COLORADO SPRINGS — An unexpected court hearing on Friday in the assault case against the suspected UCCS shooter centered around jail video News5 obtained through a records request.
Nicholas Jordan is facing first-degree murder charges for the deaths of two people inside a UCCS dorm room in February. Jordan is also facing assault charges after the El Paso County Sheriff's Office (EPSO) said he punched a deputy while in custody at the El Paso County Jail in March.
News5 requested jail security video of the alleged incident from the El Paso County Sheriff's Office on March 28. The request was granted and the video was sent to our team on April 15.
After News5 called Jordan's defense team for comment, his public defender filed a motion to limit pre-trial publicity. During the court hearing Friday afternoon the EPSO records technician who released the video testified about the process.
She said at the time of receiving the request she didn't know the jail video was related to an active investigation. Under the Colorado Criminal Justice Records Act (CCJRA), criminal justice records can be withheld from the public if they are deemed "contrary to public interest," which is often applied to records part of an active investigation. The EPSO records technician said when reviewing the records request sent by News5, the suspect's assault case was labeled as inactive and said it was cleared by an arrest.
It was revealed during the hearing there was a gap of time before the charges filed by the District Attorney's Office were entered into the records system, explaining the temporary inactive label on the case.
During the hearing, the judge said the records technician did not act outside of EPSO policy with the information she had at the time. The judge ruled to lift the temporary gag order in place.
Jordan is scheduled back in court on May 31 for a hearing to review the results of his second mental competency evaluation which was requested by prosecutors two weeks ago. The suspect's first competency evaluation deemed him incompetent to proceed.
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