Unlawfully Carrying a Weapon in Colorado

The attorneys at Rights & Liberties Law Firm are experienced criminal defense attorneys in Colorado who defend people charged with unlawfully carrying a weapon.

Unlawfully carrying a weapon is defined in C.R.S. 18-12-105.5 which defines the offense as follows:

C.R.S. 18-12-105.5, Colorado’s Unlawfully Carrying a Weapon Statute

In Colorado a person commits an the offense of unlawfully carrying a weapon defined as:

(1) Intentionally left blank —Ed.

(a) A person shall not knowingly and unlawfully and without legal authority carry, bring, or have in the person’s possession a deadly weapon as defined in section 18-1-901 (3)(e) in or on the real estate and all improvements erected thereon of any public or private elementary, middle, junior high, high, or vocational school or any public or private college, university, or seminary, except for the purpose of presenting an authorized public demonstration or exhibition pursuant to instruction in conjunction with an organized school or class, for the purpose of carrying out the necessary duties and functions of an employee of an educational institution that require the use of a deadly weapon, or for the purpose of participation in an authorized extracurricular activity or on an athletic team.

(b) Intentionally left blank —Ed.

(I) A person who violates subsection (1)(a) of this section commits a class 6 felony if the weapon involved is a deadly weapon other than a firearm, as defined in section 18-1-901.

(II) A person who violates subsection (1)(a) of this section commits a class 5 felony if the weapon involved is a firearm, as defined in section 18-1-901.

(2) (Deleted by amendment, L. 2000, p. 709, § 45, effective July 1, 2000.)(3) It shall not be an offense under this section if:

(a) The weapon is unloaded and remains inside a motor vehicle while upon the real estate of any public or private college, university, or seminary; or

(b) The person is in that person’s own dwelling or place of business or on property owned or under that person’s control at the time of the act of carrying; or

(c) The person is in a private automobile or other private means of conveyance and is carrying a weapon for lawful protection of that person’s or another’s person or property while traveling; or

(d) The person, at the time of carrying a concealed weapon, held a valid written permit to carry a concealed weapon issued pursuant to section 18-12-105.1, as said section existed prior to its repeal; except that it shall be an offense under this section if the person was carrying a concealed handgun in violation of the provisions of section 18-12-214 (3); or

(d.5) The weapon involved was a handgun and the person held a valid permit to carry a concealed handgun or a temporary emergency permit issued pursuant to part 2 of this article; except that it shall be an offense under this section if the person was carrying a concealed handgun in violation of the provisions of section 18-12-214 (3); or

(e) The person is a school resource officer, as defined in section 22-32-109.1 (1)(g.5), C.R.S., or a peace officer, as described in section 16-2.5-101, C.R.S., when carrying a weapon in conformance with the policy of the employing agency as provided in section 16-2.5-101 (2), C.R.S.; or

(f) and (g) (Deleted by amendment, L. 2003, p. 1626, § 51, effective August 6, 2003.)(h) The person has possession of the weapon for use in an educational program approved by a school which program includes, but shall not be limited to, any course designed for the repair or maintenance of weapons.

Possible Penalties for Unlawfully Carrying a Weapon in Colorado

Unlawfully Carrying a Weapon

C.R.S. 18-12-105.5(1)(b)(I)

C.R.S. 18-12-105.5(1)(b)(II)

Possible Penalties

Class 6 Felony

12-18 months in Colorado State Prison or Community Corrections followed by 1 year of mandatory parole; or
Probation; and/or
$1,000 – $100,000 fine;
Restitution

Class 5 Felony

1-3 years in Colorado State Prison or Community Corrections followed by 2 years of mandatory parole; or
Probation; and/or
$1,000 – $100,000 fine;
Restitution

Unlawfully Carrying a Weapon

(Click Links Below To See Penalties)

C.R.S. 18-12-105.5(1)(b)(I)

C.R.S. 18-12-105.5(1)(b)(II)

Possible Penalties

Class 6 Felony

12-18 months in Colorado State Prison or Community Corrections followed by 1 year of mandatory parole; or
Probation; and/or
$1,000 – $100,000 fine;
Restitution

Class 5 Felony

1-3 years in Colorado State Prison or Community Corrections followed by 2 years of mandatory parole; or
Probation; and/or
$1,000 – $100,000 fine;
Restitution

Defenses to Unlawfully Carrying a Weapon in Colorado

General Denial

The accused will be acquitted if the prosecution cannot prove every element of the offense beyond a reasonable doubt. When the accused raises a general denial defense, the accused denies that the criminal elements of the offense exist. General denial is related to the failure of proof defense. The failure of proof defense arises when the accused pokes holes in the prosecution’s case and argues that the prosecution failed to prove each and every element of the offense beyond a reasonable doubt.

