Officials say 11th DA Linda Stanley stole furniture from work, documents claim office was “chaotic”

FREMONT COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) - New court documents obtained by KRDO13 Investigates shed light on the dysfunction of the 11th Judicial District Attorney's office under the former DA Linda Stanley before she was disbarred. Fremont County officials also confirmed that Stanley is accused of taking furniture from her office upon departure.

The new details come on the heels of Stanley being sued by three counties within the 11th Judicial District, due to her alleged spending of over $110,000 of public funds to pay for her legal defense in an ethics trial, the same trial that led to her disbarment.

However, Fremont County officials confirmed to KRDO13 Investigates on Tuesday, December 10, that they still haven't located Stanley yet to serve her the lawsuit papers which were filed on December 5.

The newly obtained documents detail why the Supreme Court of Colorado denied Linda Stanley's request for a "stay" to allow her to remain in office, as the appeal of her disbarment decision played out.

Referenced within the decision is a list of claims submitted by the new 11th Judicial District Attorney, Jeff Lindsey, on October 3, 2024. The claims stem from numerous contacts he had with the office staff he was on the verge of inheriting. Lindsay, who was sworn in on November 4, was running unopposed for the district attorney seat, and would have otherwise taken office in January 2025 upon the end of Stanley's term.

The disbarment centers around Stanley's violation of several "rules of professional conduct for attorneys", including public comments she made about two different criminal cases that her office was prosecuting. You can read more about those here.

In his submission of evidence to the Colorado Supreme Court, Lindsey states that "many" people had reached out to him, which were mostly unsolicited messages, that shed light on a "chaotic" office environment where many felt there was "no hope" it would improve.

According to Lindsey, several attorneys and staff members informed him that Ms. Stanley had not been in any of the DA offices since her order of disbarment on September 10, and that she has had minimal communication with the main office in Fremont County over telephone. The document later claims that she hadn't been seen in person at the office since the Spring of 2024.

Lindsey says he was also informed that there is still little to no supervision by Ms. Stanley of staff or her cases. He added that "one attorney told the undersigned that there was 'virtually no support', from Ms. Stanley or anyone else in the office."

The new district attorney also says that he was informed via text message from the staff that Stanley attempted to purchase a truck from the office, offering to pay the 11th District Attorney's office what the office paid for the vehicle. He adds that staff were concerned over the legality of the attempted purchase.

Lindsey goes on to say that several staff members and even one attorney had resigned since Stanley's order of disbarment came out, and that it does not appear that Stanley was attempting to fill those positions.

In addition, Lindsey stated that over the summer and into the fall, he was told by staff members that they left because of Stanley's poor management practices, and what was a horrible work environment at the Fremont County office. Lindsey even says he learned that some of the staff were considering wrongful termination actions against their former boss.

KRDO13 Investigates reached out to Linda Stanley by phone for comment on Tuesday, but did not hear back. An attorney previously representing Stanley during her ethics trial, says he was no longer working with her, and had no knowledge of the lawsuit filed by Fremont, Custer, and Chaffee County last week.