Prison term gets campus case dismissed

By Jesse Stephenson
The Metropolitan

A man arrested on campus in July and charged with violating a restraining order didnāt show up for the trial.
Samuel Allen couldnāt make it to court because he is in prison for breaking into his ex-wifeās house and threatening to kill her.

Denver Judge Doris Burd dismissed the restraining order charge against Allen on Dec. 3 since heās serving two years and eight months in the Cañon City penitentiary.

He was incarcerated  Nov. 24.

Court documents say Allen, a 43-year-old former University of Colorado at Denver student, was arrested in 1989 after he smashed in his ex-wifeās door, threatened to kill her and forced her to flee.
That incident resulted in two Jefferson County Court cases.

In the first case, Allen was found guilty of contempt of court for violating a restraining order barring him from his ex-wife. For that conviction, Allen was sentenced to six months in Jefferson County Jail.

In the second case, a jury found him guilty of first-degree criminal trespassing and misdemeanor menacing, for which he received the 4-year prison sentence.

After serving less than half of the term, Allen was released so he could appeal.

In appellate court, Allen argued that the lower courts put him in double jeopardy by ordering him to stand trial twice for crimes he committed when he broke into his ex-wifeās home.
The Colorado Supreme Court rejected

Allenās appeal in September and ordered him to complete his sentence. Allen filed one more motion in the court of appeals. Before that motion got rejected, it bought him about a monthās time away from prison.
Allenās return to Canon City marks another chapter in his long history of legal skirmishes stemming from soured romantic and professional relationships.

Auraria campus police arrested him in the South Classroom courtyard July 15 after Allenās ex-girlfriend, Dawn Chamberlain, a 28-year-old Community College of Denver student, notified campus police she had spotted him on campus. Chamberlain has a permanent Denver County restraining order against Allen.

After breaking off their romantic relationship, Allen and Chamberlain filed temporary restraining orders against each other in March 1997 in Denver County Court. A judge later made permanent Chamberlainās restraining order against Allen but denied Allen a permanent order against Chamberlain.

A month after Allen was arrested on campus, Allen tried to get a permanent restraining order against Chamberlain in Jefferson County Court. His request was denied, even though Allen testified he lives in ćconstant fearä of Chamberlain.

Allen and Chamberlain could not be reached for comment and their lawyers declined to discuss the court proceedings.

In addition to his attempts to get a permanent restraining order against Chamberlain, Allen filed a notice April 23 of intent to sue Student Legal Services at Auraria.

Legal services Director Spike Adams fired Allen, who had been a paralegal coordinator for the program for two years, on March 27.

In a sworn affidavit filed with the State Grievance Board, Allen alleged that Adams had at least one ćsecret meetingä with Chamberlain, who used the programās legal services. In a July interview with The Metropolitan 
Allen said Chamberlain had convinced Adams that he was an abuser and an ćevil man.ä

Adams said he fired Allen because of his unprofessional, unethical and unprofessional conduct. Allen was also being accused of sexually harassing other legal services employees.

Adams said heās recently learned that Allen wonāt pursue the lawsuit.

ćHeās declining at this point in time to file any suit against Metro,ä Adams said.