District Attorney - Eighth Judicial District - Colorado

10/30/2026

Last night we wrapped up our 2026 Citizens Academy class. Over the last four weeks, these attendees took a deep dive into the criminal justice system and the work we do every day in the DA's Office. From students to law enforcement to curious community members, we had such a great group of participants. Thank you so much for being a part of it!

10/28/2026

Investigators are asking for tips in the case of a missing adult.

In early October, the Larimer County Sheriff’s Office received a report of an abandoned vehicle in an Estes Valley residential area. Deputies responded and found the GMC Sierra parked in the 700 block of Goblins Castle Road. The GMC was registered to Mark Thiebaut Jr., 28, of Grand Lake. Deputies determined that he had rented a nearby vacation home, which had since been occupied by new visitors. Through further investigation, they spoke to members of Mark’s family, who shared concerns about his welfare and said they had not heard from him in over a week.

Investigators confirmed that Mark parked his truck in the neighborhood in early October, but have found no other indication of where he may have gone. They did not find any evidence of foul play. LCSO Investigators, Emergency Services personnel, Patrol Deputies, Larimer Regional All Hazard/Crisis Response team, Larimer County Search and Rescue certified volunteers and trained search dogs, and UCHealth TEMS medics conducted a coordinated search of the surrounding area but did not locate Mark.

Due to the lack of information about his potential whereabouts or intended travel, search efforts were suspended. However, investigators will resume follow up on any leads should additional information become available.

A photo of Mark is attached. Anyone with information about his location or intended destination should contact Investigator Brent Manley at 970-498-5336.

10/28/2026

Today is National First Responders Day, and we are so grateful for the men and women who serve our judicial district every day by answering the call.

Thank you to each member of our community and their families who sacrifice every day to ensure our safety.

10/26/2026

Today, Cassandra Poncelow was sentenced to 16 years in the Department of Corrections, which will be followed by 10 years of s*x offender intensive supervised probation, after our office secured a guilty plea to two counts of s*xual exploitation of a child, a class three felony.

In 2023, Fort Collins Police Services received a report from the Department of Human Services that a student had shared that her school counselor, Cassandra Poncelow, had a s*xual relationship with her over the course of several years. As is common with many survivors who have experienced abuse, sharing the details of their experience can be extremely traumatizing and can often take years to come to terms with. In 2025, the victim contacted law enforcement ready to share the full extent of Poncelow’s abuse.

At this point, she recounted several years of grooming, s*xual assault, and physical abuse she experienced at the hands of Cassandra Poncelow, which led to an arrest in August of 2025. At the time, Fort Collins Police Services was concerned there could be additional victims because of Ms. Poncelow’s tenure in the Poudre School District, and it issued a press release.

Shortly after, an additional victim came forward to detail the abuse she experienced by Poncelow while she was a Young Life Leader. The victim, who was a minor, described multiple incidents of abuse while involved in the program in 2008. Detectives interviewed others involved with Young Life at the time, who recounted that Ms. Poncelow developed a pattern of close relationships with students over whom she had authority.

Throughout this case, our office worked closely with both victims as we prepared for a potential trial; ultimately, we agreed to a resolution to the Department of Corrections that would hold Ms. Poncelow accountable and allow the victims to begin healing from her actions.

The prosecution team, led by Deputy District Attorney Callan Riedel, asked the Court to impose the maximum allowed in the resolution, 16 years, as did the victims and their families.

“She is going to play the victim,” one victim told the Court. “She is not the victim here; she carved the consequences of her actions into my body.”

“I am very proud of our team and law enforcement for securing this significant sentence and holding Ms. Poncelow accountable. The victims in this case are incredibly brave for coming forward,” said District Attorney Gordon McLaughlin. “The strength of these victims directly led to the accountability we saw today and ensures Cassandra Poncelow cannot continue to harm our community.”

If you or someone you know has experienced child s*xual abuse, support resources are available in our community:
ChildSafe
https://www.childsafecolorado.org/
970-472-4133
Crawford Child Advocacy Center
https://crawfordcac.org/
(970) 407-9739
Enough Abuse Campaign
https://enoughabuse.org/get-help/survivor-support/

10/15/2026

Painting the office purple!

Today is Purple Thursday, a National Day of Solidarity with survivors of domestic violence as part of Domestic Violence Awareness Month.

We stand with survivors today and every day. 💜

10/07/2026

10/02/2026

Today, Tymen Langston was sentenced to 28 years in the Department of Corrections after pleading guilty to Assault in the 2nd Degree Strangulation, a class four felony; Extortion-Unlawful Act with a Deadly Weapon, a class four felony; Assault in the 2nd Degree - Cause Injury with a Deadly Weapon, a class four felony; Attempted Unlawful Termination of a Pregnancy, a class four felony; and four counts of Child Abuse, a class one misdemeanor, all but the Child Abuse charges included a domestic violence sentence enhancer.

