Weld County, Colo. — The Weld County sheriff said Monday that he was forced to release a 21-year-old inmate he described as a "very dangerous person" after a state law governing defendants found incompetent to stand trial required the move and no state treatment bed was available.
Sheriff Steve Reams identified the man as Debisa Ephraim, who had been facing charges that included attempted second-degree murder, assault, engaging in a riot, menacing and burglary. "We're releasing someone that we don't think should be released," Captain Matt Turner of the Weld County Sheriff's Office said. "We're releasing someone who is a danger to the community. The way the law is written, he has a get out of jail free card."
Reams and his office cited House Bill 24-1034, signed by Gov. Jared Polis in 2024, which requires defendants deemed incompetent to stand trial within the last five years to receive mental health treatment. Reams said that because there was no available space at the state mental health facility designated for such treatment, the office had to release Ephraim under the terms of the statute.
The sheriff's office posted videos it said showed Ephraim in two separate violent attacks. One clip, which the sheriff's office said occurred April 5 outside a bar in Greeley, allegedly shows Ephraim throwing punches at a man who fell to the ground, then continuing to strike him in the head. Police later found the victim unresponsive with visible facial wounds and difficulty breathing, according to the sheriff's office. The office said another video, believed to have occurred in the Fort Collins area weeks earlier, appeared to show Ephraim knocking a man unconscious and continuing to punch him while he lay on the ground.
Weld County officials noted that the videos could not be independently authenticated but were provided to law enforcement by a victim's family member and are part of a Greeley Police Department investigation. A Greeley police affidavit obtained by a local news station also alleges that on Jan. 26 Ephraim arrived at a house, pointed a gun at a man and warned, "Don't do something you will regret. Don't lose your life over this."
Records provided by the sheriff's office also show an arrest in Oklahoma in May 2022 after a high-speed police pursuit in which Ephraim allegedly crossed state lines at speeds of 80 to 110 mph. The Weld County Sheriff's Office said Ephraim is a refugee from Tanzania.
Family members of one of the alleged victims told local media they were terrified by the release. The victim's sister described watching the attack outside the Greeley bar and said she feared "the next time he will kill somebody." "Our local officials have their hands tied. They're trying to protect us, and they can't," she said.
Reams linked the situation to broader concerns about releases tied to competency rulings, citing other high-profile incidents and saying they highlight "the mistake that was made" in the statute. He referenced the case of a North Carolina stabbing that has drawn national attention and an Aurora case in which charges were dropped after a defendant was ruled mentally incompetent. Reams said he could not seek involvement from federal authorities because Ephraim had not been acquitted or convicted.
The sheriff's office described the release as occurring Monday and urged legislative fixes to address what it said was an unintended consequence of the competency statute. "It needs to be corrected. Someone is going to get hurt, and someone is gonna get hurt bad," Reams said. "Quite honestly, without some legislative actions, I don't know how you address this concern."
Representatives for Gov. Polis and the Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to requests for comment, according to media outlets that reported on the sheriff's announcement. The Weld County Sheriff's Office said it released the information to make the public aware that the individual had been released and to urge attention from state lawmakers.
The case underscores tensions between mental health statutes aimed at ensuring treatment for defendants deemed incompetent and county officials' claims of limited resources and public-safety risks when treatment placements are unavailable. State and local officials have grappled with bed shortages and placement delays for defendants in a number of jurisdictions, prompting calls for changes in funding, capacity and legal frameworks to address the gap between criminal proceedings and mental-health treatment availability.