Peo v. Acevedo, 22CA0107

Daniel Acevedo was convicted by a jury in Colorado of retaliation against a judge and menacing with a deadly weapon after making violent threats towards Judge Ollada, who had presided over his previous criminal cases.
In a phone call to Judge Ollada's chambers, Acevedo threatened to kill her and blow up the courthouse, which led to an evacuation and law enforcement investigation.
Officers linked the phone number used to Acevedo, found him at a nearby encampment with a hatchet, and confirmed via phone call and self-identification that Acevedo made the threats.
At trial, Acevedo argued he acted based on personal delusions about Ollada and not as retaliation for her judicial decisions; defense counsel focused on his mental health but did not raise an insanity defense.
The jury found Acevedo guilty on both charges, and he was sentenced to concurrent prison terms; he appealed, challenging the jury instructions and sentencing process.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Jury instruction—mens rea	Instruction was sufficient; no prejudice since defense was about motive, not knowledge	Error: omission of 'knowingly' as required culpable mental state for making a threat	Court found error was obvious but harmless; conviction affirmed
Definition of 'retaliation or retribution against a judge'	Jury instructions were adequate as written	Requested further instruction to clarify threat must be related to judge's official capacity	Court found standard instruction was clear; no abuse of discretion; conviction affirmed
Consideration of silence in sentencing	Sentence proper; silence not solely relied upon	Court improperly treated Acevedo’s silence and lack of remorse as aggravating	Court agreed error was plain and substantial; sentence reversed and remanded for resentencing

People v. Garcia, 28 P.3d 340 (Colo. 2001) (plain error review of unpreserved jury instruction challenges)
Hagos v. People, 2012 CO 63 (Colo. 2012) (definition of plain error)
People v. Berry, 292 P.3d 954 (Colo. App. 2011) (application of mens rea in retaliation against a judge)
People v. Miller, 113 P.3d 743 (Colo. 2005) (harmful error in jury instructions)
People v. Young, 987 P.2d 889 (Colo. App. 1999) (impermissibility of using silence as lack of remorse in sentencing)
Steinberger v. Dist. Ct., 198 Colo. 59 (Colo. 1979) (right against self-incrimination applies at sentencing)