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Resident asks Mesa County to demand DA data after uninsured-driver plea bargains
Summary
A Plateau Valley resident said uninsured drivers repeatedly damaged her fences and said the Mesa County DA's office has dropped uninsured-driver charges via plea bargains; she urged the commissioners to seek DA records and consider state-level policy changes.
Leslie Wilson of Plateau Valley spoke during public comment about repeated vehicle collisions into fences adjoining Highway 330 and urged the commissioners to seek information from the Mesa County District Attorney's office on plea bargains in uninsured-driver cases.
Wilson said she has incurred more than $4,400 in unrecovered damages and detailed several incidents over the last 10–15 years, adding that the Colorado State Patrol cited one driver for careless driving and driving without insurance before the charge was reportedly dropped by the DA's office through a plea bargain. "I ask the commissioners: demand that the DA provide numbers on plea bargaining by dropping uninsured-driver charges cited by CSP and our sheriff's office over the last 15 years," she said.
Wilson also requested data on how often property owners receive full restitution, suggested the county organize a survey of property owners with five or more acres adjoining state and federal highways, and urged the commissioners to advocate for state policy or statutes to address the problem. The chair thanked Wilson; there was no recorded county action on her requests at the meeting.
