Scramble to fix 'huge error' as 100s of criminal cases mistakenly dismissed

ARAPAHOE COUNTY - 9Wants to Know has learned one of 285 warrants cancelled by mistake represented the best chance to catch a wanted man before his recent alleged involvement in a drunk driving crash that killed a grandmother.

Alberto Alvarado-Barojas is charged with vehicular homicide in the September 14, 2009 death of Barbara Barben of Denver.

The 69-year-old grandmother of three was crossing West Hampden Avenue at South Poplar Street around 7:30 a.m.

"She was just really part of our everyday lives. It's so hard not to have her around," Heather Barben, her daughter-in-law, said.

Barbara Barben had moved cross-country from New Jersey to live in the same neighborhood as her grandchildren.

"She was just a very special woman," Heather Barben said.

Denver Police recorded Alvarado-Barojas' blood alcohol level as 0.39, nearly five times the legal limit. That level of intoxication can lead to a coma and death for some drinkers.

Police reported Alvarado-Barojas, who admitted he is an illegal immigrant from Mexico, was "uncooperative" and had to be restrained by firefighters and paramedics at the scene.

A 9Wants To Know investigation reveals a warrant for Alvarado-Barojas' arrest on a previous DUI charge was prematurely dismissed, eliminating an opportunity for authorities to arrest and potentially deport him a year before the crash that killed Barben.

The 18th Judicial District, Colorado's largest by population, including Arapahoe, Douglas, Elbert and Lincoln counties, accidentally purged hundreds of unresolved misdemeanor cases years before they were due to be reviewed for dismissal.

In each case, a suspect had a warrant for failure to appear in court.

Sheridan Police report Alvarado-Barojas had a blood-alcohol level of 0.23 at the time of his 2001 DUI arrest.

Sheridan Police Commander Dave Runco said that prior to a 2006 order signed by Governor Bill Owens, it was "not a common practice or industry norm" for local law enforcement to notify immigration officials of the arrest of a suspected illegal immigrant.

When Alvarado-Barojas did not appear in court, a judge issued a warrant for his arrest.

His case was dismissed and his warrant cancelled along with 1,109 similar cases in 2007.

9Wants To Know has determined one in four of those cases, 285 cases including Alvarado-Barojas', were not eligible for dismissal under rules established by the 18th Judicial District and District Attorney Carol Chambers.

Denver Police recorded contact with Alvarado-Barojas in 2008. DPD spokesman Sonny Jackson said no information exists as to the nature of the contact, only that Alvarado-Barojas' name did not bring up any active warrants and he was not cited or charged with a crime.

"I think there's a strong possibility that he would have been picked up," Barben said. "And there needs to be someone held accountable."

The Colorado Supreme Court requires unresolved misdemeanor cases be held for no less than four years before documents can be destroyed to save space.

An agreement between the 18th Judicial District and Chambers required that the most minor traffic offenses with active failure to appear warrants be held for five years. The deal outlined a sliding scale where the most serious misdemeanor cases including DUI, child abuse and drugs charges would be individually reviewed after 10 years.

The Alvarado-Barojas case was not eligible for dismissal until 2011 under those rules but was included on a 2007 bulk dismissal list.

Chambers wrote in an e-mail to the court that it was a "huge error."

Judicial district administrator Laure McKager offered an emotional apology for her office's mistake.

"I sincerely apologize. If we could correct this, we would," McKager said. "I've been doing this a long time and this is the first time anything like this has ever happened under my watch and I'll make sure it doesn't happen again."

Chambers, who signed off on the list, said she personally reviewed the case numbers but did not check to see that they were properly categorized.

"They [the court] assured me that the list would be accurate," Chambers said, noting that the premature dismissals did not violate state rules, only her own written procedures.

"It's unbelievable to me that something like that can be done and no one's checking and double checking someone's work," Barben said.

Chambers takes issue with the assertion that an active warrant would have led to Alvarado-Barojas' deportation in 2008.

"I do understand them looking for responsible people, but in this case I just don't think that it would have made a difference," Chambers said. "They need to understand that there's very little possibility that that would have resulted in deportation."

An Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesman acknowledged that felony suspects are more likely to be held for deportation, but said it is possible a misdemeanor suspect could be flagged.

"Be it one-in-a-million chance there's that one-in-a-million chance that she's still with us," Barben said.

9NEWS' legal analyst, attorney Scott Robinson, questions why unresolved drunk driving cases would ever be considered for dismissal when a suspect has failed to show up for court or complete court-ordered alcohol rehabilitation.

"It's one thing to throw out speeding tickets, or red light tickets," Robinson said. "You can't safely discard warrants on DUIs. Public safety is at risk if you do that."

Chambers told 9Wants To Know she would immediately cease dismissing cases in bulk.

McKager said Chambers' office has ignored all bulk dismissal requests for more than two years.

"Anytime you are doing a blanket dismissal of cases there is a chance you're compromising community safety," Chambers said. "I would like to perhaps engage in a more regular review of outstanding warrants but not just do this wholesale dismissal of cases. I think there is too much room for error."

A survey of other judicial districts showed most dismiss some old cases that are left unresolved and unlikely to be prosecuted, but the 18th Judicial District's bulk dismissal process appeared to be unique in scope and function.

A judge has reissued warrants in some of the 285 prematurely-dismissed cases, but others appear lost for good.

"We wanted to do everything we possibly could the minute we learned there was a problem," McKager said.

Alvarado-Barojas remains in jail awaiting trial on a charge of vehicular homicide. Immigration officials have flagged him for potential deportation.