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Ramon Villa’s 2016 St. Patrick’s Day sexual assault case continuing coverage

Mistrial declared in trial of Ramon Villa

According to Deputy District Attorney Lisa Hunt, the decision was made after a page of notes including details from the trial of Justin Cayce Erwin — another of the accused — was discovered in a notebook being used by one of the jurors in the Villa trial. The notes detailed information about the previous trial, and a mistrial was declared to eschew fears that the notes could prejudice Villa’s jury in some capacity.

Day 4: Co-defendant testifies in Ramon Villa sexual assault trial

EAGLE — Jurors gathered for the second day of testimony at the Eagle County Justice Center on Friday in the trial of Ramon Villa, one of four men accused of sexually assaulting a woman too inebriated to consent on St. Patrick’s Day 2016.

The day’s witnesses included the forensic nurse who performed the accuser’s sexual assault nurse examination the afternoon after the alleged assault, along with one of the men who interacted with the woman at the Silverthorne bar preceding the incident, and Michael Gelber, another of the accused in the case.

Day 3: Jury hears opening statements, expert testimony in Villa trial

EAGLE — The trial of Ramon Villa officially began on a chilly Thursday morning, Sept. 6, at the Eagle County Justice Center, bringing impassioned opening statements from attorneys on both sides, along with expert testimony from a former Colorado Bureau of Investigation DNA analyst, a forensic toxicologist and the bartenders who interacted with the accuser on the night in question.



Villa, 42, is one of four men accused of sexually assaulting a woman in the early morning of March 18, 2016, following a St. Patrick’s Day celebration at a bar in Silverthorne. The narrative of how the events unfolded at the bar that night, along with the alleged assault that took place in Villa’s Silverthorne apartment, vary dramatically from the perspectives of the defense and prosecutorial teams, as highlighted in their opening statements.

Day 2: Jury picked in trial of Ramon Villa, one of four accused in 2016 Silverthorne sexual assault

Finally, after almost 16 hours of examinations over the last two days, a 14-person jury — eight women and six men — was selected. The rest of the room quickly cleared with the thanks of Judge Frederick Gannett, who lauded the 141-person jury pool for their patience, calling the sizeable turnout “extraordinary.”

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Day 1: Trial begins for Ramon Villa, one of four accused in 2016 Silverthorne sexual assault

EAGLE — It was standing room only at the Eagle County Justice Center on Tuesday, Sept. 4, as more than 130 potential jurors filed into the courtroom to begin the voir dire process in the trial of Ramon Villa, one of four men accused of sexually assaulting a woman allegedly too inebriated to give consent on St. Patrick’s Day 2016.


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