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Dear Friends and Fellow Citizens:

We, as members of the District Attorney's Office of the 14th Judicial District of the Routt and Moffat County offices, from Chief Deputies to support staff, first and foremost want to thank-you for allowing us the opportunity to serve our community.

It has not only been a pleasure, but a genuine honor. We look forward to continuing to serve you regardless of the outcome related to the recall effort of District Attorney Bonnie Roesink. However, we are compelled to address the recall effort.

Ms. Roesink has been faced with numerous extremely complex legal and political issues during her tenure. Individually and collectively we recognize that each decision Ms. Roesink has made regarding those highly charged issues was thoroughly researched, founded on legal principals and guided by the ethical standards of a prosecutor.

While reasonable people will at times disagree with her decisions, including her staff at times, we collectively agree that Ms. Roesink is an ethical and conscientious prosecutor who is driven by the pursuit of justice.

We collectively regret that so much misinformation has been, and continues to be, disseminated about Ms. Roesink and her charging decision in the death of Mr. Michael Bailey.

Due to Ms. Roesink's personal and professional ethics, she has refrained from public comment. Yet, those in disagreement with Ms. Roesink's decision have partaken in a frenzied media campaign to discredit her.

Some individuals have gone so far as to assert that Ms. Roesink is in collusion with drug users. These assertions are not only wrong, they are patently offensive.

Although we cannot specifically address Mr. Bailey's case, we must emphasize to you, our fellow citizens, that a prosecutor is constrained in any charging decision by the evidence she or he can present to a jury.

Regrettably, in some cases law enforcement, albeit well intentioned, make seizures of evidence that cannot withstand constitutional challenge.

In essence, if an item of evidence is illegally seized, the court cannot, and will not, allow the prosecution to use the item against the defendant.

It matters not if the evidence item is a gun in a murder case or a blood draw indicating methamphetamine in defendant's system; if the item was illegally seized, it cannot be used as evidence in a trial.

Further, jurors are constrained to make decisions based only on the evidence at trial and cannot consider anything they have read in the newspapers.

We can definitively state to you that in Mr. Bailey's case, as in every case, Ms. Roesink based her charging decision on what evidence actually could be presented to a jury at a trial.

Finally, we as members of the District Attorney's Office strongly embrace the democratic principals behind the Colorado recall statutes.

It is at the heart of a democratic republic that citizens have a means to remove from office public officials who are engaged in unethical practices or abuse of power.

We collectively believe that while Ms. Roesink may not be perfect, she is neither unethical nor abused her power.

We unequivocally support Ms. Roesink and oppose the recall effort.

Respectfully,

Joseph M. DeAngelo -- Chief Investigator

Edward Veronda -- Deputy District Attorney

Jeremy Snow --Deputy District Attorney

Karen Knez -- Office Manager

Tara Jenrich -- Juvenile Diversion Coordinator

Donna Zulian -- Administrator

Kerry St. James -- Assistant District Attorney

Kristina N. Glawe -- Victim/Witness Coordinator

Andrew Heyl -- Deputy District Attorney

Laura Henderson -- Legal Assistant

Jay Cranmer -- Deputy District Attorney

Rachael Dorr -- Office Manager

Landra White -- Juvenile Diversion Coordinator

Russell Wasley -- Deputy District Attorney