WELD COUNTY, Colo. — A fight is brewing between the Weld County district attorney and Colorado's governor after an exchange on social media Tuesday involving Elon Musk.
News of an inmate being released into the public is garnering national headlines, after the Weld County Sheriff's Office issued a warning to the public that the individual is a "potential danger to the community."
Debisa Ephraim, 21, was free to leave the Weld County jail on Monday after charges, including attempted murder, in multiple cases were dismissed because he was found incompetent and not likely to be restored, meaning doctors determined he is unfit to stand trial.
Denver7 Investigates
CO sheriff says he was forced to release 'dangerous' man due to competency laws
The sheriff's office released bystander video, which they said was not authenticated but allegedly showed Ephraim in the middle of two violent fights. Both occurred in April.
On Tuesday afternoon, Elon Musk shared coverage of the story to X with a post reading, "This is insane @jaredpolis."
Absolutely unacceptable. I’m calling on the county attorney and DA to use state law, including CRS Title 25 and Title 27, to ensure he’s not at large. This should have happened BEFORE release not after. Remove this threat now!
— Jared Polis (@jaredpolis) September 9, 2025
Gov. Jared Polis responded to the post, saying: "Absolutely unacceptable. I’m calling on the county attorney and DA to use state law, including CRS Title 25 and Title 27, to ensure he’s not at large. This should have happened BEFORE release not after. Remove this threat now!"
Now, Weld County District Attorney Michael J. Rourke is addressing what his office is calling "misinformation" in the governor's post.
"This is his law," said Rourke, after pointing to the governor's signature on House Bill 24-1034.
The district attorney points to this change in Colorado law as the reason the cases were dismissed and sheriff's office was unable to continue hold the suspect in custody.
"It mandates the dismissal of charges against defendants when they have been found incompetent to proceed and not restorable."
Rourke explained why he says the statutes the governor suggested utilizing, which allow offenders to be involuntarily committed to state mandated mental health treatment, were not applicable in this case. The process is known as a civil commitment, and Rourke says his office asked the judge for more time to determine whether Ephraim was eligible for this kind of order.
"Our office and the county attorney's office very quickly determined that those provisions of state law do not allow for keeping this individual in custody. Period. End of story."
Documents given to Denver7 Investigates detail a Weld County case from 2022 where Ephraim was charged with reckless endangerment and reckless driving.
In an order issued by the judge more than two years later dismisses the case, citing that Ephraim was found incompetent and not restorable to competency and other courts have dismissed his charges, but also determined that he "is not appropriate for a civil commitment."
Denver7 Investigates looked into Ephraim's history and found 10 criminal cases since 2022, including a mixture of felonies and misdemeanors. All of those cases were dismissed and many involved competency issues. Charges in those cases ranged from theft to robbery to assault.
At a separate press conference on Wednesday, Denver7 political reporter Brandon Richard asked Polis about his post on X and the law.
"I fully support improving that law," Polis said. "But at the same time, it should never be used as an excuse for releasing somebody who is dangerous."
During his response, the governor said his office is "happy to advise any county" on using the statutes he referenced in his post.
When asked whether he regrets signing the law, Polis answered, "Well, it makes no difference if I sign or veto a law that has unanimous support. So when all the Republicans support a law, uh, they cast me aside."
Watch our report from Tuesday about Debisa Ephraim's case, which sparked Elon Musk's tweet, in the video below.
Denver7's extensive coverage on competency law
Over the past year, Denver7 Investigates has reported on the complexities of competency law in Colorado and cases that have been impacted by a 2024 law altering language in the state's statute.
That change stated that judges "shall" dismiss cases where the defendant is found incompetent and not restorable, meaning that they will not be fit to stand trial in the near future.
The first case Denver7 highlighted involved a doctor who was stabbed in his office by a suspect who was repeatedly evaluated and found incompetent. The victim feared that his alleged assailant would be released into the public, but during the reporting process, a bed opened up at the state mental health hospital in Pueblo.
Another suspect charged in a drunk driving crash that killed two people walked out of court earlier this year after his charges were dropped due to being found incompetent and not restorable due to a traumatic brain injury suffered during the crash.
Later, the law change made more headlines when a suspect accused of trying to kidnap kids outside an elementary school in Aurora had her charges dropped after being found incompetent.
