Office of the District Attorney
18th Judicial District
June 2022
District Attorney John Kellner
Earlier this month, I was proud to co-chair the first-ever Colorado Fentanyl Summit with 17th Judicial District Attorney Brian Mason. The two-day summit provided intensive training on investigating and prosecuting those responsible for the ongoing fentanyl crisis. We also discussed the new fentanyl bill that takes effect next month and shared our concerns and challenges we face as prosecutors. Family members who have lost loved ones as a result of this deadly poison were also part of a candid panel discussion.  

I want to thank everyone who contributed their time and expertise to train more than 250 law enforcement officers from across the state during the Summit. Special thanks to our Chief Deputy Darcy Kofol for sharing her prosecutorial knowledge about a recent fatal fentanyl case, People v Jorge Che-Quaib which is also a first in Colorado, and our Investigator Garrett Lord for training on investigating drug cases with cell phone evidence.

House Bill 22-1056 , “Emergency Temporary Care for Children”, originated from our Office and was signed into law this month. Last summer, our Diversion Director Sarah Ericson wrote a letter to Department of Human Services to request funding of shelter beds for at-risk kids who don’t qualify for detention but have nowhere safe to go. That letter ultimately gained traction and was signed by 21 elected District Attorneys throughout the state. This initiative led to media coverage and interest from lawmakers. I believe the passage of this bill is a step in the right direction and provides a valuable new resource for at-risk youth. 

This Thursday, June 30, at 6:00pm, I will hold our quarterly town hall and you can register on zoom here: June 30 registration. Our topic is Juvenile Justice System: Finding Solutions for Colorado’s at-risk youth. Our Juvenile Prosecutor will discuss the work of our unique prosecution team. While public safety in our community is a top priority, we are also dedicated to balancing the best interests of the juvenile, the victim and the community when determining appropriate treatment and sanctions.

Please join us on Thursday for an insightful conversation.

The 18th Judicial District (JD) is comprised of four counties:

Arapahoe, Douglas, Elbert and Lincoln.

Our office proudly serves over 1.1 million people.

The 18th JD is the most populated judicial district in the state of Colorado.

Spotlight
ECONOMIC CRIME UNIT (ECU)

The mission of the 18th Judicial District’s Economic Crime Unit (ECU) is to aggressively prosecute complex financial, white-collar crimes and cases involving exploitation of at-risk citizens to the fullest extent of the law.

The ECU team consists of a Senior Deputy District Attorney who is Director, a Deputy District Attorney, the Director of Consumer Fraud Protection, an Investigator, a Paralegal, and a Legal Assistant:

Steve Fauver (Director), Austin Fletcher (Deputy District Attorney), Jamie Sorrells (Director of Consumer Fraud Protection), Brian Ahlberg (Investigator), Kaylah Sisk (Paralegal), Lauri Conover (Legal Assistant)

As criminals have become more sophisticated, the types and breadth of economic crimes have exploded. These criminals who perpetrate identity theft, fraud and other financial crimes are increasingly using the internet and other electronic methods to perpetrate their crimes. Economic and financial crime cases are often complex, involving thousands of documents in digital, image and paper formats. In order to be effective, investigators and prosecutors need to have some experience with accounting procedures, internet technology, real estate transactions, trust & estate documents, the various forms of businesses and their practices, securities transactions, and other specialty areas. Both prosecutors in the Economic Crime Unit hold undergraduate and graduate business degrees. Both prosecutors have extensive experience with data analysis. The Director and ECU Investigator are both Certified Fraud Examiners.

ECU investigates and prosecutes complex financial and white-collar crimes that usually result in large monetary losses to victims, including:
- Identity Theft
- Credit card fraud/Counterfeit checks
- Money laundering
- Public corruption, including embezzlement and official misconduct
- Fraud in obtaining public benefits 
- Contractor fraud 
- Theft from At-Risk Adult/Elder Exploitation
- Organized retail theft 
- Motor vehicle fraud
- Real estate fraud
- Securities fraud 

Additionally, ECU provides the following services:
- Working with law enforcement agencies, including reviewing and evaluating cases, developing investigation plans, assisting officers to obtain search warrants and training new financial crime investigators 
- Assistance with, and the prosecution of, civil forfeiture actions
- Fraud prevention and consumer-related outreach by our Director of Consumer Fraud Protection
- Review and evaluation of citizen complaints through the Economic Crime Complaint Form
- Collaborating with a variety of media outlets and agencies to share consumer fraud protection information on a state-wide basis
Colorado Fentanyl Summit
DA John Kellner was co-chair of a two-day Colorado Fentanyl Summit, the first ever held in Colorado, with DA Brian Mason, 17th Judicial District and they were joined by more than 250 law enforcement officers from all over the state.

Darcy Kofol, Chief Deputy District Attorney, discussed the prosecution of People v. Jorge Che-Quiab. News release is below:

Investigator Garrett Lord discussed training on investigating drug cases with cell phone evidence
Fraud Alert
Click on Images to Enlarge
Two team members with our office were recognized this week for their dedication to seeking justice at the MADD & CDOT Law Enforcement Champions Awards.

