A former investigator consultant for a local attorney is set to stand trial in July after pleading not guilty to four felony charges.
Laura Tellers, 52, appeared Tuesday in front of Judge Vincente Vigil for a status conference. She pleaded not guilty to two counts each of intent to distribute drugs and knowingly introducing contraband, and the court set a handful of dates leading up to her July 22 trial.
Tellers will have a pair of motions hearings — the first on April 10 to issue subpoenas and the second on May 10 for all other motions.
The court also set a pre-trial readiness conference on July 9, just under two weeks before her trial begins.
After setting those dates, Tellers’ attorney, Lee Christian, again inquired about getting Tellers’ phone back — the main theme of her Dec. 5 hearing. Since Tellers was involved in open cases, guidelines had to be put in place for investigators to gather evidence from her phone.
At that December hearing, Vigil authorized the district attorney to seek Tellers’ phone records from AT&T but not to view them. After the records were sealed and provided to the court, Vigil said a special master — someone appointed by a judge to oversee certain aspects of litigation — would oversee the records search and limit what is available to pertinent information.
Prosecutor Tim McCormack objected to releasing the phone, noting that guidelines for the special master are still being finalized.
Vigil sided with the prosecution, saying the phone is still necessary evidence and that it will be until the special master review is finished.
“Once that’s completed and anything is disclosed, I would think at that point in time, we can get that back to Ms. Tellers,” Vigil said. “But I don’t want to put the cart before the horse.”
Tellers worked as an investigator consultant for Sedlak Law ahead of her Nov. 17 arrest but is no longer listed on their website. She earned a bachelor’s degree in sociology with a criminal justice concentration from Colorado State University in 2004, starting her career in criminal defense as an investigator intern with a criminal defense attorney.
Tellers formed her own investigation business — Rocky Mountain Legal Support — in 2010 and held a Level II Private Investigator License in Colorado, according to her LinkedIn Page.
She was involved in a number of cases in Weld County, including as part of the representation for Marquise Daniels — who was arrested in connection with the 2020 murder of Blaire McQueen. Daniels was also found with fentanyl and meth in his cell in October.
The affidavit for Tellers’ arrest is sealed and has been since shortly after her arrest. Her next court date is April 10 at Weld District Court.
