Peo v. Castleberry

── Peo v. Castleberry ── Court: Colorado Court of Appeals Date: April 16, 2026 Category: General 24CA2110 Peo v Castleberry 04-16-2026 COLORADO COURT OF APPEALS Court of Appeals No. 24CA2110 Alamosa County District Court No. 23CR267 Honorable Crista Newmyer-Olsen, Judge The People of the State of Colorado, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Joleen Eleathe Castleberry, Defendant-Appellant. JUDGMENT AFFIRMED Division V Opinion by JUDGE TOW Welling and Lipinsky, JJ., concur NOT PUBLISHED PURSUANT TO C.A.R. 35(e) Announced April 16, 2026 Philip J. Weiser, Attorney General, Jacey DeHoyos, Assistant Attorney General, Denver, Colorado, for Plaintiff-Appellee Robert W. Kiesnowski, Jr., Alternate Defense Counsel, Florissant, Colorado, for Defendant-Appellant ¶1 Defendant, Joleen Eleathe Castleberry, appeals the judgment of conviction entered on a jury verdict finding her guilty of second degree burglary and harassment. We affirm. I. Background ¶2 The jury heard evidence that would support the following findings. ¶3 Darbara Funk was the landlord of a property with multiple apartment units. Darbara’s ex-brother-in-law, Bradley Bennett, occupied one unit.1 Bradley’s son, Keegan Bennett, occupied another unit with the son’s wife and child. ¶4 One afternoon, Darbara, accompanied by four other people — Castleberry and Amber Bickett (Darbara’s daughters), Joe Funk (Castleberry’s father), and Dennis Medina (Castleberry’s boyfriend) — confronted the Bennetts outside the property. Bradley attempted to retreat into his apartment. But Castleberry pushed him from behind and entered the apartment with him. Medina and 1 Because several of the parties involved in this incident share the same last name, we will refer to those parties by their first name when necessary to avoid confusion, intending no disrespect. 1  Bickett followed closely behind and some combination of the three of them assaulted Bradley. ¶5 Keegan eventually made his way inside the apartment, where he and Castleberry engaged in a physical altercation. Keegan’s wife called the police, and Officer Seth Hoffman and Officer Sylvia Moreno responded to the scene. The officers interviewed the parties involved but made no arrests at the scene. ¶6 The prosecution charged Castleberry with second degree burglary, third degree assault, and harassment. A jury convicted Castleberry on the burglary and harassment charges but acquitted her on the assault charge. The court sentenced Castleberry to four years in the custody of the Department of Corrections for the burglary conviction and a concurrent ninety-day jail sentence for harassment. II. Plain Error ¶7 Castleberry argues that the trial court plainly erred when it (1) admitted prior bad acts character evidence and (2) failed to provide a limiting jury instruction. We discern no reversible error. 2  A. Standard of Review and Applicable Law ¶8 We review a trial court’s evidentiary rulings for an abuse of discretion. People v. Clark, 2015 COA 44, ¶ 14. A trial court abuses its discretion when it misapplies the law or its decision is manifestly arbitrary, unreasonable, or unfair. People v. Sims, 2019 COA 66, ¶ 44. ¶9 When a defendant failed to contemporaneously object to the admission of the evidence, we will reverse only if any error was plain. People v. Conyac, 2014 COA 8M, ¶ 79. A plain error is one that is obvious and substantial. Hagos v. People, 2012 CO 63, ¶ 18. “For an error to be this obvious, the action challenged on appeal ordinarily ‘must contravene (1) a clear statutory command; (2) a well-settled legal principle; or (3) Colorado case law.’” People v. Wambolt, 2018 COA 88, ¶ 70 (quoting Scott v. People, 2017 CO 16, ¶ 16).