“Nothing short of a political lynching”; NAACP backs ex-Fountain City Councilor charged with fraud
Michael Logerwell
FOUNTAIN, Colo. (KRDO) – The Rocky Mountain chapter of the NAACP is saying it was a “manufactured scandal” that forced Detra Duncan from her post on the Fountain City Council.
One week after Detra Duncan formally announced her resignation, the Rocky Mountain NAACP is calling Duncan a victim of political lynching.
In a statement sent to KRDO13 Investigates via email, the Rocky Mountain NAACP wrote that the news about Duncan’s charges is part of a bigger agenda.
“This is not an isolated incident. Whether through fabricated ethics violations, distorted media narratives, or threats of investigations, Black women leaders in Colorado and across the nation are being targeted. These attacks are calculated to keep black leaders out of decision-making roles and deny our communities the representation we deserve. We will not stand by while this continues on our watch, nor will we let these salacious attacks jeopardize the safety of her family.”
KRDO13 Investigates sat down with Portia Prescott, President of the Rocky Mountain NAACP State Conference, who wrote the press release, which at the end made three key demands:
A formal apology from Fountain Mayor Sharon Thompson for failing to protect Councilwoman Duncan from this public lynching.
A full and immediate retraction of the Gazette’s false reporting, including the blatant lie that Councilwoman Duncan’s mother passed away in 1998, when she is in fact alive. They must be held accountable for publishing falsified information that fueled misinformation and defamation from a litany of other news outlets.
An official investigation into all parties who participated in the fabrication of evidence and witnesses used against Councilwoman Duncan.
“We are not going to let her sit alone and let them lynch her image and let them take her out and not understand what she means to us and what she means to our community,” Prescott said during a Zoom interview on Tuesday.
KRDO13 Invesigates asked what she meant by calling this a political lynching, and inquired if Prescott and the Rocky Mountain NAACP thought the two felony fraud charges Duncan was facing were false.
“I’m not saying that. No, that’s not what I’m saying at all. I’m saying the fact that people are embellishing a story,” Duncan said. “They’re saying her mother is dead, and they’re implying that she had some malicious intent to fraud the system or she’s some type of criminal person, or they’re implying this, negative intent.”
The probable cause affidavit obtained by KRDO13 Investigates clearly says that Jefferson County Investigators found the pay stubs from the City of Fountain that Duncan submitted were altered. Her job title, “City Councilor,” was marked out.
The affidavit also says that it was those same Jefferson County Investigators who found that Duncan’s mother, Earlie Mae Johnson, and uncle, Ervin Jeffery Johnson, were deceased when letters with their signatures saying that Detra Duncan and her son were taking care of them in a Fountain residence were submitted to the state.
KRDO13 Investigates asked Prescott about what the Jefferson County Investigators found, as detailed in the probable cause affidavit, and what she meant by calling the reporting of details from the probable cause affidavit as a smear campaign.
“What I’m referring to is I want to stay away from the Jefferson County. I’m not talking about the actual Jefferson County,” Prescott said. “If you see the timing of our statement, this investigation has been going on for months. So this wasn’t about the investigation. We’re looking at an article that came out from the Gazette that specifically said it gave a date, that when her mother died, it’s 1998, and her mother did not die in 1998.”
KRDO13 Investigates followed up and asked if Prescott could provide proof that Earlie Mae Johnson was still alive.
“When this situation is all said and done, I’m sure, you can get that information from her attorneys,” Prescott replied.
What’s next for the Fountain City Council?
Voters will not get to decide who fills Detra Duncan’s seat in the upcoming city election. At Tuesday night’s Fountain City Council Meeting, city officials said that because the ballot has already been finalized, Duncan’s newly open spot on the city council can’t retroactively be put on the ballot.
A special election also isn’t possible, according to Fountain City bylaws; a special election can only be called when two or more positions are vacant.
This means Duncan’s replacement will have to be appointed, but due to the upcoming election, multiple councilors were hesitant about picking a timeframe to make an appointment.
Document from the Sept. 23 city council meeting describing the process to replace Duncan.