Arrested During Livestream: Susan Holmes Accused Of Lying To Have Officer's Guns Taken Away Under Red Flag Law
FORT COLLINS, Colo. (CBS4) -- One of Larimer County's most wanted people was arrested on a YouTube broadcast Tuesday night. Susan Holmes was arrested by Fort Collins Police after an arrest warrant was issued by Larimer County Sheriff Justin Smith.
"They're breaking in! They're breaking in right now!" Holmes is heard yelling in the YouTube broadcast. "They're coming in here."
An officer is heard telling Holmes, 64, she was under arrest. She could be heard screaming at the officers, telling them they were going to break her arm during the arrest.
Holmes landed on the county's most wanted list last month after Smith said she lied to a court about her relationship with a Colorado State University police corporal. Holmes alleged Cpl. Philip Morris, one of the two officers who shot and killed her son in 2017, shared a child with her. She made those accusations in an effort to qualify for an Extreme Risk Protection Order (ERPO), also known as the "Red Flag Law." The law requires an applicant meet standards that associate them as a family member or domestic resident of the same home before police take guns away from citizens.
"That investigation revealed she had in fact perjured herself on that form," Smith told CBS4's Dillon Thomas.
Holmes, 64, was wanted on suspicion of first-degree perjury and attempt to influence a public servant for saying she and the officer had a child in common when she sought a court order under the new state law. She hoped that claim would help her use the Extreme Risk Protection Order (ERPO) to have the officer's gun taken away.
RELATED: Susan Holmes On Larimer County's Most Wanted List After Failed Red Flag Attempt
It's a requirement that people who request weapons be taken under the red flag law be related, a law officer or in a past or present relationship. A judge denied her request after she failed to provide evidence she had a child with the officer.
Holmes refused to present evidence of her claims during the ERPO hearing in Fort Collins. She accused the judge presiding over the case of being biased against her, and said she didn't want to present evidence to someone who would automatically rule against her.
As the hearing began, Holmes was warned by the judge that anything she said or submitted in court could be used against her in future investigations, hinting at the possibility of perjury charges for lying under oath.
"That was a very telling moment, when a judge at the beginning of a court preceding's … first warning to her was essentially the Miranda warning of the statements being used against her," Smith said.
Smith said the arrest of Holmes should also be seen as a message to other people who are considering abusing the ERPO law.
"By sending this message, we reduce the chance this can happen in the future, so it is really the right thing to do," Smith said. "She is somebody we want to get the justice system rolling on."
Holmes bonded out of jail and is no longer in custody.
