DENVER (KDVR) — A judge for the Adams County District Court ruled on Wednesday night that there will be three separate trials held for the defendants in the death of Elijah McClain in 2019, the FOX31 Problem Solvers have learned.
According to the order from District Court Judge Mark Warner, paramedics Jeremy Cooper and Peter Cichuniec will be tried together, officer Randy Roedema and former officer Jason Rosenblatt will be tried together, and officer Nathan Woodyard will be tried separately.
“The court has made the foregoing orders based upon the charges alleged, the potential for spillover prejudice, to ensure a fair and just trial based upon the particular facts and circumstances alleged, to ensure a fair and just trial for the defendants, and the People of the State of Colorado who implicitly seek justice for the named victim and the family,” the order stated.
According to the judge’s order, based on the facts outlined in the case, the trials of the five men should be separated into three trials.
History of the case
The FOX31 Problem Solvers have been working to bring you the most thorough investigations related to the McClain case since August 2019, when McClain was confronted by three police officers, injected with ketamine by paramedics and later died.
Dave Young was the DA for the 17th Judicial District when he issued a letter to Aurora Police on Nov. 22, 2019, detailing why he chose not to file criminal charges against anyone for the death of McClain.
Gov. Jared Polis issued an executive order in June 2020, assigning Attorney General Phil Weiser as a special prosecutor to investigate McClain’s death.
Weiser indicted all five men in September 2021 after an eight-month grand jury investigation.
Each person is charged with one count of manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide, as well as other charges in the 32-count indictment.
An amended autopsy report released in September found the cause of death to be “undetermined,” although the forensic pathologist wrote, “I believe that Mr. McClain would still be alive but for the administration of ketamine.”
The same pathologist also wrote, “I have seen no evidence that injuries inflicted by the police contributed to death,” which legal experts have opined could make it tougher to prosecute the officers involved.
The officers and paramedics employed by the city have been indefinitely suspended without pay.
The City of Aurora settled a civil lawsuit with McClain’s family for $15 million.
