Colorado\u2019s second-highest court reinstated an El Paso County defendant\u2019s aggravated robbery charge on Thursday after concluding that a trial judge misunderstood the requirement for a person to be \u201cthen and there so armed.\u201d<\/p>\n
Allegedly, Mark Alan Ambrose walked out of a Circle K store with five cases of Red Bull that he did not pay for. When the manager confronted him, Ambrose allegedly said, \u201cWe got everything we need. There\u2019s nothing you can do about it. I have a 9-mil in the car.\u201d<\/p>\n
The manager interpreted Ambrose as saying that he had a gun. He returned to the store and called police, saying he was \u201cnot going to get shot over Red Bull.\u201d<\/p>\n
In November, District Court Judge Robin Chittum held a hearing to determine if there was probable cause to bring Ambrose to trial for aggravated robbery and other offenses. Under Colorado law, a person commits aggravated robbery if they possess \u201cany article used or fashioned in a manner to lead any person\u201d to believe it is a deadly weapon, or if the person represents that they are \u201cthen and there so armed<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n Chittum did not find probable cause for aggravated robbery, reasoning that Ambrose was not \u201cthen and there so armed.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cArmed, I think, in a practical, usual, common-sense definition is, \u2018I have something on me that I can use right now in order to injure, hurt, kill you.\u2019 That is \u2018then and there so armed\u2019,\u201d she said. \u201cThen and there so armed is not, \u2018I have got something in the truck.\u2019 I could not find a single case of this clause where they didn\u2019t talk about it being on the individual, held by the individual, or in their pocket, in their bag, somehow on them, where it is immediately available to use against the victim of the robbery.\u201d<\/p>\n Consequently, she downgraded the charge to simple robbery and allowed it to proceed to trial.<\/p>\n The district attorney\u2019s office immediately appealed, arguing a jury could find Ambrose\u2019s alleged statement conveyed that he had a gun that was easily accessible to him.<\/p>\n Case: People v. Ambrose Ruling: 3-0 A three-judge Court of Appeals panel agreed with the prosecution.<\/p>\n
Decided: May 21, 2026
Jurisdiction: El Paso County<\/p>\n
Judges: Jerry N. Jones (author)
Terry Fox
Stephanie Dunn<\/p>\n