One Fact Can Change An Entire Sentencing Range
Two people can be convicted of what looks like the same underlying felony and walk away with dramatically different sentences, depending on a single fact: whether a deadly weapon was used, possessed, or threatened during the offense. Colorado law treats that fact as a trigger for a separate sentencing scheme entirely, one that applies regardless of whether the person has any prior criminal record. Defendants and their families are often blindsided by how large the resulting gap in exposure can be.
What Actually Counts As A Weapon Enhancer
The statute does not require that a weapon actually get fired or even displayed. Simply possessing a deadly weapon during the planning or commission of certain felonies, or threatening its use, is enough to trigger the enhanced range under Colorado law. This surprises a lot of people who assume the enhancement only applies when a weapon was visibly brandished or discharged during the incident itself.
Which Charges Can Trigger This Enhancement
A specific list of felonies becomes a crime of violence when a deadly weapon was involved or when serious bodily injury resulted, and a Colorado Springs weapon charges lawyer will typically check this list first when reviewing a new case.
- First and second degree assault
- Kidnapping and aggravated robbery
- First degree burglary and first degree arson
- Sexual assault and several related sex offenses
- Any offense committed against an at-risk adult or juvenile
How Much Time Does The Enhancer Actually Add
Under Colorado Revised Statutes Section 18-1.3-406, a person convicted of a qualifying crime of violence must be sentenced to at least the midpoint, and no more than twice the maximum, of the standard presumptive range for that offense, without the possibility of a suspended sentence. On top of that baseline, the law adds an additional five years to the mandatory sentence whenever a deadly weapon or semiautomatic assault weapon was specifically involved.
The Enhancer Applies Even Without A Criminal Record
Unlike many sentencing provisions that scale up based on prior convictions, this enhancer applies to first-time offenders the same way it applies to someone with an extensive record. A judge does have limited discretion to depart from the enhanced range in certain circumstances, but that discretion is narrow and does not apply automatically just because a case involves a first offense. Prosecutors are often unwilling to negotiate around the enhancer at all once it has been formally charged, which makes an early challenge to the underlying weapon allegation far more valuable than trying to argue for leniency later.
What Prosecutors Have To Prove For This To Apply
The enhancement is not automatic just because a weapon happened to be present somewhere nearby during an alleged offense. Prosecutors generally need to establish that the weapon was used, possessed, or threatened in connection with the specific felony charged, and challenging that connection is often where a defense actually has room to work. Christian A. Schwaner, P.C. reviews the underlying police reports closely in these cases specifically to test whether the weapon allegation actually holds up under the statute’s requirements.
Why This Distinction Matters So Much At Sentencing
The gap between a standard felony sentence and a crime of violence sentence can mean years of additional time in the Department of Corrections, which makes this one of the most consequential legal questions in a weapons-related case. Anyone facing a felony charge where a weapon is even mentioned in the police report should talk to a Colorado Springs weapon charges lawyer before assuming the standard sentencing range still applies.
Talk Through Your Case Before The Next Hearing
If a weapons charge or an underlying felony with a weapon allegation is sitting on your calendar, the sentencing exposure may be higher than the charge itself suggests. Reach out and let’s go through the police report together to see exactly what the prosecution actually has to prove.
