In an update to the Montezuma County Commissioners, the 22nd Judicial District Attorney’s Office explained there’s been a heavy caseload so far this year with a similar anticipation for fall, due to multiple murder trials scheduled for the district.
“We are getting ready for multiple murder trials coming up, it’s going to be a very busy fall for us,” said Clarisa Osborn, office manager for the district attorney’s office.
Osborn also told the commissioners Monday the amount of felonies filed this year already surpasses last year’s numbers without about 4½ months still to go. According to office’s dashboard data program, 2025 had 195 felonies resolved and 906 misdemeanor cases, with resolution meaning by varied avenues such as dismissal, diversion, deferred judgment, guilty plea, acquittal or guilty verdicts at trial.
According to the data, the median days to resolve a felony from filing to case completion for the office during 2025’s fourth quarter shows 109 days compared with 2024’s fourth quarter number at 141 days.
The case against Robert Salt related to Veterans Park homicides is on the docket to begin the second week of September and last two and a half weeks, while another multiweek trial involving murder allegations against Rachel Leonard is scheduled to start Oct. 7.
District Attorney Jeremy Reed said a top priority is securing Colorado bar admission for a staff member who previously worked as an investigator and attorney and is now seeking a license. He said negotiations are underway regarding how the state of Colorado defines years of active practice.
Reed added prosecutions have been higher this year against people charged for crimes against children.
“If you talk to anyone from the child advocacy center, they will tell you that numbers have increased, but they believe it’s because people are actually reporting, not that it hasn’t happened in previous years,” Osborn said, mentioning the 24-hour reporting system Safe2Tell.
Osborn said she believes younger generations feel safer reporting crimes through that anonymous service.
Operated by the Colorado Attorney General’s Office, the public can report through the Safe2Tell system by calling 877-542-7233, online through the website or app, as well as texting “S2TCO” to 738477.
The statewide program received 591 Safe2Tell reports in July, bringing the total since last August to 29,302, according to the attorney general’s office. In July, roughly 19% of those reports involved concerns for mental health well being involving suicide, 13% for school safety and another 13% for exploitation and abuse.
“I have seen a few come through Safe2Tell,” Reed added. “I think reporting is becoming a little more common. I frankly think we are doing a good job working with the victims and their families and keeping them abreast of what’s happening.”
He said he wanted to recognize the efforts and diligence of the office’s victim witness unit and supporting community agencies, saying he believes prosecutions can be successful when “we keep the survivors and their families engaged in the process.”
awatson@the-journal.com
