Woodland Park recall organizer charged with two counts of attempting to influence a public servant

WOODLAND PARK, Colo. (KRDO) -- A committee member working to recall multiple Woodland Park school board members was officially charged Monday in a Teller County courtroom. 

Samantha Peck, 41, is charged with two counts of attempting to influence a public servant and filing a false police report with the Woodland Park Police Department. According to court records, Peck called the authorities and made claims against one of the Woodland Park school board member’s wives at a local grocery store. 

At Monday’s court hearing, Peck was officially informed of a temporary restraining order prohibiting her from making contact with the victim. A hearing is scheduled for Sep. 1 to make the order permanent. 

According to Peck’s arrest records, the recall organizer told Woodland Park Police that a female had come up to volunteers at a petition booth at the local Safeway gathering signatures to recall Woodland Park school board member David Illingworth.  Peck said the woman was slurring her words, and her eyes were twitching. 

Peck said the woman was continuously falling into the self-check machine at the Safeway and claimed the woman in question was actively loading her car with a child inside according to Woodland Park authorities. 

However, when Woodland Park police made contact with the female in question in the Safeway parking lot, who turned out to be Illingworth’s wife, police could not smell alcohol on her person nor could they detect any signs that she was under the influence. 

In fact, court records say Illingworth’s wife was not with a child at the time. Police viewed a security video from Safeway and determined the woman in question showed no signs of intoxication. 

Three days following the incident at Safeway, Peck filed a witness statement reporting a suspected DUI driver at Safeway. According to arrest records, the statement said Illingworth’s wife looked disheveled in the Safeway, and she appeared drunk when she spoke with recall volunteers outside the Safeway and had a little girl with her. 

“I then called WPPD concerned for the safety of the little girl. I then watched her engage again with the volunteers but could not hear what she was saying,” Peck said in her statement to authorities. 

Despite conducting concluding that Illingworth’s wife was in fact not intoxicated, court records show Woodland Park police encouraged Peck to file a witness statement against the school board member’s wife. Even after Peck expressed concerns about filing a report to Woodland Park authorities for fear of potential pushback from the community and the Illingworth family, Woodland Park police say they tried to convince Peck “to come to the Police Department to make the witness statement.”

David Lane, Peck’s attorney, tells 13 Investigates they plan on obtaining body camera video footage from all of the Woodland Park police officers involved in the investigation. Lane says the body camera footage will clarify whether this is a case of swatting or law enforcement letting a well-connected person in the Woodland Park community go when they shouldn’t have. 

13 Investigates asked Woodland Park Police Chief Chris Deisler about the body camera video. Deisler said it is the department’s policy for officers to be wearing active body cameras when conducting an investigation, however, he could not confirm if the body camera footage currently exists at this time. 

Peck’s next court appearance is scheduled for October 17th. 

Two petitions were filed through the Teller County Clerk's Office earlier this month accusing two Woodland Park school board members, including Illingworth, of breaking Colorado Open Meeting laws. 

The Teller County Clerk's Office tells 13 Investigates they are actively reviewing the validity of thousands of signatures on both petitions. The deadline for the Clerk’s office to complete that process and potentially trigger a recall vote on the November ballots is August 29.