COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) - A jury has been chosen for the trial of a former Colorado sheriff on extortion charges.
The Colorado Springs Gazette reports (https://bit.ly/2tmEzzH ) the last of 12 jurors and two alternates were selected Wednesday in the case of former El Paso County Sheriff Terry Maketa.
Opening statements are scheduled for Thursday.
Maketa is charged with threatening to terminate a $5.3 million contract with the jail’s health provider if it did not fire an employee who refused to support then-Undersheriff Paula Presley’s candidacy to succeed Maketa.
Maketa is also charged with witness intimidation and official misconduct for allegedly trying to undermine the credibility of three deputies.
Prosecutors on Wednesday dropped charges that Maketa coerced a woman to recant her allegations of domestic violence by a deputy so the deputy could keep his job.
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Information from: The Gazette, https://www.gazette.com
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