News Release

January 14, 2026 Contact: Matt Jablow, 720-913-9025

Denver District Attorney John Walsh Marks One Year in Office

DENVER – On the one-year anniversary of being sworn-in to office, Denver District Attorney John Walsh is marking the milestone by highlighting the efforts and successes of the Denver DA’s Office on behalf of the Denver community over the past year.

In 2025, the Denver DA’s Office:

  • Filed 5619 felony cases, 7002 misdemeanor cases, and 466 juvenile cases.
  • Tried a total of 161 cases, including 88 felony cases, 25 of which were homicides.
  • Obtained guilty verdicts in three separate First-Degree Murder trials in the span of three days in October.
  • Resolved numerous high-profile cases:
    • Successfully prosecuted all four men who were charged with killing Ma Kaing in July of 2022. Two of the men received life in prison without the possibility of parole, while the two others were sentenced to 18 years in prison.
    • Successfully prosecuted John Pastor-Mendoza, who was sentenced to 290 years in prison after being convicted of 30 charges related to the kidnapping, sexual assault, and attempted sexual assault of 12 women. Pastor-Mendoza falsely responded as the driver when the women used a ride-sharing app to request a ride.
    • Successfully prosecuted Angelo Mantych, who was convicted of First-Degree Murder and then sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. On September 1, 2016, Mantych killed 28-year-old Marina Placensia on board the Amtrak train they were riding from Wisconsin to Denver.
    • Successfully prosecuted Jay Bianchi, who was convicted of three counts of Sexual Assault and two counts of Unlawful Sexual Contact. The convictions relate to Bianchi’s conduct with three women between 2020 and 2024 at two Denver bars that he owned. Sentencing is scheduled for January 23.
    • The Cold Case Unit successfully prosecuted Jason Groshart, who was sentenced to 32 years in prison after pleading guilty to one count of Kidnapping and one count of Attempted Sexual Assault in connection with a brutal attack that occurred on March 30, 2004.
    • Successfully prosecuted Miles Harford, a former Denver funeral director who pleaded guilty to one count of abuse of a corpse and one count of theft.
  • Obtained a 119-count grand jury indictment against 11 alleged members of the Denver street gang known as the North Side Mafia, who are accused of targeting fellow gang members, members of rival gangs, and random members of the public.
  • Obtained a 131-count grand jury indictment against seven members of an alleged identity theft operation.
  • Initiated and implemented a comprehensive process to identify, address and fix any and all issues related to the discovery process.
  • Worked with law enforcement and community partners to help bring about Denver’s dramatic decline in violent crime in 2025. Homicides in Denver dropped to 37 in 2025 – a nearly 50% drop from 2024 and the third lowest level in at least 30 years.
  • Increased its focus on auto theft, retail theft and Downtown safety to help bring down property crimes throughout Denver in 2025. Overall, property crime was down 13% in 2025 compared to 2024, led by a 36% decline in auto thefts.

“2025 was a year of great successes for the Denver DA’s Office on behalf of the people of Denver, successes made possible by the dedicated prosecutors, investigators, victim advocates and staff of this great office.  It was a year that saw significant crime reductions in Denver in most major crime categories. Thanks to the incredible work of our team and our tireless law enforcement and community partners, some of Denver’s worst criminal offenders are now off the streets and the city is much safer now than it was just a short time ago,” said DA Walsh.  “While challenges remain, we are clearly on the right track and the prospects for justice and community safety in Denver are bright.”

About the Denver DA’s Office:

The mission of the Denver DA’s Office is to protect the community, to seek equal justice for all, and to improve the quality and fairness of criminal justice on behalf of the people of Colorado.  We achieve that mission through excellence in our work investigating and prosecuting crime, supporting victims and their families, working with the community to prevent crime, and providing fair alternatives to incarceration in appropriate cases.

                                                                                                                                                                       -30-