COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KKTV) – On Monday, the Fourth Judicial District Attorney’s Office said an Ohio man has been sentenced for crimes related to the 2024 El Paso County Commissioner race.
According to the DA, a significant number of petition signatures were flagged by the El Paso County Clerk and Recorder’s Office in connection with David Leinweber’s 2024 campaign for El Paso County Commissioner, District 3.
The DA said the signatures were submitted by 29-year-old Juan Pichardo, then employed by a petition signature-gathering company subcontracted to support Leinweber’s campaign.
During the investigation, the DA said it was determined that there was probable cause that Pichardo had committed a crime. He was then extradited from his home in Ohio and arrested on suspicion of hundreds of counts of election forgery and perjury-election offenses, the attorney’s office said.
According to the attorney’s office, Pichardo had pled guilty to 10 counts of Election Forgery, a class 5 felony, and 39 counts of Perjury-Election Offense, a class 2 misdemeanor.
Pichardo was sentenced to two years of supervised probation and is being held financially responsible for the costs incurred by the prosecution and extradition, the DA said.
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