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CRAIG, Colorado — A woman with a man who was shot and killed by police in 2015 near the Utah-Colorado border has been convicted of helping him disarm and kidnap two officers before he was killed.
On Thursday, Georgie Louise Hand, 44, was found guilty by a jury in Moffat County, Colorado, of two counts of kidnapping, aggravated robbery, disarming a peace officer, menacing and criminal trespass, for her role in the kidnapping north of U.S. 40 about 20 miles east of the Utah-Colorado border.
On March 9, 2015, Hand and James Brent Damon, 46, were able to disarm Colorado Parks and Wildlife Officer Nathan Martinez and Moffat County Sheriff’s Deputy Bhrent Shock and hold them at gunpoint near Dinosaur, Colorado.
Believing they were about to be killed, one of the officers made another effort to regain his gun from Damon. During the ensuing struggle, the officer took his gun back and shot and killed Damon. The shooting was determined to be legally justified.
Related:
2 Colorado officers taken hostage feared execution, investigators say
Two Colorado police officers who were disarmed and held hostage Monday feared they were minutes away from being executed with their own guns when they overpowered a Mississippi man and killed him, according to court records released Thursday."The jury’s verdict appropriately holds Ms. Hand to account for the role she played in a situation which nearly cost the lives of these two officers," according to a joint press release issued by the Moffat County Sheriff's Office and the 14th Judicial District Attorney's Office.
At the time of the shooting, both suspects were wanted by authorities in Utah, Colorado, Mississippi and Wyoming. Damon was also fugitive wanted by the Mississippi Department of Corrections for absconding from parole.
Hand will be sentenced June 13. She faces a minimum of 52 years in prison based on sentencing guidelines, and could be sentenced to more than 100 years.
