CASTLE ROCK | A judge has dismissed a felony charge against a truck driver accused of hitting and killing a Colorado State Patrol trooper on Interstate 25.
District Judge Shay Whitaker on Friday dismissed the charge of criminally negligent homicide against Noe Gamez-Ruiz after the case resulted in two mistrials. Both mistrials happened after prosecutors were accused of failing to disclose information to defense attorneys.
Whitaker says there was “a pattern of discovery violations” in the case, and defendants have the right to see the evidence against them. Gamez-Ruiz now faces only two misdemeanor charges of careless driving stemming from the crash.
Trooper Cody Donahue was standing on the shoulder of the interstate filling out a crash report when he was struck near Castle Rock south of Denver in November 2016.