Senior Deputy District Attorney Dan Warhola was honored with the "Outstanding Prosecutor" award and Senior Lead Victim Witness Specialist Jenni Schaffer was presented the "Outstanding Victim Advocate" award.
Congratulations to Senior Deputy District Attorney Mike Mauro for being recognized by the Arapahoe County Bar Association as 2022 Outstanding Young Lawyer at the annual meeting.
DA18 Team at the Colorado Fallen Heroes Memorial
Office the District Attorney, 18th Judicial (DA18) was proud to participate in the Law Enforcement Torch Run at the State Capitol. The event helps fund the Special Olympics of Colorado, and raises awareness about people with intellectual disabilities in our state.
Vicki Klingensmith, Senior Chief Deputy District Attorney, discussed criteria for criminal investigations at a town hall of Aurora Council Member Juan Marcano who represents Ward IV.

DA Kellner was to invited be a guest speaker at the Rotary Club of University Hills which meets in Arapahoe County.

The discussion centered on public safety and updates from the District Attorney's Office.

Photo from Left to right:

President David Wood
DA Kellner
President-elect Patrick Plank
Sergeant-at-Arms Phil Beaver 
The Diversion Counseling Program staff attended the 1st annual Statewide Juvenile Diversion Conference in Grand Junction this year. Our Diversion Counseling Program staff, including the Director, Assistant Director, supervisors, therapists, case managers, victim advocates and administrative personnel, gained valuable of how various programs are operating across our state. Speakers discussed a wide range of topics surrounding restitution, successful case plan management, expungement and sealing records, competency concerns and restorative justice practices. The interactive conference provided an opportunity to share knowledge on how to expand and strengthen our program resources to better serve Diversion participants.
In the Courtroom
People v. Albayero
Arapahoe County Judge Elizabeth Ann Weishaupl sentenced Alexander Albayero of Aurora to 48 years in prison for the murder of David Guerrero-Rodriguez. The victim was shot multiple times in an alley in the 1400 block of Havana Street back in 2020. Albayero never revealed a motive in this case. 

Detectives initially connected Albayero to this shooting based on surveillance video showing his car at the crime scene. Authorities later discovered bullets from the scene matched bullets from a handgun that was seized when Albayero was arrested in another deadly shooting just three weeks prior in Adams County. The 48 year sentence will run concurrent with the life sentence Albayero is already serving in the Adams County homicide. 

The prosecution team included Chief Deputy District Attorney Andrew Steers, Deputy District Attorney Rebecca Jochum, Victim Witness Specialist Debra Witt and Paralegals Karla Liesener and Olga Kouznetsov.

News release is below:
Community Conversations
A quarterly town hall is part of
District Attorney John Kellner's community-focused effort.

Juvenile Justice System:
Finding solutions for Colorado's at-risk youth

To register for zoom event, click Here

For PAST events, please click below.
Colorado Prosecutorial Dashboards
The 18th Judicial District (18JD) is part of a statewide project to develop data dashboards that provide information about the work of the District Attorney’s office. The 18JD Dashboard will be tailored to meet the issues and concerns that are most important for our community and will be publicly available on our website. With your support and feedback, we can create dashboards that help us better understand areas where we are
excelling and those we can improve.

To Provide Input: Click Here

Click on Image to Enlarge
Community Engagement & Education
Here to Educate, Protect, and Serve.
The District Attorney’s Office hosts, supports, and attends community events to provide an important presence in making community members aware that we are here to listen and to help work with them to strengthen the community against crime and violence.

If you are interested in having our office speak to your organization or participate in a public safety-related event, please Contact Us
Data Dashboards
How It Started

“I pledged during my campaign to be open and transparent, and this tool is one step in fulfilling that promise. We are public servants, and the public has a right to meaningful information about what we do. These interactive Data Dashboards provide more information about our operations to the public. I believe this increased access to information will shed more light on the criminal justice process for my constituents.”
~District Attorney John Kellner~
Reports
PEACE OFFICER CREDIBILITY DISCLOSURE NOTIFICATION

Effective January 1, 2022: Consistent with the requirements under state law, our office has adopted and implemented a policy based on the model created by the Peace Officer Credibility Disclosure Notification Committee pursuant to Senate Bill 21-174.This policy seeks to establish uniform and consistent standards requiring law enforcement agencies to disclose specific information to the district attorney that may impact the credibility of a peace officer in a criminal prosecution, and to establish procedures for the district attorney to timely disclose such information to the defense under the Colorado Rules of Criminal Procedure and to increase transparency to allow members of the public to access information concerning peace officers who are subject to a credibility disclosure notification.
Job Opportunities
We are Hiring!
Interested in joining the District Attorney’s office for the largest jurisdiction in Colorado with easy access to the Denver Metro Area? Click Here

We offer a generous benefits package, including but not limited to medical, dental, vision, 401K matching, paid holidays and PTO.  
 
Additionally, the 18th Judicial District also provides:
• Career advancement opportunities
• Trainings / Continuing Education 
• Public Service Loan Forgiveness opportunities for those who qualify.
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