Pueblo Police launching internal investigation after evidence issues led to dropped homicide charges
PUEBLO, Colo. (KRDO) - Originally, Carlos Miranda was facing two counts of Vehicular Homicide for his role in the deaths of Carolyn Marie Granger, 55, and Kayla Marie Medina, 36.
But the sentence handed down by a Pueblo judge today doesn't reflect the severity of those charges originally filed.
Miranda will now spend the next 6 years in community corrections, not prison, and will pay $4,000 in restitution after the more severe charges he was facing had to be dropped.
He was sentenced for reckless driving, a class 4 felony, and driving under the influence, a misdemeanor.
Miranda addressed the court today and said he took full responsibility for his actions. He pledged to never drink again, which is what caused the crash. Miranda said that night, he was self-medicating with alcohol to cope with his recent divorce. His license is currently suspended, and he told the court that he would not pursue reinstatement.
In court today, the judge and prosecution said that the Pueblo Police Officers who responded to the crash and Miranda's home, after identifying his vehicle at the scene, didn't have their body-worn cameras on. The police officers testified at an earlier hearing that the cameras' batteries had died. However, the judge pointed out today that the officers didn't use police issued cell phones to film. This led the judge to say the 6-year community corrections sentence is the best the prosecution could do under these circumstances.
KRDO13 Investigates asked the Pueblo Police Department about this incident today. The department responded with the following statement:
"Today, it was brought to the attention of the Pueblo Police Department that a June 11, 2025, hit and run causing the deaths of two women resulted in a plea for Carlos Miranda in a six-year sentence to Community Corrections. This is a tragic situation, and we give our condolences to the families of the two victims.
During this court proceeding, the Pueblo Police Department learned that body worn cameras were not activated due to no battery life of the devices during the on-scene investigation. Pueblo Police Department will be conducting an internal investigation into this case as policy requires body worn cameras to be activated during citizen contact, and failure to do so is taken seriously. We remain committed to transparency and accountability and hold our officers to the highest standard.
We will address any policy violations, training deficiencies and continue to work with the District Attorney’s Office to ensure this does not happen again."
KRDO13 Investigates asked the District Attorney's Office about this incident today. The DA responded with the following statement:
“In every prosecution, the strength of the case depends on the admissible evidence. All evidence and statements must be collected in a manner that complies with established rules, statutory law, and constitutional protections. When that process is not followed, the evidence cannot be presented in court. In this matter, significant evidentiary issues hindered the case from moving forward to trial. To still pursue justice for the victims and their families, we secured a guilty conviction and sentence — though it is considerably lighter than what is typically sought or expected in cases of this seriousness.
We extend our deepest condolences to the victims and the families who were affected by this tragic incident. The Pueblo County Tenth Judicial District Attorney’s Office remains committed to holding offenders accountable and seeking justice for our community.”
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