Laura Tellers is innocent. That’s the first line in a motion to dismiss filed by the attorney representing a Colorado private investigator charged with smuggling drugs into a jail.
“Laura Tellers had nothing to do with any conspiracy to brings drugs into Weld County Jail. The district attorney has been told this repeatedly and instead chooses to believe an incredible inconsistent story. The WCDA (Weld County district attorney) brings this case for impermissible purposes,” says the motion filed by attorney Lee Christian.
Christian’s motion suggests Tellers is an innocent victim of a “plan” devised by an inmate who was trying to get out of jail – and overzealous prosecutors who wanted Tellers, and the defense attorneys she worked for, kicked off a murder case.
“She has a long history of exceptional and credible work for attorneys throughout Weld and Larimer County. She has a teenage son. She is engaged to be married. There are numerous attorneys and judges who will testify as to her honesty, credibility, and reputation,” says the motion.
Tellers, 52, was arrested on November 17 on two counts each of intent to distribute drugs and knowingly introducing contraband. She has plead not guilty and will face trial on July 22.
At the time of her arrest, Tellers was working as an investigator for Fort Collins-based criminal and family law firm, Sedlak Law, which was defending Marquis Daniels, an inmate at Weld County Jail facing murder charges.
According to the Greeley Police Department, Tellers smuggled fentanyl and meth into the jail, concealed in documents before giving them to Daniels who then strapped them to his penis to avoid detection, before selling the drugs to other inmates.
The case against Tellers is largely built on interviews with jailhouse informant Frederick Rios, who shared a cell Daniels. Rios told police Tellers was regularly bringing Daniels drugs.
However, the motion to dismiss suggests Rios is lying and says he would “do anything to get out of jail” and that he is not a credible witness.
“Rios, a seasoned multi-state thief, drug user, and felon, was incarcerated at Weld County Jail in the fall of 2023 due to several pending criminal matters including aggravated robbery.”
The motion says Tellers had no direct contact with Rios. “There is no direct evidence of Ms. Tellers physically bringing drugs to the jail as alleged by Rios. No drugs were seized from Ms. Tellers.”
Police and prosecutors are also accused in the motion of being overzealous.
It says the police case against Tellers “deliberately” leaves out information when it comes to jailhouse phone calls between Rios and his girlfriend, which police claim contain further evidence of Tellers’ guilt.
“The affidavit in support of arrest/search warrant references only a small number of these communications. The jail calls also contained exculpatory information that was deliberately omitted from the affidavits in support of arrest/search warrants.”
Moreover, the motion to dismiss suggests the drug case against Tellers helped police and prosecutors who wanted her kicked off their case against Daniels, who is charged with the 2020 murder of Blaire McQueen, found shot to death in a Greeley apartment.
“The charges against Ms. Tellers were filed just days before she and the attorneys for Marquis Daniels were set for trial. Later, due to the clear conflict that the prosecution’s allegations against Tellers presented, Sedlak and Liu (the lawyers defending Daniels who Tellers worked for) were forced to withdraw. Ms. Tellers and the attorneys were forced off the case. This forced withdrawal was a distinct advantage to the prosecution in the Daniels case.”
“The day after the withdrawal . . . . Ms. Tellers was arrested in front of her family. Her private cell phone containing work product was seized without a warrant.”
