Former sheriff’s detective guilty on 3 counts in storage unit case

Former Fremont County sheriff’s Detective Robert Dodd was found guilty on three of four counts relating to the possession of murder evidence in a personal storage unit by a jury last week.

He was found guilty of abuse of public records, a misdemeanor, and second-degree official misconduct-refrained from duty, and second-degree official misconduct-violating statute, both petty offenses.

Class 1 misdemeanors are punishable by six to 18 months in jail, a fine of $500 to $5,000, or both. A Class 1 petty offense carries no minimum possible penalty and a maximum possible penalty of 6 months in jail, a $500 fine or both.

Dodd was found not guilty of criminal possession of an identification document.

He was escorted out of a side door after the verdict and was unavailable for comment.

Sentencing was set for July 23.

The charges stem from the December 2016 discovery of evidence in the storage locker found by Cañon City resident Rick Ratzlaff, who purchased the unit.

The evidence allegedly is connected to the Aug. 15, 2006, murder of 17year-old Candace Hiltz in the Copper Gulch area.

Dodd was accused of storing murder evidence in a personal storage locker that later was sold at auction when his payment defaulted.

He learned about the sale of the unit Dec. 25, 2016, and two days later he created a supplement report to the Hiltz murder file listing the items but never mentioned that they had been in his personal belongings.

District Attorney Molly Chilson said during closing arguments Thursday that Dodd had “cooked the books” when he altered reports in the department’s computer system.

“He testified it was based on erroneous information and put it in an official report without alerting anyone,” she said. “He worked on it for two days.”

Dodd’s attorney, Randy Jorgensen, said when Dodd created the report, it was based on information that he had confused.

He said Dodd never was required to have authorization or permission to create a supplemental report and that all officers had access to the system.

Chilson said that after he was made aware of the discovery, Dodd didn’t call the sheriff, but he tried to handle the situation on his own by “covering it up and keeping it a secret.”

As a ranking detective sergeant responding to a murder scene while wearing a badge, Dodd had a duty to follow the law, Chilson said, basic responsibilities that he knew and understood.

By taking an oath as an officer, he could not knowingly “cover his tracks and make up a report with erroneous information.”

Throughout the trial that began Monday, mention of two possible persons of interest in Candace Hiltz’s murder, her brother, James Hiltz, and Heath Hyman, a man with whom Candace’s mother had previously been in a relationship, were mentioned several times.

However, Chilson made it clear that there was no proof beyond a reasonable doubt to establish that either had killed her, and the men were brought up to establish Dodd’s state of mind and what his duties were at the time.

Character witnesses testified during the trial that Dodd was professional and conscientious on the job, however, Chilson argued that he was neither of those regarding this case.

“He should have known better,” Jorgensen said. “It was careless and negligent, sure, but it doesn’t make a criminal. … A 26year good cop — that’s all gone now, obviously.”

Chilson said Dodd at one point had encouraged the district attorney to file murder charges against James Hiltz with his “hands on this stuff.”

“How will anyone ever know what happened to Candace Hiltz?” she asked. “Time’s up.”