Steamboat briefs for Sept. 27
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Steamboat Springs — The District Attorney's Office has dismissed charges against Steamboat Springs resident Gregory Kay Forney.
Forney was arrested June 24 on suspicion of obstructing a police officer during an incident involving Forney's teenage son and his son's friends.
Court documents indicate that the DA's Office asked for the misdemeanor charge to be dismissed Sept. 5. Routt County Judge James Garrecht dismissed the charges the same day in open court. The DA's Office never filed a formal motion to dismiss the charge, and there was no document indicating why the charge was dismissed.
Jay Cranmer, who handled the case, has since left the DA's Office.
The DA's Office is currently not able to receive phone calls, due to complications from moving in to the Routt County Justice Center. A hand-delivered message requesting information to the DA's Office was not returned Wednesday.
Forney said he was arrested after he failed to comply with a Routt County Sheriff's Office deputy's request that Forney stop interfering with a traffic stop the deputies had made. Forney said he was standing on public property observing the stop, and was not interfering with police.
Routt County Sheriff Gary Wall said he looked into Forney's claims and spoke with both officers that were handling the incident.
"I believe the officers responded in an appropriate manner based on (Forney's) actions," he said. "I do not believe they overreacted."
VNA seeking volunteers for general office duties
The Northwest Colorado Visiting Nurse Association, a nonprofit organization, is seeking volunteers to perform general office duties. Hours are flexible. Contact Laura at 879-1632 or stop in at 940 Central Park Drive, Suite 101, for more information.
Volunteers needed for YVMC information desk
Yampa Valley Medical Center is seeking volunteers for the lobby information desk. Shifts are 8 to 11 a.m., 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 2 to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. If interested, call volunteer services coordinator Mindy Fontaine at 870-1146.
Optimist Club accepting Teen of the Month forms
The Steamboat Springs Optimist Club is now accepting applications for its Teen of the Month program. Area high school students can pick up applications from school counselors or call Rob MacCarthy at 871-7179. The Teen of the Month program culminates in a recognition dinner in May for all of the teens and their parents, and a scholarship is awarded to the student chosen as Teen of the Year.
Comments
Hmmm 5 years, 7 months ago
Once again the DA's office has proven their lack of wanting to prosecute anything. I heard about this incident from a deputy friend of mine. Mr. Forney continued to harass and interfere with the deputies while they were on the traffic stop with Forney's son. He repeatedly approached the deputies....he was not just standing on public property and observing the stop like he says. Both deputies told Mr. Forney several times to stop interfering with the stop and that they would answer any questions he had when they were finished. Instead of listening, Mr. Forney told them that he had a right to know what was going on because he was a tax payer and he continued to harass and interfere. Mr. Forney was finally arrested after he failed to leave the scene. Mr. Forney was not just standing there and his statement in the above article that he was just standing there....well, proves that he is a liar.
Seems to me that the DA's office had a pretty open and shut case with this one. But once again, they chose to not uphold the law and dismissed another case. Bottom line, you can't interfere with an officer's investigation into a traffic stop, crime, etc. Our DA's office is filled with wimps. They don't know when they should prosecute and when they should not. I'm scared to think that they are going to let the woman who killed her baby off with a slap on the wrist.
CoJustice 5 years, 7 months ago
I agree Hmmm, in addition citizens of Routt County received a clear message from their Sheriff in regards to "Probable Cause" and "Civil liberties" which creates an unenforceable state in the county. Operation Civil Disorder will be occurring in challenging this sheriffs department, and everything is debatable.
id04sp 5 years, 7 months ago
CoJustice,
Maybe the lack of prosecutions and convictions in prior cases under Sheriff Warner was a result of LE not observing civil liberties, proable cause, etc. DAs have to look at each case and make a call on the probability of obtaining a conviction and the probability of reversal on appeal.
The end result of observing civil liberties and having a case overturned for not doing so are the same, except it's a lot more time-consuming and expensive to have a case thrown out. Why allow an arrest when no case can be made without illegally obtaining evidence?