Mistaken Identity

Mistaken identity is a general denial defense that attacks the element of who committed the alleged offense. As the prosecution is required not only to prove that the offense happened, but that the person charged committed the offense, the mistaken identity defense can be an effective way to challenge the prosecution on the element of who committed the crime. In the context of an unlawfully carrying a weapon case, mistaken identity defenses usually arise when the accused is arrested and charged with disobedience to public safety orders in riot conditions after the alleged offense happened or when the accused is identified after a chaotic situation where eyewitness accounts are not trustworthy. Mistaken identity cases often involve witness misidentification issues, poor witness perception issues, inaccurate, improper, or biased police identification procedures, grainy surveillance videos, and mistaken eyewitness accounts.

Alternate Suspect

The alternate suspect defense occasionally arises in unlawfully carrying a weapon cases. When the accused raises the alternate suspect defense, he or she does so to cast doubt on the identity element of the offense. In other words, the alternate suspect defense is used to cast doubt on the prosecution’s evidence that the accused committed the crime. By raising the alternate suspect defense, the accused casts doubt on the identity element of offense by raising the possibility that another person committed the offense rather than the accused. In Colorado unlawfully carrying a weapon trials the admissibility of alternate suspect evidence will depend on “the strength of the connection between the alternate suspect and the charged crime. If there is a non-speculative connection or nexus between the alternate suspect and the crime charged, the evidence will be admissible.”

If the defense introduces “alternate suspect” evidence, the judge must “look to whether all the similar acts and circumstances, taken together, support a finding that the same person was probably involved in both the other act and the charged crime.” If the judge finds that the accused has presented evidence sufficient to support a finding that an alternate suspect committed the crime, the accused can have the jury consider this evidence in their deliberations. While the alternate suspect defense is seldom used in unlawfully carrying a weapon cases, certain circumstances will give rise to the availability of this defense.

Duress

Under Colorado’s duress statute C.R.S. 18-1-708, a person may not be convicted of an offense, other than a class 1 felony, based upon conduct in which he engaged at the direction of another person because of the use or threatened use of unlawful force upon him or upon another person, which force or threatened use thereof a reasonable person in his situation would have been unable to resist. This defense is not available when a person intentionally or recklessly places himself in a situation in which it is foreseeable that he will be subjected to such force or threatened use thereof. The choice of evils defense, provided in section 18-1-702, shall not be available to a defendant in addition to the defense of duress provided under this section unless separate facts exist which warrant its application.

Entrapment

Under Colorado’s entrapment statute, C.R.S. 18-1-709, the commission of acts which would otherwise constitute an offense is not criminal if the defendant engaged in the proscribed conduct because he was induced to do so by a law enforcement official or other person acting under his direction, seeking to obtain evidence for the purpose of prosecution, and the methods used to obtain that evidence were such as to create a substantial risk that the acts would be committed by a person who, but for such inducement, would not have conceived of or engaged in conduct of the sort induced. Merely affording a person an opportunity to commit an offense is not entrapment even though representations or inducements calculated to overcome the offender’s fear of detection are used.

Choice of Evils

Under Colorado’s choice of evils statute, C.R.S. 18-1-702 (1) conduct which would otherwise constitute an offense is justifiable and not criminal when it is necessary as an emergency measure to avoid an imminent public or private injury which is about to occur by reason of a situation occasioned or developed through no conduct of the actor, and which is of sufficient gravity that, according to ordinary standards of intelligence and morality, the desirability and urgency of avoiding the injury clearly outweigh the desirability of avoiding the injury sought to be prevented by the statute defining the offense in issue.

(2) The necessity and justifiability of conduct under subsection (1) of this section shall not rest upon considerations pertaining only to the morality and advisability of the statute, either in its general application or with respect to its application to a particular class of cases arising thereunder. When evidence relating to the defense of justification under this section is offered by the defendant, before it is submitted for the consideration of the jury, the court shall first rule as a matter of law whether the claimed facts and circumstances would, if established, constitute a justification.

Statute of Limitations for Unlawfully Carrying a Weapon in Colorado

In Colorado the statute of limitations for commencing criminal charges against a person is governed by C.R.S. Section 16-5-401. The statute of limitations for commencing criminal charges for unlawfully carrying a weapon in Colorado is as follows:

Felony unlawfully carrying a weapon charges must be filed within 3 years. C.R.S. 16-5-401(1)(a.5)

Legal References

C.R.S. 18-12-105.5 https://colorado.public.law/statutes/crs_18-12-105.5

Contact the Attorneys at Rights & Liberties Law Firm to Fight for You Today

If you’ve been charged with unlawfully carrying a weapon, contact the attorneys at Rights & Liberties Law Firm to vindicate your rights and protect your liberties. If you’re facing criminal charges or fear you may be charged, time is of the essence. Start Your Free Criminal Defense Case Quote. By retaining Rights & Liberties Law Firm you can rest assured that:

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