In May of 2025, Fort Collins Police Services received a call from a woman who reported her husband, Tymen Langston, had been repeatedly abusing her and that, before the call, he had held a gun to her head in front of their children.

The woman called 911 from her smart watch as she attempted to flee her residence with her infant child in her arms. Mr. Langston took the child out of her arms as she fled, and was holding the child when officers arrived. Officers then instructed Mr. Langston to put down the child and comply, but he refused.

Officers decided to rush Tymen to physically restrain him and were able to safely recover the child, who was returned to their mother. Officers then began to listen to the victim recount numerous instances of abuse, including being threatened with a knife and being strangled. She shared that he had killed two of their pets. She also shared with officers surveillance videos of the abuse, taken from security cameras that Mr. Langston had installed to watch the victim when he was out of the home.

During her interview, officers walked her through a tool utilized by Fort Collins Police Services called the Danger Assessment-Law Enforcement, otherwise known as the DA-LE. This series of questions identifies those who are at high-risk of future lethality at the hands of their intimate partner. The assessment asks 11 questions of the victim. If the victim answers “yes” to 7 or more of the 11, they are determined to be high-risk. In this incident, the victim answered “yes” to 10 of the 11 questions, placing her in the high-risk category for future intimate partner homicide.

Cases that screen into that high-risk category are referred to the Domestic Violence High Risk Team (DVHRT.) This countywide effort brings together law enforcement agencies, corrections employees, and community partners to support victims and obtain best outcomes for victims. Our Domestic Violence Unit sits on this team and works closely to collaborate on these cases.

Launched in 2024, the Domestic Violence Unit (DVU) handles our office’s highest-risk cases. This does not always equate to the number or even severity of charges, but we use a variety of tools to assess a victim's risk.

The DVU worked closely with the victim in this case as she navigated the criminal justice process with immense strength and grace. Ultimately, this agreement was reached in order to allow the victim and her family to move forward. The victim was able to make a statement to the Court before the sentence was imposed.

“I am truly blessed to be alive today. God has protected me and my children in the most incredible ways and blessed us with another chance at life,” the victim told the Court. “I will spend the rest of my life pouring into my babies, helping them understand what genuine, unconditional, healthy, safe love and peace look like.”

“October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, and this case being sentenced during this month feels incredibly significant,” said District Attorney Gordon McLaughlin. “Unfortunately, domestic violence happens in our community every day. Behind closed doors, abusers work to keep their victims silent. On that day in May 2025, and again today in front of her abuser, this victim refused to be silent. I am incredibly proud of the members of our DA Domestic Violence Unit team, the multi-agency Domestic Violence High Risk Team, the Fort Collins Police Services team, and, of course, the victim for all their work on this case and for helping the victims to live without fear of Mr. Langston.”

If you or someone you know is experiencing intimate partner violence, help is available:

Alternatives to Violence: 970.669.5150
Crossroads Safehouse & Services 1.888.541.SAFE (7233)
Estes Valley Crisis Advocates: 970-577-9781
Violence Free Colorado: www.violencefreecolorado.org/
National Domestic Violence Hotline: www.thehotline.org/

10/01/2026

Today we were able to swear in three new Deputy District Attorneys: Gabe, Yessica, and Bryce after they recently passed the bar exam!

We also officially swore in Kati as our Senior Deputy District Attorney of County Court.

Please join us in congratulating these four incredible members of our team! ⚖️

09/23/2026

The Crime Victims Fund (CVF) is the primary source of funding for services that support survivors of domestic violence, s*xual assault, child s*xual abuse, trafficking, and other crimes. Today, the CVF is dangerously low, putting critical, lifesaving services and victims’ lives at risk.

Communities are already feeling the impact. Programs like ours have been forced to reduce services, lay off staff, and, in some cases, close their doors entirely. Without immediate action, communities across the country will feel less safe, and more survivors will be left without the support they need to heal, rebuild their lives, and get back to work.

The Crime Victims Fund Stabilization Act ( ) offers a bipartisan, commonsense solution to stabilize the CVF using non-taxpayer dollars, ensuring continuity of services while Congress works toward a long-term fix.

The House unanimously passed the bill, and now, it’s time for the Senate to do the same! : pass the Crime Victims Fund Stabilization Act now. Survivors can’t afford to wait!

09/10/2026

Our facility dog, Zion, was one of the many from around the state who went to Evergreen immediately after the shooting.

We are so proud of how hard he works to support victims and are excited for Evergreen to have a facility dog of their own!

Evergreen High has two new members of its community -- two dogs whose presence has become part of the daily rhythm of the school, offering students and staff something they desperately needed after a shooting shattered their sense of safety.