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. 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 scheduled to address what his office is calling "misinformation" in the governor's post. He has a press conference scheduled for 2 p.m. Wednesday. Denver7 plans to attend and hear more from the district attorney. We will update this story afterward.
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.
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.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
