11th Judicial District Attorney’s Office prepares to appeal another sanction
FREMONT COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) -- As more sanctions are brought against the 11th Judicial District Attorney’s Office and high-level cases are dismissed, District Attorney Linda Stanley remains absent from the courthouse.
So 13 Investigates called all the district attorney offices in the counties Stanley oversees — Fremont, Custer, Chaffee, and Park — with one simple question: Where is Linda Stanley?
All calls went unanswered and straight to voicemail. Stanley didn’t respond to direct calls, texts, or emails either.
This comes after the 11th Judicial District Attorney’s Office received its sixth sanction since Stanley took office in 2021.
On Tuesday, Fremont County Judge Kaitlin Turner dropped first-degree murder charges against Joseph Tippet because of ongoing discovery violations by 11th Judicial District Attorney Linda Stanley's office.
Tippet will now face 2nd-degree murder in the shooting death of his father.
In Colorado, the difference between first-degree and second-degree murder charges is significant. First-degree murder carries a maximum sentence of life in prison without parole. Second-degree murder carries a maximum sentence of 48 years with parole eligibility at 50 percent of time served.
Joseph Tippet is accused of shooting his father, William Tippet, in the back of the head in January. He was charged with first-degree murder, but for more than two months the defense alleged they only received one-tenth of the evidence from the 11th Judicial District Attorney’s Office.
In a hearing Wednesday, Deputy District Attorney David Little said the office plans to appeal the sanction because it’s an “illegal ruling.” No appeal has been filed, as of this article being published.
Over the last several weeks, 13 Investigates uncovered 33 separate criminal cases with allegations of discovery violations in them.
Of the 33 cases where the DA’s office violated Rule 16, 13 Investigates confirmed five were entirely dismissed. Those include two child sexual assault cases, a murder case, a child porn case, and a strangulation case.
