Commerce
City cop sentenced to 2 years probation in Boulder standoff case
A former Commerce City police
officer accused of locking himself while intoxicated in his ex-girlfriend's
Boulder home for several hours with a gun last October was sentenced today to
two years of probation.
David Scott Wilson, 41, also
was ordered by Boulder Chief District Judge Roxanne Bailin to forfeit all of
his firearms and do 100 hours of community service as part of his sentence for
first-degree trespassing.
According to police, a woman
who identified herself as Wilson's ex-girlfriend called 911 on Oct. 2 and said
Wilson had locked himself in her house in the 3200 block of Euclid Avenue and
that he was drunk and armed.
Following a three-hour standoff
-- during which two different robots were sent into the house -- SWAT officers
entered and apprehended Wilson, who was armed with a loaded handgun.
The charge of first-degree
trespassing was punishable by up to three years in prison, but prosecutors
agreed Wilson complied with the terms of his probation and appeared to be
getting help for his depression.
"He is now a convicted
felon, and he is looking at having that for the rest of his life,"
prosecutor Tim Johnson said. "He chose to drink, chose to take
prescription medication, chose for whatever reason to drive to (the victim's)
house. These are choices that Mr. Wilson made. He didn't choose to say, 'I need
to talk to someone,' and that choice snowballed."
Wilson's therapist testified at
the hearing that the incident was a "perfect storm of circumstances,"
including a knee injury that forced him to retire from the Commerce City Police
Department and breaking up with the victim.
Wilson said he is getting help
for his depression and his prescription drug and alcohol use.
"I'm very guilt-ridden and
shamed by my actions that day," Wilson told Bailin.
Bailin said the probation would
give Wilson the chance to get the treatment he should have gotten before the
incident ever occurred.
"I do believe you when you
say that this event was driven by this extreme depression as well as your use
of drugs and alcohol," Bailin said. "I suppose the silver lining in
this is because of this incident you are doing the very important work you
needed to do before."