Former mining town of Creede, Colorado, below forested slopes, where rural defense work means long drives

For defense counsel in all 23 judicial districts

Criminal Defense Investigations in Colorado, Built for the Lawyer Who Has to Try the Case

Delator Group handles criminal defense investigations in Colorado for lawyers who need an investigator working from the defense side: locating and interviewing witnesses, documenting scenes, testing timelines and pulling public records. Every assignment is directed by counsel, scoped and priced in writing first, and reported in a form you can use at a preliminary hearing, a motions hearing or trial.

Directed by counsel from the first call
Witnesses located, interviewed and documented
Written scope and price before work

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$1,000+Single felony defense investigation
$750+Misdemeanor defense investigation
WrittenScope and price before work starts
5.0Google rating (18 reviews)

Quick answer

What do criminal defense investigations in Colorado involve?

A defense investigator gathers facts the prosecution may not have looked for: witnesses who were never interviewed, video that will soon be overwritten, scene measurements and records that test the arrest narrative. In Colorado that work follows the case from county court or district court through trial. Counsel directs every step, and our felony defense investigations page shows a typical scope.

01Our role

A Defense Investigator Working Only for Counsel

Delator Group is a licensed Tennessee private investigation firm headquartered in Nashville, with leadership from military and federal law enforcement backgrounds. That background matters on the defense side, because our people know how a police report is assembled and where it tends to be thin. We have no Colorado office; we assign investigators to the county where the case is pending. Work product goes to counsel only, and nothing is shared with anyone else without your direction. Lawyers new to us often start with our Colorado attorney services page.

Every file begins with a written scope and price. A misdemeanor investigation generally starts at $750, a single felony at $1,000 and multiple or enhanced charges at $1,500, with field time at $100 per hour. You approve each phase, so an investigation never quietly outruns its budget. When the right first step is unclear, a short defense case consultation can rank the leads before anyone goes to the field. The full schedule of case minimums sits on our Colorado investigation fee schedule.

Historic domed building with an arched entrance, representing the courts where criminal defense cases are tried — Photo: Alex OToole / Unsplash

02Courts

Matching Criminal Defense Investigations in Colorado to the Right Court

Colorado's trial courts sit in 23 judicial districts. The newest, the 23rd, began on January 14, 2025 and covers Douglas, Elbert and Lincoln counties, while the 18th now covers Arapahoe County alone. A case filed in Castle Rock in 2024 may have moved to a different district's docket, so we confirm the court and case number at intake. Felonies are heard in district court, while county courts handle misdemeanors, traffic matters and preliminary steps in many cases. For Douglas County files we staff Castle Rock defense investigators.

Denver works differently. The City and County of Denver has separate County, District, Probate and Juvenile courts, and Denver District Court criminal cases are heard at the Lindsey-Flanigan Courthouse on West Colfax Avenue. Federal prosecutions run through the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado, with court locations in Denver, Colorado Springs, Grand Junction and Durango, and appeals go to the Tenth Circuit in Denver. Our Denver criminal defense investigators handle both state and federal files there.

Distance shapes the budget in rural districts. A case in the 12th District in the San Luis Valley or the 22nd in Montezuma County may require a full day of driving for one interview, so we schedule witness contacts in clusters and quote the travel in writing before the trip. Southern Colorado cases near Walsenburg and Trinidad are planned with our Pueblo-based defense coverage so one drive covers several tasks.

03Field work

Witness Interviews, Scene Work and Video Before It Disappears

Most of the value in a defense investigation comes early. Store and traffic video is often overwritten within days or weeks, bar staff change jobs, and a witness who was certain in month one is vague by month six. We canvass the scene, identify cameras and request preservation through counsel, photograph and measure sight lines, and document lighting at the same hour as the incident. Missing witnesses are found through a Colorado witness background check and a locate.

Interviews are conducted with care for the rules. Colorado is generally a one-party consent state for recording under C.R.S. § 18-9-304, but we still ask a witness for permission before recording, because a consented recording reads better in front of a jury. We never imply we are law enforcement, and we report statements verbatim with the date, time and place. Counsel decides whether to request a written statement or a subpoena, and our team can then deliver it through Colorado process service for subpoenas.

