Colorado COCCA Charges: How Racketeering Cases Are Built and Defended
August 18, 2026
During certain times of the year, the Colorado Department of Transportation runs the highly publicized Heat is On Campaign in an effort to catch and arrest more drunk drivers.
Typically, CDOT schedules Heat is On Campaigns around common drunk driving occasions such as New Years Eve and other holidays. By adding patrols and checkpoints out on the roads, these campaigns have historically led to increased DUI arrests and convictions. Essentially, law enforcement officers are out in force to catch drunk [...]
If you’ll be in Denver for St. Paddy’s Day, you’ll find many ways to celebrate the holiday.
From pub crawls to Irish-themed dinners, there are dozens of special events planned, and many different places where you can do it. If part of your celebration is going to involve alcohol, take care that you don’t get behind the wheel after drinking. Do so and you risk not only hurting yourself and others, but also possibly getting a DUI.
Here are some [...]
In 2017, a total of 10,359 drivers were arrested during 14 law enforcement periods. That’s way up from the same time span in 2016, when 7,279 drivers were arrested during 12 enforcement periods.
Why were there so many more DUI arrests in Colorado in a one-year time span?
Below, we’re going to explore that question in more detail and offer some possible answers, as well as why it’s so important to get good legal help if you find yourself accused [...]
Drinking and driving are illegal throughout the United States. If you’re caught committing this crime, you could face serious consequences like jail time, community service, expensive fines and fees, suspension of your driver’s license, and numerous other penalties that could affect all aspects of your life.
That’s why it’s important to understand our state’s laws when it comes to drinking and driving.
Some states, like Texas, have DWI offenses – driving while intoxicated. Here in Colorado, however, we have two [...]
Have you ever wondered what your blood alcohol content (BAC) is before getting behind the wheel?
There are numerous breathalyzers on the market that are available to consumers for their own personal use. Right now, however, you may not even need to buy one. Why? Because the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) is giving away breathalyzers to eligible candidates in an effort to study whether having access to a mobile Breathalyzer decreases a person’s risk of driving drunk.
Drinking and [...]
Colorado COCCA charges are racketeering charges used when prosecutors claim a person participated in an enterprise through a pattern of criminal activity. These cases often grow out of drug, theft, burglary, fraud, identity theft, or financial investigations that are later reframed as organized conduct.
A COCCA count is not automatic just because several people were charged together or because prosecutors believe more than one crime occurred. The state must prove specific structural elements, including an enterprise and a pattern of [...]
Most criminal cases in Denver do not end with a jury verdict. They end with a decision: whether to accept a plea agreement, reject the offer, keep negotiating, or prepare for trial. That decision can shape your record, your freedom, your sentence, your probation terms, and your future long after the court date.
A plea bargain is not just “taking a deal.” It is a legal agreement that may involve reduced charges, dismissed counts, sentencing limits, probation terms, restitution, treatment [...]
A police crash report can make a serious collision look settled before the defense has examined the evidence. It may assign fault, estimate speed, describe the point of impact, and frame the driver’s conduct as reckless or impaired. In a Denver vehicular assault case, those early conclusions can influence charging decisions, plea negotiations, and how prosecutors present the case.
The problem is that a police report is not proof. Officers often prepare crash reports based on witness statements, final vehicle [...]