The two officers accused of planning the shooting and disposal of a trophy elk on Mapleton Hill on New Year's Day are set to stand trial in October after entering not guilty pleas in Boulder District Court this morning.
Sam Carter, 36, and Brent Curnow, 38 had both of their trials set for the week of Oct. 14 with attorneys anticipating a motion will be filed to try both of the cases as one. Attorneys for both sides said they expect the trial to take about two weeks.
They are also set for a motions hearing on Sept. 4.
Carter and Curnow are each charged with two counts of tampering with physical evidence, a Class 6 felony, one count of forgery, a Class 5 felony, and one count of attempting to influence a public official,
a Class 4 felony.
They also face misdemeanor counts of first-degree official misconduct, illegal possession of a trophy elk with a Samson Law surcharge, conspiracy to commit illegal possession of wildlife, unlawfully taking of a big game animal out of season, and unlawful use of an electronic communication device to unlawfully take wildlife.
According to an arrest affidavit, Carter -- while on duty -- shot and killed the elk near Mapleton Avenue and Ninth Street on Jan. 1. Curnow -- who was scheduled to be on duty but had called in sick that day -- then arrived in his pickup truck to haul away the carcass.
While Carter told police he shot the elk because he saw it was injured, a necropsy revealed no evidence of a prior injury to the elk, and dispatch records show Carter did not report the shooting.
Text-messaging records also show conversations about killing the elk between Carter and Curnow almost 20 hours before the shooting.
Carter and Curnow resigned after an internal investigation was launched by the Boulder Police Department.
Both men are free on $20,000 personal recognizance bonds.
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