Peo v. Robinson

── Peo v. Robinson ── Court: Colorado Court of Appeals Date: May 14, 2026 Category: General 23CA1723 Peo v Robinson 05-14-2026 COLORADO COURT OF APPEALS Court of Appeals No. 23CA1723 City and County of Denver District Court No. 18CR670 Honorable Christine C. Antoun, Judge The People of the State of Colorado, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. David Wayne Robinson, Defendant-Appellant. ORDER AFFIRMED Division IV Opinion by JUDGE FREYRE Brown and Schutz, JJ., concur NOT PUBLISHED PURSUANT TO C.A.R. 35(e) Announced May 14, 2026 Philip J. Weiser, Attorney General, Brian M. Lanni, Senior Assistant Attorney General, Denver, Colorado, for Plaintiff-Appellee James West, Alternate Defense Counsel, Longmont, Colorado, for Defendant- Appellant ¶1 Defendant, David Wayne Robinson, appeals the postconviction court’s order denying his Crim. P. 35(c) motion. We affirm. I. Background ¶2 In the early morning hours, police responded to a report of a burglary at a warehouse in an industrial area. They saw that the fence surrounding the building and a lock on the fence had been cut. A door to the warehouse had also been pried open. After they entered the warehouse, they observed electrical boxes with missing copper wires and heard “popping” noises that they attributed to wires being cut. ¶3 The officers then saw Robinson on top of a ladder in the rafters near an electrical conduit, wearing a headlamp and holding a large pair of bolt cutters. They found a hacksaw and copper wire near the ladder. ¶4 The prosecution charged Robinson with second degree burglary and possession of burglary tools. They also charged a codefendant whom they found with tools, including a hacksaw and bolt cutters, in the driver’s seat of a car outside the warehouse. ¶5 Robinson was appointed public defender Kelli Nagel. For unknown reasons, a file was never opened to Nagel so Nagel did not 1  appear at the preliminary hearing, which was covered by another public defender. That public defender requested a continuance of the preliminary hearing; however, Robinson said he wanted to dismiss his attorney and proceed pro se. He explained, “I want a lawyer, but I don’t want somebody who – who is representative or is paid by the government – the entity of the corporation of America.” The trial court gave him an advisement pursuant to People v. Arguello, 772 P.2d 87 (Colo. 1989), and found that he had knowingly and voluntarily waived his right to counsel. Robinson represented himself for the remainder of the hearing. ¶6 Robinson appeared pro se at the next hearing but told the trial court he wanted an attorney other than Nagel. At a bench conference, Nagel told the court that the prosecution “had sent [her] an offer on this case” but that Robinson had wanted to represent himself. The court appointed a second public defender, Christopher Richardson. ¶7 At Robinson’s arraignment, he appeared with Richardson. Robinson told the trial court he wished to hire private counsel, but he opted to remain represented by Richardson solely for the 2  purpose of pleading not guilty without further delay. The court accepted his plea of not guilty. ¶8 Four days later, on May 11, 2018, when no private counsel had entered an appearance, Robinson appeared again with Richardson. But Robinson told the trial court he did not need an attorney and was ready for trial. The court gave him another Arguello advisement and found that he had again knowingly, voluntarily, and intelligently waived his right to counsel. The court advised him that, ordinarily, the next step would be to set the case for a disposition hearing so that he could discuss a plea bargain with the prosecutor. Robinson told the court, “I don’t want no plea ba