Jury acquits Silt man of harassment

RIFLE, Colorado — Phillip Carlson was found not guilty of harassment in less than five minutes last Thursday.

“I’ve been doing this 20 years and I’ve never had a verdict that fast,” said his attorney, Bruce Carey, of the Avon-based Fahrenholtz, Carey and Wiens, LLC law firm. “It was the fastest not-guilty verdict in my life.”

An official at the Rifle County Court office confirmed the not-guilty verdict took “a little less than five minutes” and was “extremely fast.”

According to Carey, a woman accused Carlson, 38, of Silt, of entering her residence in Rifle on Nov. 29, knocking things off the counter, hitting her twice in the head with a pillow then knocking her back onto a couch.

Carlson said he never entered the residence, but saw the woman from a few doors down from his brother’s place. The two had been living together and had just broken up. Carlson maintained he walked over to her, made a couple of negative comments and left in his truck, according to Carey.

Carey said police took statements from both parties and ticketed Carlson with harassment with an underlying basis of domestic violence. Carey said he announced the verdict because of its unusual quickness and also to vindicate someone whose name appeared in the news but was later found innocent.

The not-guilty verdict came in after a one-day trial.

Contact Pete Fowler: 384-9121

pfowler@postindependent.com