Northern Colorado sheriff warns public of "very dangerous person" he says agency was forced to release from jail

Weld County Sheriff Steve Reams has issued a warning to the public after releasing former inmate Debisa Ephraim from his custody on Monday morning. Reams accused the 21-year-old of being a violent man who fell through the cracks of the legal system, ultimately landing back in public.

According to the Weld County Sheriff's Office, Ephraim was involved in at least two violent attacks on Northern Colorado men. Videos provided to CBS Colorado by WCSO show two fights that Reams linked to Ephraim.

The videos, which appear to be recorded in different locations on different nights, showed violent fights that ended in men being knocked unconscious. Reams said Ephraim is the man in the videos who is seen knocking the men out and then punching them repeatedly in the face, even while they were unconscious. CBS Colorado has chosen not to broadcast or publish the videos in full due to their violent nature.

However, they show bystanders screaming after the men are knocked out, and others intervening to separate the victims from the suspect.

"It is a very violent crime, and how rapidly this person has accumulated contacts with law enforcement is concerning," Reams said.

Ephraim was first charged by Greeley Police Department after he was accused in one of the attacks. His charges included serious crimes such as attempted second-degree murder and assault.

Ephraim was ultimately arrested and booked into the Weld County Jail, where he had been living since April. However, Reams said he was forced to release Ephraim to the public on Monday.

Reams said that was due to Ephraim being deemed incompetent to stand trial. Reams cited 2024 legislation passed by state lawmakers that was created with the intent to provide those deemed incompetent with mental health care rather than leaving them incarcerated.

House Bill 24-1034 was signed into law by Gov. Jared Polis in 2024.

The bill, in part, said those who have been deemed incompetent to stand trial in the last five years should be given mental health treatment if possible. However, Reams said the law also leaves a void that allows those who do not qualify for the mental health program to then be released without further attention.

According to the Weld County District Attorney's Office, they had to drop their case against Ephraim because mental health evaluators did not feel they could restore his competency within a reasonable foreseeable future, which the law required.

"With that ruling, we are forced to release that individual," Reams said.

Reams said prosecutors tried to extend Ephraim's time in jail through legal channels while they attempted to find ways to either prosecute him further or get him into a mental health facility. However, those attempts were exhausted, and Ephraim was legally required to be released.

"He is a very dangerous person, and his actions, from what we can tell, were unprovoked," Reams said.

Reams said this was the first time his jail has had such a case fall through the cracks due to HB24-1034. However, he said he knows of multiple other agencies having similar issues. He referenced an Aurora case involving a convicted sex offender whose charges were dropped due to incompetence after he was accused of trying to abduct a child from a park.

"This, or the case that happened in Aurora with Solomon Galligan, both are very giant highlights to the mistake that was made. It needs to be corrected. Someone is going to get hurt, and someone is gonna get hurt bad," Reams said.

Reams said Ephraim is a refugee who arrived in the United States from Tanzania. Reams said he would have considered getting federal agencies involved to consider deportation in this case. However, Ephraim was technically never acquitted or found guilty of the serious charges he faced. He was only found to be incompetent to stand trial.

Therefore, even with the violent video evidence Reams released, Ephraim could not be prosecuted for deportation on those charges.

Reams called for the governor to have a special session to address the loophole in the law, calling it a "get out of jail free" card for those accused of violent crimes.

Reams said Ephraim lived in the general population at the WCSO jail and appeared to interact with inmates and the system as someone who otherwise is competent.

When asked what can be done by law enforcement or prosecutors to further protect victims from those who may fall through the legal system's cracks, Reams said he felt he was the one being handcuffed.

"All I can do at this point is make (the public) aware that this person is out and about, and pray that he doesn't re-enter those criminal actions," Reams said. "Quite honestly, without some legislative actions, I don't know how you address this concern."