Video canvass and preservation requests through counsel
Scene photographs, measurements and lighting checks
Recorded interviews with the witness's permission
Locates for witnesses who have moved

04Impaired driving

Investigating Colorado DUI and DWAI Charges

Colorado's impaired-driving statute, C.R.S. § 42-4-1301, generally separates DUI, where a driver is substantially incapable of safe operation, from DWAI, impairment to the slightest degree. A blood alcohol concentration of 0.08 or more within two hours of driving is DUI per se, and 5 nanograms or more of delta-9 THC per milliliter of whole blood generally permits an inference of drug impairment. Those thresholds turn on timing, so the timeline from driving to testing matters. Counsel orders this work as a Colorado DUI defense investigation.

We document the stop location, road grade, lighting and weather, identify businesses and residences with cameras, and find passengers or bystanders. A fourth DUI after three or more prior qualifying convictions is generally a class 4 felony, so prior-record research also matters. Mountain stops on I-70 or US 285 add their own facts, such as chain-law conditions and roadside space for sobriety tests, which we photograph during comparable conditions when counsel asks. Smaller traffic-related charges can be handled as misdemeanor defense work in Colorado, and a driver who left the scene is often found through a Colorado locate for defense counsel.

05Records

Public Records, Criminal History and Impeachment Research

Colorado offers several records routes. The Colorado Bureau of Investigation's Internet Criminal History Check is a name-based search of Colorado criminal history only, and each result carries a fee. The Colorado Open Records Act, C.R.S. § 24-72-201 and following, lets any person inspect public records, with a presumed response time of three working days that can generally be extended by up to seven more. Criminal justice records follow a separate statute, so we request those through the channel counsel prefers and document every request in the file.

Impeachment work stays factual. We compile a witness's public court history, civil filings, prior addresses and online statements, verify each item against the source, and flag anything that needs confirmation before it is used. Jury selection research for trial is handled as a jury pool background check, limited to lawful public sources. When a case involves online threats or messages, our cyber harassment investigations preserve the posts and accounts at issue.

06Funding

Working With Retained and Appointed Defense Counsel

The Office of the Colorado State Public Defender staffs 21 regional trial offices, from Alamosa and Trinidad to Sterling and Steamboat Springs, and conflicts go to other appointed counsel. We did not confirm how each office or the alternate defense counsel system funds outside investigators, so we price every task separately and in writing. That lets an appointed lawyer attach a clear estimate to a funding request. Our appointed counsel investigation service is built around that need.

Retained counsel get the same structure. You see the cost of each phase before approving it, the investigator reports to you rather than to the client, and invoices list tasks and hours in plain terms. That separation protects privilege and keeps a family paying for a defense from wondering where the money went. Serious matters, including homicide, overdose and vehicular cases, are scoped as Colorado felony defense investigations with phases tied to court dates.

07Case types

Colorado Defense Matters With Their Own Investigative Needs

Some case types need specific work. In stalking and harassment prosecutions under C.R.S. §§ 18-3-602 and 18-9-111, the question is often whether contact was repeated, intended and caused distress, which turns on message logs, location records and witnesses to the relationship. Drug-distribution and overdose cases depend on phone records, timelines and the last people to see the decedent, handled through our drug overdose investigations. Hit-and-run charges often need vehicle and witness locates through hit-and-run skip tracing.

Custody and confinement conditions can also be at issue. When a client reports mistreatment in a jail or prison, we document the account and identify witnesses through counsel, following facility rules for visits and calls, as described on our correctional facility abuse investigations page. Military-connected clients near Fort Carson, Peterson or the Air Force Academy may face parallel civilian and military processes, and we coordinate any investigation with civilian counsel's strategy.

Bookshelf filled with volumes, representing records research behind a criminal defense investigation — Photo: Matthew Kirk / Unsplash

Services

Defense Investigation Services in Colorado

How it works

How a Colorado Defense Investigation Runs

01
Intake with counsel
We review the charging documents, discovery received so far and counsel's theory, then agree on what must be found and what must not be disturbed.
02
Written scope and price
You receive a phased estimate tied to the preliminary hearing, motions and trial dates. Nothing starts until counsel approves it, and each later phase is quoted separately in writing.
03
Field and records work
Investigators canvass scenes, ask counsel to send preservation letters for video, locate and interview witnesses, and request public records, logging every contact, call and source along the way.
04
Report to counsel
Findings go to the lawyer only, in a dated report that separates witness statements, our own observations and open questions, with the investigator available to testify if counsel decides that helps.

