Stalking is charged in Fort Collins and Larimer County when a person repeatedly follows or contacts a person, causing serious emotional distress. A Colorado man was recently sentenced to 16 years in the Colorado Department of Corrections after he pleaded guilty to Stalking and First Degree Burglary. According to the report, the man broke into a woman’s home and attacked her in the bedroom. The woman fought back and the man ran, but was found outside her home with a knife, gloves, and a gun. Investigators later learned that the man had broken into her home at least two other times before the attack. The man apparently first saw the woman in a college class they both attended which is how he began to stalk her.
Larimer County Stalking Lawyer: What Does it Mean to Stalk Someone?
The Larimer County, Colorado law definition of Stalking – C.R.S. 18-3-602 – is:
(a) Makes a credible threat to another person and, in connection with the threat, repeatedly follows, approaches, contacts, or places under surveillance that person, a member of that person’s immediate family, or someone with whom that person has or has had a continuing relationship; or
(b) Makes a credible threat to another person and, in connection with the threat, repeatedly makes any form of communication with that person, a member of that person’s immediate family, or someone with whom that person has or has had a continuing relationship, regardless of whether a conversation ensues; or
(c) Repeatedly follows, approaches, contacts, places under surveillance, or makes any form of communication with another person, a member of that person’s immediate family, or someone with whom that person has or has had a continuing relationship in a manner that would cause a reasonable person to suffer serious emotional distress and does cause that person, a member of that person’s immediate family, or someone with whom that person has or has had a continuing relationship to suffer serious emotional distress. For purposes of this paragraph (c), a victim need not show that he or she received professional treatment or counseling to show that he or she suffered serious emotional distress.
Sentence for Stalking in Loveland and Estes Park
In Fort Collins, Loveland, and Estes Park, Stalking is an extraordinary risk crime. For a first offense, Stalking is a class 5 felony. If it is a second or subsequent offense that occurs within seven years of the prior offense, it is a class 4 felony. The class 5 felony Stalking is punishable by 1 – 4 years in the Colorado Department of Corrections and the class 4 felony is punishable by 2 – 8 years in prison.
If you or someone you love has been charged with Stalking in Fort Collins, 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 consultation today. Together, we can protect your future.
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