The Boulder County District Attorney’s Office filed a motion Tuesday seeking to have the remaining co-defendants charged in a Longmont drug operation face a jury in a joint trial.
Prosecutors argued in the motion that the suspects’ charges all relate to the same drug enterprise investigation, called Operation Misfire. The co-defendants are accused of aiding the enterprise in peddling large amounts of prescription drugs, meth and fentanyl.
In the motion, prosecutors argued sending each suspect to trial individually and presenting the same evidence in each case would be “duplicative and extremely prejudicial.”
The motion, which listed 18 defendants, was brought up Wednesday before Boulder District Judge Andrew Hartman during arraignment hearings for the suspects in the case.
Longmont police began investigating Joshua Ward, 35, in December 2018. Ward is suspected to have been one of the major players in the operation, alongside co-defendant Michael Reed.
According to a grand jury indictment, Reed and Ward are accused of procuring “pound level amounts of methamphetamine and large quantities of fentanyl pills.”
The other suspects involved in the case are believed to have helped with the operations, exchanging drugs for cash and firearms.
Joint trial
Reed has been scheduled for a 10-day trial starting June 8 after he pleaded not guilty in October to 45 charges against him, including violation of the Colorado Organized Crime Control Act.
At Wednesday’s hearing, prosecutors were asking Hartman that the suspects headed to trial be scheduled alongside Reed, pending a ruling on the motion. But Wednesday, a number of defense attorneys brought up concerns about their availability during the June trial date.
During Wednesday’s court proceedings, Armando Alva, 29, and Rosendo Calderon-Dominguez, 41, both pleaded not guilty to charges against them and were set for trial in June.
Eight other suspects listed in the motion for joint trial were scheduled by Hartman for a continued arraignment March 9: Ward, David Childers, 41; Raymundo Leon Jr., 44; Brandy Langenderfer, 41; Geraldine Vodicka, 45; Sonya Damon, 44; Ashley Nail, 32; and Matthew McCallum, 45. Hartman asked attorneys for those clients to be ready to enter a plea at that time.
Jose Gutierrez-Herrera was also scheduled to go to trial in June, but his attorney said Wednesday he expects Gutierrez-Herrera to accept a plea agreement pending some immigration issues, and was also scheduled for a disposition hearing April 7.
Additionally, Connie Medina, 25, failed to appear Wednesday and a warrant was issued for her arrest.
Also listed on the motion was Don Paul Murphy, who is scheduled for a disposition Friday, according to online court records.
Plea deals
Several defendants did choose to take plea deals Wednesday rather than proceed to trial. David Lopez, 39, pleaded guilty to controlled substance distribution of a schedule I or II drug. As stipulated by attorney agreement, he was sentenced to four years of community corrections. .
Brenden Pesick, 28, pleaded guilty to controlled substance distributionand was sentenced to seven years in the Department of Corrections and two years of mandatory probation per the plea agreement, with credit for 141 days served.
Anastacia Rose, 29, pleaded guilty to violating the Colorado Organized Crime Control Act – pattern of racketeering and distribution of a controlled substance and was scheduled for sentencing April 17.
Ramon Lurbe, 34, pleaded guilty to conspiring to sell a controlled substance and was scheduled for sentencing March 20.
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Boulder DA seeking to try Operation Misfire suspects in same trial - Longmont Times-Call
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