Compare

Colorado Defense Investigation Pricing by Case Type

Case type	Typical work	Starting price
Misdemeanor	One scene, key witnesses, video canvass	$750+
Single felony	Scene, witnesses, records and timeline	$1,000+
Multiple or enhanced charges	Phased work across several events	$1,500+
DUI or DWAI	Stop location, cameras, passengers	$750+ (misdemeanor) or $1,000+ (felony)
Hourly field time	Interviews, travel and surveillance	$100 per hour

Statewide coverage

Defense Investigation Coverage Across Colorado

Metro Denver defense work extends to Adams, Arapahoe and Jefferson county courts, and our Lakewood defense investigators cover the Jefferson Combined Court in Golden. Southern Colorado files, including the 10th District, run through Pueblo criminal defense support. Boulder County matters, from the Combined Court on 6th Street to Longmont, are staffed by Boulder investigators, and northern cases in Larimer County go to our Fort Collins defense team. Western Slope and southwest cases are scheduled in clusters to keep travel predictable.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

When should a Colorado defense lawyer bring in an investigator?

As early as possible. Video is overwritten, witnesses move and memories fade, often within weeks of an arrest. An investigator brought in before the preliminary hearing or first motions deadline can preserve evidence that will not exist later. Even when the budget is tight, a single early phase focused on video and key witnesses usually returns the most value.

Can a defense investigator record witness interviews in Colorado?

Because the investigator is a party to the interview, Colorado's one-party consent rule in C.R.S. § 18-9-304 generally permits a recording. We still ask permission before recording and state it on the tape, which avoids disputes later about whether the witness knew. Our one-party consent guide for Colorado covers the details.

How much do criminal defense investigations in Colorado cost?

Our case-based starting prices are $750 for a misdemeanor, $1,000 for a single felony and $1,500 for multiple or enhanced charges, with field time at $100 per hour. Every phase is quoted in writing and approved by counsel before it begins. The full schedule is on our Colorado pricing list.

Can court-appointed defense lawyers in Colorado hire Delator?

Yes. We work with appointed lawyers and price each task separately so it can be attached to a funding request. We did not confirm the internal funding process of the State Public Defender or the alternate defense counsel system, so counsel should confirm what approval is needed. The investigator then reports to counsel exactly as on a retained case.

Will your investigator testify at a Colorado trial?

If counsel decides testimony is useful, the investigator who did the work can testify about what was found, how scenes were documented and how statements were taken. We prepare reports with that possibility in mind, keeping notes, photographs and recordings organized and dated. Counsel controls whether and how the investigator is disclosed as a witness.

Can you find a witness who left Colorado?

Usually. We start with records work and then confirm a current address in the field, whether the witness moved to Wyoming, New Mexico or across the country. Remote locates start at $102 for a basic database trace, and field confirmation is quoted separately. Counsel can then arrange an interview or a subpoena, and our Colorado skip tracing page explains the method.

Does Delator need a Colorado investigator license for defense work?

No state license is needed because none exists right now. Colorado's mandatory investigator license ran from 2015 until 2020 and lapsed when HB20-1207 was vetoed. Delator Group is a licensed Tennessee private investigation firm and works to Tennessee's standard in Colorado, and we confirm local business-license requirements before field work. Defense lawyers comparing vendors can use our investigator vetting guide as a checklist.

Can you obtain officer-worn video or 911 recordings?

Those records are generally requested through counsel's discovery or through the records custodian under Colorado's criminal justice records law, which differs from the general open records act. We can prepare and track requests where counsel wants us to, but we do not summarize that statute's rules here. Discovery remains the primary route in a pending case.

How do federal criminal cases in Colorado differ?

Federal cases are prosecuted in the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado, which has court locations in Denver, Colorado Springs, Grand Junction and Durango, and appeals go to the Tenth Circuit. Federal discovery and timelines differ from state practice, so we plan the investigation around the scheduling order. The investigative methods themselves are the same, and our Colorado Springs investigators support files at the Wahsatch Avenue location.

Do you handle cases in rural Colorado counties?

Yes. We assign investigators to every county, including the San Luis Valley, the Eastern Plains and the southwest. Rural work usually costs more in travel time, so we group interviews and site visits into planned trips and quote the travel in writing. Weather on mountain passes can move a date, and we tell counsel as soon as it does.

Every service

Investigations available in Colorado

Every service below is available in Colorado and across Colorado, run by the same Delator Group leadership that manages our Tennessee casework. Choose a service to read how it works in Colorado.

Core services

Infidelity

Surveillance

Background checks

Privacy

Personal information OSINT wipe

Corporate