Richards replaces Davenport as investigator in DA's office

Richards replaces Davenport as investigator in DA's office

Jan. 3, 2001

By Tom Vaughan
Mancos Times Editor

Hugh Richards, a well-known figure in the Mancos Valley, is now the chief investigator in District Attorney Joe Olt’s office. He replaces Jim Davenport, who retired from the 22nd Judicial District post at the end of 2001.

Richards, originally from Massachusetts, brings a variety of training and experience to his new job. His academic credentials include a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from the University of Massachusetts, a master’s in computer science from Texas A&M University and a master’s in business administration from Auburn University.

After retiring from the U.S. Air Force as a lieutenant colonel in 1987, Richards worked on the Hughes Aircraft Company’s space programs for six years. He says his work with Hughes was an extension of what he was doing in the Air Force, even to working in the same building.

A new direction in his life began when Richards went to work for Colorado State Parks in 1994. He was assigned to Mancos State Park and during that assignment he attended the law-enforcement academy at Delta-Montrose Vocational School, receiving his Colorado certification in 1997.

After joining the Montezuma County Sheriff’s Office in 1997, Richards was assigned to Mancos and initiated the community policing program under the contract the town had with the sheriff’s office.

He moved into the detective ranks and conducted criminal and arson investigations for the MCSO. Richards also brought the Gang Resistance Education and Training educational program to students in county schools.

In his new job, Richards will be handling extraditions into and out of the 22nd District, "filling in the gaps" on cases for the prosecuting attorneys and doing backgrounds on witnesses. The district encompasses both Dolores and Montezuma, so the staff deals with five different law-enforcement agencies.

In addition to dabbling in cowboy poetry off and on, Richards and his wife, Rosie, are widely recognized as producers and marketers of fine wool for spinners and weavers.