Posted on 05/27/2012 7:39:12 PM PDT by grundle
Zoey Ripple (the drunk home invader)
Timothy Justice and Doreen Orion (the owners of the home)
The Boulder County District Attorney's Office announced Friday it will file felony trespassing charges against the 21-year-old University of Colorado graduate who was shot after police say she drunkenly wandered into a couple's Boulder home early Wednesday.
Yet defense attorney Colette Cribari said the incident was "out of character" for Ripple, who graduated from CU two weeks ago.
"She didn't enter the house with any intent of committing a crime or harming anyone," Cribari said Friday. "We're thankful she was not killed or more seriously hurt, but we're disappointed they decided to file charges on top of all this."
Prosecutors will file charges of first-degree criminal trespass of a dwelling -- a felony -- next week, according to the DA's Office.
Cribari said Ripple remains hospitalized but would not say where. Boulder Community Hospital officials said Ripple was not a patient there.
Police say Ripple entered the bedroom of a house at 425 College Ave. at 3:30 a.m. Wednesday. The screen door was closed, but unlocked.
The owners of the house, identified by county property records as Timothy Justice and Doreen Orion, were in bed when they heard Ripple come in. In the darkness, they shouted to warn the intruder to leave and that they had a gun, but Ripple continued walking through the bedroom, and Justice fired one shot, police said.
When the homeowners turned on the lights, they saw Ripple on the floor with a gunshot wound to her hip and called 911, police said. They said they did not recognize her as anyone they knew.
The house, which county records show was bought for $1.7 million in 2004 and is listed for sale at $2.75 million, is at the western end of Boulder, where College Avenue dead-ends into the foothills.
Officials said preliminary tests indicate that Ripple's blood alcohol level was above 0.2 at the time of the incident.
District Attorney Stan Garnett said his office typically prosecutes about 12 to 15 cases a year involving drunken trespassing. He said there was a similar case Thursday night, though nobody was hurt.
"We see this pretty frequently," he said.
Garnett said the main goal in prosecuting such cases is to get defendants treatment for their alcohol habits. Although first-degree criminal trespassing can carry a sentence of one to five years in prison, Garnett said in cases like this, prosecutors often opt for treatment or lesser pleas in lieu of prison time.
"We try to help the person get the treatment they need for their drinking," he said.
Colorado court records show that Ripple was previously arrested on suspicion of shoplifting in Broomfield in 2010 and pleaded guilty. The charge was dismissed after a deferred sentence, records show.
Citing the "make my day" law, officials announced Thursday that no charges will be filed against Justice for shooting Ripple.
Justice and Orion are both psychiatrists. They haven't spoken publicly about the shooting.
According to a 1999 online article in Psychiatric News, Orion was stalked for at least a decade by a schizophrenic woman she treated briefly at an Arizona hospital. The article said the woman even followed her to Colorado and moved into the same Boulder neighborhood.
Colorado court records show that a restraining order was issued in 1994, prohibiting a Denver woman, who was then 42, from coming within 50 yards of Orion's office, home or car. The reasons for the restraining order -- or whether it was connected to the stalking case -- were not clear.
“Apparently the stalking ended 18 years ago.”
What walks out of the mountains just up the street and often is found stalking the streets of Boulder is good reason to lock one’s doors.
Google cougar, Boulder, CO.
I will be waiting for her mugshot.
I saw you also posted to the person I was posting to. We were joking, save your pious bullshit for someone else.
Tell you what...you enter my house (drunk or sober) and I will shot you no questions asked. You have no right to be there. Period. End of story
Get serious. I am not going to ruin my dark adapted eyes by turning on the light. NOONE has the right to be in my home in the middle of the frigging night. Expect to be shot if you are.
I hear ya. The kids are long gone. I’ll reach over to make sure the wife’s there, then it’s game on.
Course, this stumbling drunk would have had the three dogs up in arms first, but anyways......
exactly
My Liberal as the day is long B-I-L called me up the other day to ask my opinion on what Shotgun he should buy for Home Protection.
I answered his questions and gave my recommendation, all the while biting my lip.
These people Vote for Politicians that would not bat an eye disarming the entire population. Useful Idiots all.
Agree! Nobody should shoot without knowing who/what they are shooting at. Could have been a 10 year old for all they knew!
I’m not arguing with your position.
But you’ve got to admit that it’s damned stupid to go to bed in a mulit-million dollar home and leave the doors unlocked!
What is a 10 year old doing in my house that early in the morning? Police say Ripple entered the bedroom of a house at 3:30 a.m. She’s just damn lucky he didn’t have a 12 guage, with number 4’s, that would be 21 pellets(6 mm)coming at you at 1,300 ft per second! It’s easy to plug one bullet hole, now try 21 bullet holes.
That left a claw mark hon
I agree with u two
Some freepers go nuts about blast away
And likely regret the guy didnt empty his gun in her ...no jokes on that one please
I have been right where they were....common sense is a plus .if one has some
There are no do-overs. If they had killed that girl they would probably regret it for a long time. I’m quite well armed, thank you. But I think it most unwise to be shooting at motion in the dark. I want my targets well identified so I keep my booger hooker off the bang switch until I am sure I want to do a lead injection. I think it is the best practice.
In some parts of this country you can still do that (Boulder isn’t one of those parts)
Yeah I agree it is stupid and more’s the shame
She just followed me home, dear.. can we keep her?
Drunk at Martha`s Vineyard, eh? Well at least didn`t drive a car off a bridge and drown someone. If you`re a member of the MA royal family, you can do that and get clean away with it.
Oh that’s right! I was just a visitor there. No MA ‘royals’ were there at the time, so the island was a little safer that day.
Zoey is pretty - consequently, not guilty.
Much like the libs do with blacks and social justice
Yes, and if you shoot blindly at a noise you could give away your position and draw fire. Moreover blasting away in the dark endangers other occupants of the building as well as neighbors.
The right to arm ones self isn't all manly shoulder-swinging and fun. Keeping a gun carries with it great responsability. The first responsability of packing heat is KNOW WHAT YOU ARE SHOOTING AT.
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