ‘detain.’ Confine means to keep (someone or something) within limits; to prevent (someone or something) from going beyond a particular limit, area, etc. This is where the blocking the doorway scenario would come in. Basically doing anything physical to stop a person from leaving or going somewhere they want to go. Detain means to hold or keep in or as if in custody. Again, keeping someone in a room or in the house and not allowing them to freely leave, even if just for a moment before you move and allow them to go could result in a False Imprisonment charge.

Fort Collins Penalty for False Imprisonment

In Fort Collins and Loveland, False imprisonment is a class 2 misdemeanor. This level misdemeanor is punishable by up to 120 days in the Larimer County Jail. False Imprisonment can also be charged as a class 5 felony if:

• 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.

So, there must be force or threat of force, and then one of the other elements, like confining the person for 12+ hours. The class 5 felony False Imprisonment is punishable by 1 to 3 years in the Colorado Department of Corrections.

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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