New 11th Judicial District attorney outlines staffing, discovery fixes and budget goals for Custer County

Jeff Lindsay, the district attorney for Colorado’s 11th Judicial District, told the Custer County Board of County Commissioners on July 23 that he has made personnel, process and technology changes since assuming office in late 2024 and January 2025.

Lindsay said he has reorganized investigators and prosecutors, hired a part‑time appellate deputy and a dedicated Department of Corrections prosecutor, and reestablished an office manager. "I show up every day," Lindsay said of his work schedule. He added the office raised salaries for victim advocates and focused on morale. "When there's an opening and all of a sudden this person comes to you and says I wanna work for you, it's sort of, to me, heaven sent." (Jeff Lindsay, District Attorney.)

Lindsay said the office rebuilt its discovery process and invested in faster computers for staff handling electronic evidence. He told commissioners that updating equipment and centralizing discovery work had reduced sanctions and dismissals that occurred under prior practices. "If computers, laptops are more than 4 years old, then the processing speed is way too slow," he said, describing how cloud-based files require higher processing performance.

On staffing, Lindsay described three investigators assigned across the district, including a retired lieutenant from Albuquerque and a longtime homicide‑drug detective, and said he expects to seek an additional investigator in a future budget cycle. He also described a newly created chief deputy assigned to Chaffee County and said some turnover was expected as he rebuilt the office.

On budgeting, Lindsay said the office will aim to restore an operating cushion he described as roughly $400,000–$500,000, a contingency the office had before prior administrations. He told the commissioners the office had run tight budget months in late 2024 and early 2025 but had since stabilized.

Lindsay also described improvements to the office’s public access and on‑call procedures for law enforcement, saying the office now maintains 24/7 attorney availability for warrant review and legal questions. He said the office had replaced an automated phone system with a live receptionist.

On prosecutions, Lindsay said his office intends to be more aggressive with repeated offenders and emphasized wildland‑fire cases as an ongoing priority for the district. He said his office is prosecuting a major murder case transferred to Fremont County and noted motions on venue were pending.

The district attorney’s comments prompted questions from county officials about investigator staffing, budget cushion size and responsiveness to election‑related referrals from the county clerk; Lindsay said investigators will follow up on election referrals and agreed his team would contact the clerk’s office about a historical set of signature‑verification referrals.

Speakers at the meeting praised Lindsay’s accessibility. Mike DeLaurentiis, chief of staff at the Custer County Sheriff’s Office, said in public comment that Lindsay and his staff were "more accessible" and that returning prosecutors such as assistant district attorney Stacy Turner were positive developments for local law enforcement.

The board did not take formal action on the DA’s report; Lindsay’s presentation was informational and commissioners asked him to return for follow‑up on budgeting and interagency coordination.