DENVER — The active duty military members detained in an early-morning federal raid of an illegal Colorado Springs nightclub Sunday could be facing a months-long investigation and may be subject to charges in both criminal and military court, a military defense attorney told the Scripps News Group.
Fort Carson confirmed that some of its service members were at the underground club when agents from at least 10 federal agencies busted a party there around 3 a.m. Sunday. The Drug Enforcement Administration said more than a dozen military service members were at the club either as patrons or working as security.
The Army Criminal Investigations Division said in its own statement that it was conducting a joint investigation with the DEA. It was not immediately clear how many were suspected of criminal activity.
In a military investigation, though, a service member’s conduct is judged against the Uniform Code of Military Justice, a set of rules for military personnel. Violations of the UCMJ are considered crimes by military standards – and even a service member’s commanding officers can face repercussions for the service member’s infractions.
To better understand the complexities of a military investigation, Denver7 investigator Jaclyn Allen spoke with Joseph Jordan, a military defense attorney.
Jordan said it is likely that an internal, commander-directed investigation is already underway that will look into the command and its vetting and safety protocols.
“The buck stops with the command, and they have to know what's going on with their service members,” Jordan said.
Eventually, it is possible the case winds up in the hands of a military judge, but there are several steps before that point, he said.
The Army CID does not make charging decisions. If the Army CID decides there is probable cause, the case would be handed off to the Office of Special Trial Council, an evaluating body that exists within each branch of the military, which is tasked with the charging decision. If the OTSC decides to file charges, the case must go through a preliminary hearing and then to the commanding officer who ultimately decides if the case should go to trial by a court martial.
For the crimes alleged in the Colorado Springs incident – drug trafficking, prostitution and crimes of violence, according to the DEA – Jordan said an investigation could last anywhere between six and 18 months.
The investigation won’t just entail the service members who were at the makeshift nightclub early Sunday morning, either. The spotlight will be shone on all levels of the chain of command.
“Working in a nightclub as a security guard where there's [alleged] prostitution going on, if you're a night guard, you probably should know that. And if you don't know that, the question is, why? Why don't you know that?” Jordan explained. “But then it goes up the chain, right? [...] Each service member has a team leader they answer to. Each team leader has a squad leader they answer to. Each squad leader has a platoon sergeant they answer to. Each platoon sergeant has a first sergeant they answer to.”
“So this is how we have command, control and accountability, and know what's going on with our service members.”
Because criminal and military court are separate jurisdictions, double jeopardy – a person being tried twice for the same offense – doesn’t apply, Jordan said, so it is possible a service member found to have engaged in criminal activity could face charges in both courts.
Jordan said it comes down to a higher standard to which members of the military are held.
Still, service members are considered innocent until proven guilty. Jordan said people shouldn’t rush to judgment.
“I wouldn't have a knee-jerk reaction that just because service members were there, that some wrongdoing occurred or that they were involved in it,” he said. “Let the evidence play out. Let the case play out. Before you start having opinions on the matter.”
