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A dispute over crime policies in Aurora, Colorado, has led to the recall attempt of a newly-elected district attorney.
Aurora Councilwoman At Large Danielle Jurinsky is attempting to have Arapahoe County District Attorney Amy Padden removed from office after several high-profile instances of what she says are inadequate crime policies, including the recent dismissal of charges against Solomon Galligan, an alleged registered sex offender who is accused of trying to kidnap a child on video.
“What has been going on over the past six months, several different things,” said Jurinsky. “She has dismissed cases that absolutely should have been prosecuted. She has given out a lot of probation for felony crimes, misdemeanor crimes, crimes that should have warranted several years in prison.”
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Galligan, 33, faced one count of attempted kidnapping after he allegedly tried to snatch an 11-year-old boy from a playground at a local elementary school.
Aurora police previously reported that Galligan is a registered sex offender, with his registration tied to the Pueblo County Sheriff’s Office. He was found incompetent to stand trial, which in the state of Colorado, means he must be released from custody, Padden’s office told Fox News Digital earlier this month.
“From what I understand is that I don’t know how else to put it, but that Amy Padden went shrink shopping to find someone to make sure that they would say that Solomon Galligan was not fit to stand trial,” Jurinsky, an Aurora native, military veteran and business owner told Fox News Digital.
“My knowledge of this individual is they have been found mentally incompetent multiple times on previous criminal cases in different judicial districts outside [Arapahoe County],” Ross said. “So there is a history of documented mental illness. It’s not like this is a one-and-done where this person has never been on anyone’s radar, and they found somebody to write them a note to say that they’re mentally incompetent.”
“And instead of coming out and saying that Amy Padden is at least going to hold this individual in the state mental health hospital, she just makes a statement that charges are going to be dismissed, and this individual is going to be released,” said Jurinsky. “She is trying to now walk that back and say that Solomon is going to go to the state mental health hospital, but not giving a timeline, not giving any information.”
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Eric Ross is the Public Information Officer for the Arapahoe County District Attorney’s Office.
“Regarding the Galligan case, we cannot take a case to trial when a defendant has been deemed mentally incompetent,” he told Fox News Digital. “We are required to adhere to state law which requires charges be dismissed. With that said, the defendant is being permanently committed to a mental institution.”
However, Jurinsky said Galligan’s release isn’t the only issue, noting that she’s been observing a pattern of soft-on-crime policies since Padden took office six months ago.
“The situation with Kaitlyn Weaver, beautiful 24-year-old Aurora resident, was on her way home from work, broad daylight, was T-boned by a 15-year-old in this country illegally with two small children in the back of the van as well,” Jurinsky noted as another example. “He stole the van from his mother. Kailtyn Weaver was killed instantly.”
The unnamed teen was offered a plea deal and given probation for the crime.
“The original charge was for vehicular homicide and the guilty plea was for Vehicular Homicide,” Ross said. “Contrary to what the general public may think, vehicular homicide charges do not carry the same penalties as first or second-degree murder.”
He said citizens can petition their elected leaders if they want “stricter penalties for these types of cases.”
As for the recall, which will be formally announced Tuesday, Padden says everything is in place.
“We have formed our committee. We have registered it with the secretary of state. It has been approved with the county clerk,” she said. “And then at that moment, we will begin raising money. We don’t need a lot of money for this effort, but we will need some to print the petition packets and probably hire some signature gatherers. And then we will be well underway. I will be the first signature on that petition, and we will be underway to getting 75,000 [signatures] out of Arapahoe County.”
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The 75,000 mark is the threshold for officially recalling Padden. Jurinsky and her supporters have 60 days to acquire the signatures. If they succeed, Padden will have five days to decide whether she will resign, or whether she will run for her seat again.
Jurinsky said she doesn’t think garnering the signatures will be a challenge, and plans on hosting events and even going door-to-door as part of the effort.
“If you hurt somebody in the city of Aurora, I’m an Aurora City Council member,” she said. “I need to be standing up for the people of Aurora. And that means protecting them. That means focusing on public safety. So I take on a lot of extra duties, if you will. And sometimes that’s alone. I’m OK with that.”
Ross says he’s reached out twice to Jurinsky seeking other examples of cases she believes were not handled properly, but has not heard back.
In 2024, Aurora was also subject to a suspected Tren de Aragua gang takeover of an apartment complex, which became a rallying point for then-candidate Donald Trump’s reelection bid.
A spokesperson for the city of Aurora said neither the city nor its Mayor Mike Coffman, a former Republican congressman, have anything to do with the recall, and declined to comment further.
Padden did not return a comment request.
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