Aurora police have a suspect in the American flag desecration incident at the ICE facility, but they’re keeping her name and most everything else a secret from the public, and that’s not okay.
Do police keep the names of people charged with other crimes a secret from the public? No.
So what makes this case, or the suspect, so special that they get privacy protection when they’re cited for committing a crime?
That’s right, the suspect wasn’t arrested, she was given a ticket for criminal tampering.
Not trespassing, not destruction of property, just the one citation — criminal tampering with the property of another with the intent to cause injury, inconvenience, annoyance, or impairment of services.
The mystery suspect will appear in court on a secret date. We can’t tell you exactly what penalty they face, because we don’t know if it’s a first or second degree charge.
A second degree charge involves penalties not exceeding $1,000 and a possible 3-12 months in jail. First degree carries a fine up to $5,000 and possibly 6 to 18 months in jail.
On Wednesday, police said in a news release that an adult woman had been cited, though they declined to release her name or other details without an official records request. The Denver Post has submitted a request.
We will be interested to see if the Post gets the information before or after the suspect’s secret court appearance.
Police are still searching for more mystery suspects, whom we suppose will also remain a mystery.