JQPUBLIC 5 years, 7 months ago
Even the great Wall says the officers acted appropriately so the officers couldn't have stepped on Forney's civil liberties. I admit I don't know the whole story as to why the DA's office dropped charges but it does seem like they have a tendency to pick and choose who they want to prosecute. I hope the DA's office will respond to the hand-delivered message with a reasonable explanation other than the standard "not enough evidence" which seems to mean "we don't need to back our cops, this isn't important enough to waste our time".
id04sp 5 years, 7 months ago
A realtor with an overblown sense of self importance is not worth prosecuting for simply refusing to be quiet. Arrest, yes. Prosecute, no.
If he does it again, they should throw the book at him. He's probably spent a small fortune on attorney's fees, and the attorneys I know would advise him to SHUT UP next time.
Hmmm 5 years, 7 months ago
It is pretty simple...Mr. Forney would not keep his mouth shut, he interfered with a law enforcement officer who was conducting an investigation, and he got arrested. He was told several times to stop interfering and that his questions would be answered after the stop was complete. Granted he didn't commit the crime of the century, but he should have been brought before a judge, or at the very least, given a plea to make. The DA's office doesn't back the cops, they never have, and they never will. I don't interfere with an EMT, Firefighter, or anyone else doing their job, so why is it okay to interfere with a police officer doing his/hers?
From the knowledge I have, Mr. Forney has been proven a liar and he got away with a crime....which is all thanks to our terrible DA's office. I know one realtor that I will never use and once a liar, always a liar. I even talked to my deputy friend a bit more on this incident. I was told that there were 3 cops on scene (2 deputies, 1 SSPD). I was further told that each cop witnessed Mr. Forney interfering (i.e. approaching, harassing, and demanding to know what was going on)....and Mr. Forney says he was just standing on public property observing the stop and not interfering at all. Mr. Forney couldn't be a bigger liar and I feel pity for a man that can't stand up and admit that he was wrong....what a sissy and poor role model to his family.
s_jroutt 5 years, 7 months ago
The DA' office has been a joke no matter which sherrif has been in office.
id04sp 5 years, 7 months ago
Forney has neighbors who would be directly involved in the case. Whether that made is difference is anybody's guess.
Anybody got info on the board members of the Tree Haus Homeowners Association? Might be interesting to see.
corduroy 5 years, 7 months ago
"interefering" with police business is a really gray area. Cops can arrest you and make up a reason later. It's all heresay, and of course we always believe the officers.. right?
Matthew Stoddard 5 years, 7 months ago
Corduroy- You HAVE to believe the officers. Mr. Civil Liberties himself gave the Golden Seal of Approval, and Buford T. Justice never lies, right?
Matthew Stoddard 5 years, 7 months ago
Of course, I don't believe it was stated that Wall or Bustos were actually there to witness the procedings. I wonder if he was even at the Sheriff's office, since people keep saying they never seem to find him behind that "open door" he talked about during the election. Maybe that changed with his other hidden policies.
CoJustice 5 years, 7 months ago
Since our office has access to the Secretary of State Campaign Finance Reports, I always look to see what contributors might pop-up in the news. Only interesting contribution was from some guy in Utah.
Committee Name: COMMITTEE TO ELECT GARY WALL SHERIFF SOS ID Number: 20065619165 Type: CANDIDATE COMMITTEE Committee Name: COMMITTEE TO ELECT GARY WALL SHERIFF SOS ID Number: 20065619165 Type: CANDIDATE COMMITTEE
Party: Democratic Party Filing Date: 03/22/2006 Status: Active Filing Type: Electronic Purpose: SUPPORT OFFICE SOUGHT/SHERIFF ROUTT COUNTY COLORADO
Most Recent Election Cycle: 2006 GENERAL Area/Office/District: ROUTT/Sheriff/County-wide/ Last Detail Summary Report Filing Date: 12/09/2006 3:29 PM For Report Period Ending: 12/02/2006 Funds On Hand: $2,830.16 Next Calendar Report Due: (doesn't account for past due, if any) 11/01/2007
Registered Agent: JENNIFER WILSON Mailing Address: BOX 776025 City State Zip: STEAMBOAT SPRINGS, CO 80487 Phone: 970-871-9273
CoJustice 5 years, 7 months ago
_ _ _ that public records act !
id04sp 5 years, 7 months ago
CoJo,
What's the point? I think I'm missing something.
I wish more people knew about these resources and looked into them. There's a lot of stuff hidden on both sides of the political aisle.
In case I never told you, I only want the truth to come out, no matter who is involved. We all have a right to know and make our own voting decisions based on the truth.
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