Douglas County Commissioners Approve DA's Role in Regional Forensic Lab

Douglas County commissioners voted unanimously March 10 to formalize the 23rd Judicial District Attorney's Office participation in the Unified Forensic Laboratory, an agreement that will put a full-time DNA analyst on the regional lab's payroll and give the DA's office a seat on the UFL board.

The DA's office covers Douglas, Lincoln and Elbert counties, and the deal expands a forensic network that already serves the Arapahoe County Sheriff's Office, Aurora Police Department, Douglas County Sheriff's Office and Colorado's 18th Judicial District. The UFL, which completed its facility in 2018 specifically to reduce reliance on the Colorado Bureau of Investigation's overtaxed labs, will now carry an analyst funded directly by the 23rd Judicial District's prosecutors.

Commissioner Kevin Van Winkle framed the vote in blunt terms. "This has been an ongoing issue, really since the birth of the 23rd Judicial District," he said. "Victims shouldn't have to wait for justice."

The urgency behind Van Winkle's remarks is supported by state data. In 2024, the CBI was embroiled in a scandal over improper evidence handling and testing by a former analyst, a breakdown that contributed to a 500-day turnaround time for DNA tests. The CBI's own tracking dashboard showed that as of February 28, 2026, the average wait for sexual assault test kit results had fallen to 194 days, a figure that still represents more than six months between submission and result.

The UFL's track record provided commissioners with a concrete argument for the expansion. Dan McMillan, investigations division chief with the Douglas County Sheriff's Office, told commissioners that UFL analysts linked DNA samples in the Rhonda Fisher cold case to serial killer Vincent Groves. "This was a decades-old homicide with no clear leads left to pursue," McMillan said. "This kind of outcome demonstrates the value of shared forensic resources, experienced analysts, and consistent regional collaboration."

McMillan also told commissioners that District Attorney George Brauchler supported the agreement, though no formal statement from Brauchler was entered into the public record at the meeting.

The UFL is distinct from the Rocky Mountain Regional Computer Forensics Laboratory, a separate federal-partnership operation based at 9195 E. Mineral Avenue in Centennial that handles digital evidence for law enforcement agencies across Colorado and Wyoming. The Douglas County Sheriff's Office participates in both programs, reflecting the county's broadening investment in regional forensic infrastructure as statewide lab capacity remains under pressure.