First large-capacity magazine charge filed in Larimer
The man accused of threatening to burn down a college campus building in Fort Collins has been charged with illegal possession of a high-capacity magazine, marking the first time the charge has been filed in Northern Colorado since controversial legislation was signed into law more than two years ago.
The Larimer County District Attorney filed the charge last week against 29-year-old David Moscow, who was arrested after a psychologist reported him to police and said he was making threats about shooting a security guard and burning down a building at Front Range Community College if administrators didn't re-enroll him, arrest documents show.
While he was on a 72-hour hold, investigators searched his home and vehicle and found an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle, a Glock .40-caliber handgun and hundreds of rounds of ammunition. That was in addition to multiple large-capacity magazines for both firearms — magazines that came under fire in 2013 during a round of legislation immediately following mass shootings in Connecticut and Colorado.
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The Coloradoan requested district attorney's office personnel search records to determine how often the large-capacity magazine charge — Colorado Revised Statute 18-12-302 — was filed since Gov. John Hickenlooper signed the measure into law in July 2013.
Outside of Moscow's case in Fort Collins, that charge has never been filed in Larimer, Weld or Boulder counties.
Specific language under the law notes that a person who "sells, transfers or possesses a large-capacity magazine commits a Class 2 misdemeanor." Large-capacity is defined as a magazine that is designed to accept or can be converted to hold more than 15 rounds of ammunition.
Legally speaking, the charge rises to the level of a Class 6 felony in this case because Moscow reportedly possessed the magazine during the commission of a felony — a measure built into the criminal code at the time of its adoption.
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The legislative move in 2013 came in the wake of multiple mass shootings across the country — interest spiked after the shooting spree in Newtown, Conn. The Colorado march was led by Democrats and was met by fierce opposition among some Colorado leaders.
Among the most outspoken was Larimer County Sheriff Justin Smith, a Republican who has continued to lobby against stricter gun control measures. Six months after the bill was signed into law, Smith maintained the laws were "unenforceable." He, alongside law enforcement officials elsewhere in the state have vowed in the past not to enforce the laws because they were too vague, cumbersome and, they said, infringed on Second Amendment rights.
The law bans the sale, transfer and possession of ammunition magazines that hold more than 15 rounds, the exception being if the individual owned the magazine prior to July 1, 2013. The other arm of the law requires background checks of all private firearms transfers in Colorado. Violating either then became a misdemeanor offense.
Critics of the legislation also argue that Northern Colorado residents can make the short trip into Wyoming to buy magazines that hold more than 15 rounds, effectively skirting the sale bans.
“The truth is that magazine restrictions are about as effective at deterring criminals as gun free zones. Both can make certain people feel good, but in the end, they do nothing to protect the community,” Smith wrote in an email Sunday.
While he commended Fort Collins police for their work on the case, he said time will tell how the prosecution pans out on the magazine charge. Felons are already banned from possessing firearms. This charge adds a new element that has to be proven.
“Even if you believe the restrictions were reasonable or effective, you also have to essentially find a receipt proving when the individual came into possession of the magazines,” he said.
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Democrats in 2013 pushed for the reform. Sen. John Kefalas, D-Fort Collins, supported limits on large-capacity magazine and mandatory background checks. On Sunday he said the Moscow case and subsequent charges were proof that the measures in place can work, even amid issues.
"The system worked to protect the public," Kefalas wrote in an email to the Coloradoan. "...It seems to me there is value to the law prohibiting large-capacity magazines if we can save one life despite the enforcement challenges.”
It was not immediately clear how often, if ever, the charge has been administered in counties outside of Northern Colorado.
Moscow posted his $37,500 cash bond on Saturday, was issued an ankle monitor and barred from coming within 50 yards of any FRCC property. After he allegedly drove past the Fort Collins location, a notification was sent to law enforcement, and campus administrators issued a lockout order that lasted through the afternoon.
He is due in court Monday.
Reporter Jason Pohl covers breaking news for the Coloradoan. Follow him on Twitter: @pohl_jason.