Defense attorneys accuse Denver DA Beth McCann of misconduct in high-profile murder case

The murder charges against a teenager accused in a high-profile shooting three years ago should be dismissed because Denver District Attorney Beth McCann made inappropriate comments to the news media about the case, defense attorneys argued this week.

Remi Cordova, now 17, was 14 when he was arrested and accused of killing 32-year-old Pamela Cabriales at a red light on West Colfax Avenue on Feb. 20, 2021. Prosecutors allege Cordova opened fire with an AR-15 rifle after a fender bender and killed Cabriales in an attempt to earn status within the Eastside Crips gang.

The man driving the car that night — Neshan Johnson, then 18 — was convicted of second-degree murder in Cabriales’ death and sentenced to 35 years in prison after jurors found he gave the younger Cordova permission to start shooting.

Cordova was initially charged as a juvenile but McCann later moved his case to adult court. Cordova’s public defenders argued in a Thursday court filing that McCann made several comments to the media that violated her ethical obligations as a prosecutor and a court order limiting pre-trial publicity in the case.

“Ms. McCann’s misconduct is shocking to the universal sense of justice and violates fundamental fairness,” wrote James Zorich, deputy state public defender. “By willfully and intentionally making malicious, inflammatory, improper extrajudicial statements to the media, Ms. McCann disregarded her ethical obligations and violated Mr. Cordova’s constitutional rights, depriving him of the chance of receiving a fair trial by an impartial jury.”

McCann declined to comment through a spokesman Friday.

The state’s professional rules for prosecutors prohibit district attorneys from making “extrajudicial comments that have a substantial likelihood of heightening public condemnation of the accused,” but make an exception to that rule for statements that are “necessary to inform the public of the nature and extent of the prosecutor’s action.”

Zorich took issue with McCann calling the killing a “cold-blooded murder” and saying she moved the case to adult court in part because of the “absolute brutal savagery of this shooting” during an interview with Fox31 in October 2023. McCann also told members of the media that a person like Cordova should be put in prison for a “long, long time,” the motion reads.

The motion quotes McCann as saying: “‘Unfortunately, he is capable of killing someone in a very, you know, just cold-blooded way with no indication of remorse or concern or anything of that nature.’”

The motion to dismiss also cites a Denver Post story that relied entirely on information presented in open court during a public jury trial, as well as reporting by 9News, Denver7 and Westword, including a cover illustration Westword later apologized for. The defense attorneys took issue even with stories that did not cite McCann as a source of information and pieces that did not name Cordova.

They called for the case against Cordova to be dismissed as a sanction against McCann’s “outrageous” misconduct. Cordova is set to stand trial in August on charges of first-degree murder and attempted murder in the killing. He is also due in court next week for a motions hearing.

The call for sanctions comes weeks after 11th Judicial District Attorney Linda Stanley went through a public disciplinary hearing that centered on comments she made to the media and other members of the public during the since-dropped prosecution of Barry Morphew in the murder of his wife.

The state alleges Stanley’s comments in that case and another were inappropriate and that she violated professional rules for attorneys. Stanley could be disbarred if a disciplinary panel sustains the charges against her. That decision is pending.

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Originally Published: July 19, 2024 at 3:04 p.m.