People v. Cichuniec

── People v. Cichuniec ── Court: Colorado Court of Appeals Date: June 04, 2026 Category: General The summaries of the Colorado Court of Appeals published opinions constitute no part of the opinion of the division but have been prepared by the division for the convenience of the reader. The summaries may not be cited or relied upon as they are not the official language of the division. Any discrepancy between the language in the summary and in the opinion should be resolved in favor of the language in the opinion. SUMMARY June 4, 2026 2026 COA 43 No. 24CA0675, People v. Cichuniec — Criminal Law — Parties to Offenses — Complicity — Liability Based on Behavior of Another A division of the court of appeals holds that, to convict a person of an offense as a complicitor, the prosecution must prove that another person committed the statutory elements of the offense but does not have to disprove any affirmative defense that the principal would be entitled to raise. The division also holds that, under section 18-1-605, C.R.S. 2025, acquittal of the principal on a charge does not require acquittal of a complicitor as to that same charge. COLORADO COURT OF APPEALS 2026 COA 43 Court of Appeals No. 24CA0675 Adams County District Court No. 21CR2806 Honorable Mark Warner, Judge The People of the State of Colorado, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Peter Cichuniec, Defendant-Appellant. JUDGMENT AFFIRMED IN PART AND REVERSED IN PART, AND CASE REMANDED WITH DIRECTIONS Division I Opinion by JUDGE J. JONES Lum and Meirink, JJ., concur Announced June 4, 2026 Philip J. Weiser, Attorney General, Erin K. Grundy, First Assistant Attorney General, Gabriel P. Olivares, Senior Assistant Attorney General, Denver, Colorado, for Plaintiff-Appellee Bruno, Colin, Goddard & Lowe, P.C., David M. Goddard, Michael T. Lowe, Denver, Colorado; Holland & Hart, LLP, Christoper M. Jackson, Denver, Colorado, for Defendant-Appellant The Kelman Buescher Firm, Naomi Perera, Denver, Colorado, for Amicus Curiae International Association of Fire Fighters Philip J. Weiser, Attorney General, Kurtis T. Morrison, Deputy Attorney General, Joseph G. Michaels, Assistant Solicitor General, Lane Towery, Assistant Attorney General, Denver, Colorado, for Amicus Curiae Jared S. Polis, Governor of the State of Colorado Lewis Roca Rothgerber Christie LLP, Kendra Beckworth, Nathan B. Thoreson, Denver, Colorado, for Amicus Curiae American College of Emergency Physicians ¶1 Defendant, Peter Cichuniec, appeals the district court’s judgment of conviction entered after a jury found him guilty of criminally negligent homicide and second degree assault. ¶2 The People charged Cichuniec, a paramedic, and his codefendant, Jeremy Cooper, also a paramedic, with various offenses arising out their medical treatment of Elijah McClain based on a theory that Cooper’s injection of Mr. McClain with ketamine contributed to Mr. McClain’s tragic death. A jury found Cichuniec guilty of both criminally negligent homicide and second degree assault. That same jury found Cooper guilty of criminally negligent homicide but not guilty of second degree assault. Cooper separately appealed, and this division (with Judge Berger substituting for Judge Lum) reversed Cooper’s conviction for criminally negligent homicide and remanded for a new trial on that charge. People v. Cooper, 2026 COA 44. ¶3 We now also reverse Cichuniec’s conviction for criminally negligent homicide and remand for a new trial on that charge. But we affirm Cichuniec’s conviction for second degree assault. 1  I. Background ¶4 As noted, Cichuniec and Cooper were tried