A 4th Judicial District judge on Friday settled a dispute over a Colorado Springs murder prosecution, ruling he can postpone William Camacho Jr.'s case beyond a speedy trial deadline because of court restrictions related to COVID-19.
Camacho, 36, is charged in an April 2018 shooting in Colorado Springs in which 21-year-old Brandie Preciado was killed and her boyfriend partially blinded.
His attorneys had been pressing for a trial by an April 22 speedy trial deadline despite fears over convening a jury amid the coronavirus pandemic, setting the stage for a legal battle that prosecutors feared could have led to the dismissal of charges against him.
Under Colorado law, all charges “shall be” dismissed if defendants do not receive a trial within six months of being arraigned, unless there is good cause. The law does not provide an explicit exemption for public health emergencies.
At a hearing Friday, Judge Eric Bentley ruled that the virus, and related court restrictions, amounted to “exceptional circumstances” allowing the judge to push the case beyond Camacho’s speedy trial deadline.
Camacho's trial, initially set for April 13, was rescheduled for April 20. Under Bentley’s ruling, the judge has the authority to again postpone the case if the local courts decide to extend a restriction on jury trials in force through April 17.
The ruling came days after Sen. Bob Gardner, a Colorado Springs Republican, blasted the Legislature for failing to plug what he called the “speedy trial loophole” before lawmakers voted to temporarily recess March 14 because of the fast-spreading virus.
The Colorado Attorney General's Office and the Colorado District Attorneys’ Council proposed language to temporarily postpone speedy-trial rights during Colorado’s public health emergency, but the fix couldn’t be adopted because lawmakers suspended the session.
Neither Gov. Jared Polis nor the Colorado Supreme Court offered guidance on the issue, essentially leaving it to individual judges to decide — arousing fears that some prosecutions could be placed in jeopardy. Bentley’s decision applies only to the Camacho case, leaving the question unsettled in any felony cases elsewhere in Colorado that involve speedy trial deadlines.
Authorities tie Camacho to a crime spree in which he also allegedly fired a round at a state trooper before leading pursuers on a high-speed chase that ended in Pueblo County when he crashed and was taken into custody.
While in the back of an otherwise unoccupied Colorado State Patrol car, he slipped out of his handcuffs and wriggled through a security window into the front seat, then drove through a group of officers before again crashing, authorities say.
Camacho was taken back into custody, leading to additional escape charges against him.
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