Possession of a weapon by a previous offender (POWPO) in Colorado

What the charge means

To convict, prosecutors must prove two things beyond a reasonable doubt:

• Knowing possession. You knowingly possessed, used, or carried a firearm, or another weapon covered by Colorado's weapons article. Knowingly means you were aware you had the item. It does not require that you knew possession was illegal.
• A qualifying prior. Not every felony counts under the Colorado statute. The prior must be a felony listed in Colorado's Victim Rights Act definition, which covers crimes against a person such as assault, robbery, sexual offenses, menacing, kidnapping, and stalking, or one of the additional felonies listed in the POWPO statute itself, a long list that includes arson, escape, vehicular eluding, and aggravated cruelty to animals. Convictions for attempt or conspiracy to commit those crimes count, and so do qualifying convictions from other states and federal court. A juvenile adjudication for an act that would have been a qualifying felony also counts for ten years after the sentence is completed, and the statute allows a petition for early relief from that ban. This narrower scope comes from changes that took effect March 1, 2022 under Senate Bill 21-271 and House Bill 22-1257.

Possession does not require the gun to be in your hand. Courts allow the state to argue constructive possession, meaning you knew about the weapon and had the ability and intent to control it. That is why these cases often start with a gun found in a car during a traffic stop, in a shared home during a search, or in a bedroom closet that more than one person uses.

A common scenario is someone with an old conviction who bought or kept a gun years later, not realizing a ban applied. Another is a gun that belongs to a roommate or partner but sits in shared space. Because not every felony qualifies, the first question in many cases is whether the prior is actually on the list. After that, whether the state can tie the weapon to you is often the heart of the case.

Classification and sentencing

POWPO is a class 5 felony. Under C.R.S. 18-1.3-401, if the court imposes a prison sentence, the presumptive range is 1 to 3 years in the Department of Corrections, followed by 2 years of mandatory parole. The court may also impose a fine of $1,000 to $100,000.

Two points matter here:

• Prison is not automatic. Probation and other non-prison sentences are often possible for a class 5 felony. The exception is written into the statute: if the person used or threatened to use the firearm in the commission of another crime, probation and alternative sentences are off the table and the court must impose a prison sentence.
• The range can grow. If you were on parole, probation, or certain bond statuses when the offense occurred, sentencing law requires an aggravated range, which for a class 5 felony can reach 6 years.

Unless one of those mandatory rules applies, the ranges above describe what happens only if the court chooses incarceration. Many POWPO cases resolve without it.

What else it touches

A POWPO case reaches beyond the courtroom:

• Firearms. Federal law separately bars anyone with a felony conviction from possessing guns, including felonies that do not trigger the Colorado statute, so the same conduct can draw federal charges. A new felony conviction extends the ban.
• Immigration. For a noncitizen, a firearm offense conviction is a ground of deportability under federal immigration law.
• Record sealing. A class 5 felony conviction is generally eligible for sealing under Colorado's sealing statutes after a waiting period, usually three years from the end of the case or sentence, if other requirements are met.
• Everything built on your record. A new felony affects employment screening, housing, and professional licenses.

We defend POWPO charges across Colorado. A consultation is the right place to get answers about your specific priors, the facts of the stop or search, and what options exist.