CANON CITY -- A former Fremont County sheriff's detective is facing three charges in connection with the alleged mishandling of evidence from a 10-year-old homicide case.
Robert Dodd, who had attained the rank of lieutenant, was charged Thursday with abuse of public records, a misdemeanor; and two counts of second-degree official misconduct, which are petty offenses.
According to the charging document, Dodd "knowing he had not been authorized by the custodian of the public record to do so, unlawfully and knowingly altered a public record," which led to the abuse of public records charge. The date range of the offense is sometime between Dec. 25 and Dec. 30, which was after the Dec. 17 date that Canon City resident Rick Ratzlaff got possession of evidence in a defaulted storage unit that had belonged to Dodd.
"The charge doesn't indicate or require what specific item we are talking about," said District Attorney Molly Chilson. "I cannot comment on the facts of the case."....
.... The charges also alleged that between Aug. 15, 2006, and Dec. 30, 2016, Dodd, "a public servant, unlawfully, knowingly, arbitrarily and capriciously refrained from performing a duty imposed upon him by law," in connection with the official misconduct charges.
The date of Aug. 15, 2006, is significant because that is the day that Candace Hiltz, 17, was shot seven times in her Copper Gulch home 25 miles southwest of Canon City. The evidence recovered from the storage locker included blood-soaked women's socks, a blanket, rope, hatchet and other items believed to be linked with the Hiltz homicide, which Dodd helped investigate a decade ago.
