Felony Charges Dismissed in Plea Agreement

Robinson & Henry’s knowledgeable attorneys give their professional insight in “From Our Perspective,” where we examine our attorneys’ successful outcomes. 

In this episode, R&H Criminal Defense Senior Associate Anna Trobee discusses a case in which her client faced up to eight years in prison but received no jail time and a chance for a clean record. 

Past results afford no guarantee of future results; each matter is different and must be judged on its own merits. Facts are those of an actual Robinson & Henry criminal defense case. 

Our client, who had no prior criminal history, faced the daunting prospect of spending up to eight years in prison and being labeled a felon for life. Through meticulous case preparation, strategic negotiation, and an unwavering commitment to our client’s affirmative defense of self-defense, Attorney Anna Trobee secured a deferred sentence with a lesser misdemeanor charge. Our client avoided incarceration and a felony record.  He can also apply to have his record sealed if he completes his deferred sentence requirements.

Our client was charged with a Class 4 Felony of Assault-2 Strangulation as an act of Domestic Violence, considered an extraordinary risk crime. It’s subject to an enhanced sentencing range, including two to eight years in the Department of Corrections, plus three years of parole.

The case was complex. Despite our objections, the judge permitted the “expert” testimony of a forensic nurse examiner who had been endorsed mere weeks before the trial. Our client’s future hung in the balance as the speedy trial deadline neared.

Anna’s client maintained that he had been defending himself on the night in question when the alleged victim had called him to pick her up after a night of drinking with her friends. The alleged victim became jealous when she saw him talking to one of her friends.

As our client drove the alleged victim home, she became emotionally unhinged, screaming, crying, and accusing him of cheating on her. Then the woman began assaulting our client as he attempted to drive down the highway safely. As the car traveled at 70+ mph,  her antics escalated as she tried to jump from the vehicle.

The dangerous attacks continued until our client dropped the woman off at her apartment. There, the alleged victim called her friends, who drove to the police station, where she accused our client of strangling her during the drive.

Anna, who recognized the gravity of the situation and the client's vulnerability, immediately launched a comprehensive defense strategy. She conducted an in-depth investigation of the facts and circumstances surrounding the case, leaving no stone unturned. Anna also analyzed relevant laws and statutes and identified all potential avenues for defense. 

Anna’s priority was to keep her client’s record clear of a felony conviction. She engaged in skillful and persistent negotiations with the prosecution, leveraging her legal expertise and persuasive advocacy to secure the best possible outcome for him. 

Additionally, she maintained open and transparent communication with the client throughout this process, ensuring he was informed and empowered every step of the way.

Thanks to Anna and her team’s tireless efforts, the client’s charge was reduced to one count of misdemeanor assault, and he received a deferred sentence.

If the client completes 12 months of probation and a domestic violence evaluation and classes, his guilty plea will be withdrawn, and his case will be dismissed and the record sealed.

Our client avoided jail or prison time and can move forward with his life without the stigma and limitations of a criminal record.

Read this video’s full transcript:

Question:  Anna, thank you for joining me today. Tell me more about your client and why he needed your help.

Anna: My client was newly dating a girl and it was casual. They just started seeing each other and she had been drinking with her friends that day on a weekend and texting my client. 10:00 p.m. rolls around and she asks him to come and get her.

He comes and picks her up and he stops by the bar to say hello to her friends. Then once they get back in the car for him to drive her home, almost immediately, she starts yelling at him. She's angry, she's upset, and she says that he was flirting with her friends in front of her.

As my client was driving her home to her apartment in Broomfield from downtown Denver. She starts screaming, crying, and then starts attacking him. She starts hitting him, punching him and slapping him as he's trying to maintain control of his car driving on the highway. 

Then she starts to grab the wheel of the car, trying to jerk it away from him. At this point, my client is trying to maintain control of the car and drive safely, and also trying to defend himself. At this point during this altercation, this girl starts to try and open the car door to jump out of the car. 

Somehow he managed to get them to her apartment, at which point she jumps out of his car and runs off. He assumes to her apartment. At that point, he calls the police and reports the fact that she had been attacking him this entire time.

What he didn't know was that instead of going to her apartment, this girl called her friends to pick her up instead. They called the police and reported that my client had actually been the one to assault this girl. Specifically, that while he was driving her on the highway, that he had strangled her and so that is why he came to us for help. 

Question: Can you explain what the charges were that this client was facing and the possible penalties? 

Anna: He was charged with a Class 4 felony of second-degree assault strangulation with a domestic violence factual basis. This is an extraordinary risk crime. The potential penalties include anywhere from two to eight years in the Department of Corrections.

Question: The client said he was acting in self-defense. What factors supported this?

Anna: We had a string of text messages from them throughout the day that showed the progression of her intoxication.

Additionally, the fact that my client had injuries that he had documented and had photos of scratches and marks showing that she had been attacking him. As well as the fact that he had managed to safely get them from the bars downtown to the apartment, so her story was very unlikely. 

Question: Every case has its challenges, in this one, what were some of the biggest obstacles you had to overcome? 

Anna: Definitely the biggest obstacle in this case was that there was a forensic nurse examiner, who the prosecution had endorsed as an expert, who had identified something called Petechiae, which is broken blood vessels in the alleged victims eyes, which can be a sign of strangulation.

There's a number of other things that can cause this. Something like coughing or vomiting, which obviously can happen when you've been drinking to excess. Also, it can be caused by certain autoimmune conditions or antidepressants. We know that this alleged victim was taking antidepressants that is something that she had shared with our client. 

There were multiple different things that could have caused this. Of course, they hadn't asked about any of these other possibilities. Their evidence was going to fit their narrative, and that was definitely challenging.

Question: You worked hard to get the best possible outcome for the client in this case. Tell me about what was your strategy and the outcome?

Anna: Ultimately, what it came down to was presenting, not just my client's personal circumstances to the district Attorney, but also the trial optics. My client had no prior criminal history. That was very important to highlight to the district attorney that this is not someone that had an extensive record or someone that was going to repeat this type of behavior.

Additionally, in terms of the trial optics perspective, I needed to paint a picture for the district attorney of exactly what he was going to be up against. If he decided to proceed forward and take the case to trial and explaining what our trial strategy was and identifying the holes in his case and the strengths in our case and being very straightforward about that was a strategic move because it allowed me to really negotiate ultimately the offer that we ended up getting, in this case, which was a deferred judgment to a misdemeanor.

Question: And how does that deferred sentence impact the client's future?

Anna: The felony count was dismissed altogether, and my client ended up accepting a plea agreement to one count of misdemeanor assault. He will be required to do a 12-month period of probation.

During that time, he'll have to do a domestic violence evaluation and treatment meaning classes. As long as he completes that successfully and doesn't get into any trouble during the 12-month probation period, then the case will be dismissed and sealed off his record, so anytime anybody looks up his background they won't be able to see anything at all. 

Question: For anyone who's watching who might be in a similar situation, how important is it to have an experienced attorney on their side? 

Anna: I think it's critical. You need to have somebody that knows what to look for as far as the medical evidence. Also, someone who is experienced at trial and knows what to look for as far as trial optics go. 

I certainly think that being able to analyze a case from all the different angles and identify the holes in the prosecution's case and the strengths in your own case, and being able to present that in a compelling way to the district attorney is absolutely essential to ultimately obtaining the best outcome possible for the client.