The appearance of counsel gave 9th Judicial District Judge John F. Neiley the ability to move the case forward, such as Tyler's arraignment, but the judge chose to issue yet another continuance — the third consecutive one for Boebert's eldest child — so his attorney, William Trent Palmer, can "get up to speed" on everything.
"We have an attorney on board for you, that's good news," Neiley told Tyler. "I anticipate we're going to need to do a little bit of a continuance so you can get up to speed, Mr. Palmer?"
"Yes, please," Palmer replied.
Neiley and the prosecutor both agreed on July 25, with the Garfield County judge telling Tyler he would leave the legal door open a little bit longer.
"We're going to continue the case, then, so that you and Mr. Palmer can have some discussions and can continue to have discussions with the DA as well," Neiley said.
Palmer, a Carbondale-based private defense lawyer who specializes in commercial and civil litigation, was in the news last year for representing a felony home invasion defendant from Silt. The suspect chose to randomly drop Palmer to defend himself.
“It’s a huge risk that you are taking, representing yourself and not using the services of Mr. Palmer, who is also a very skilled lawyer, and I have seen him win," 9th Judicial Judge Denise Lynch said about Palmer during a September 7 hearing for his former client, Janvier Pinkard, according to the Glenwood Springs Post Independent.
Pinkard is facing weapon, kidnapping and burglary charges. He pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity and has since gotten new legal counsel, per the Independent.
Westword was able to reach Palmer by phone this morning, but he wasn't interested in speaking.
It's been over three months since Tyler was arrested for a series of car break-ins and property thefts he allegedly committed with friends in Rifle earlier this year. He had first promised to get the ball rolling on an attorney search and his public defender paperwork during an April 11 court appearance after being instructed by Neiley.
"I always think it's a good idea to maybe do both, because if you qualify, you have options," Neiley said. "We can set this off for a little bit of time for you to make that decision."
The judge wanted Tyler to apply for a public defender right away in order to save time while he looked for an attorney in his price range after the nineteen-year-old claimed he was having a hard time affording one.
“We are working to hire an attorney, but it’s just been kind of hard with the prices,” Tyler said at the hearing. “Worst-case scenario, if we can’t get something figured out with the lawyer, then we’re going to apply for a public defender or whatever works best for me.”
Neiley continued the case and set Tyler's appearance-of-counsel date for May 9. When that rolled around, Tyler showed up to court and told Neiley he still didn't have an attorney to represent him. Even worse, he filed his public defender paperwork just a few days earlier, making it practically impossible for him to have heard back in time.
"I wish you had turned in that application a little sooner," Neiley told Tyler, before issuing another continuance.
It's unclear whether Tyler is paying for Palmer's services or if one of his parents is footing the bill. Neither Lauren nor Jayson responded to requests for comment.
Tyler is facing numerous charges for his alleged crime spree, including felony counts for identity theft that carry a possible sentence of two to six years in prison and misdemeanor charges for criminal trespass, which carry a possible sentence of up to 364 days behind bars and fines up to $1,000.
The felony charges stem from car thefts committed on February 19 and 20.
Tyler and his friends allegedly robbed multiple people, including a woman with a brain tumor who said she had just $75 "left to her name," according to police. Investigators say the group, which included two female minors and one male minor, swiped wallets and credit cards and attempted to run up tabs with them. One purchase they tried to make was for $717 through the online marketplace shein.com.
The crew was caught on surveillance cameras using credit cards at the Kum & Go in the 100 block of East 26th Street in Rifle and a Love's Travel Stop in Parachute, according to police.
Tyler Boebert was allegedly caught on surveillance video using a stolen credit card.
Garfield County Clerk of Court
"It breaks my heart to see my child struggling and in this situation, especially when he has been provided multiple opportunities to get his life on track," Congresswoman Boebert said in a statement after Tyler's arrest. "As an adult and father, Tyler will take responsibility for his actions and should be held accountable for poor decisions just like any other citizen."
In 2022, a misdemeanor traffic charge of "careless driving causing bodily harm" was filed against Tyler for a car crash that left one of his friends hospitalized. The friend was charged with unlawful possession of a Schedule IV controlled substance after cops found unprescribed Xanax pills in a bag of his. Tyler's charge, meanwhile, was dropped down to a "defective vehicle for headlights" ticket.
It's been quite an eventful week for the Boeberts, with Tyler's dad, Jayson, also having a court appearance on Wednesday, June 12, for the six misdemeanors he racked up in Garfield County earlier this year for two different incidents involving Tyler and Lauren.
Jayson, who is now divorced from the congresswoman, managed to walk out of court with just one charge actually sticking — reckless endangerment — which came with a sentence of six months of unsupervised probation and a $40 fine, plus court costs, as part of a plea deal. He had been accused of getting into altercations with Lauren and Tyler in early January.
On January 6, Jayson allegedly got into a dispute with Lauren at a restaurant in Silt that led to him being forcibly removed by police. On January 9, he allegedly got into a fight with Tyler and allegedly assaulted him at their home.
According to Tyler, Jayson pulled a gun on him after Tyler called 911. This claim, however, was taken back by Tyler during interviews with prosecutors and Jayson's defense team, which helped lead to Jayson's plea deal this week.
"He told our investigator that there wasn't a gun involved, doesn't know why he said that, things of that nature," said Jayson's lawyer, Andrew Nolan. "There was another witness there as well that we interviewed, a friend of Mr. Boebert's, who never saw him with a gun in his hand or anything like that. So I think that was somewhat of an embellishment."
During a meeting with the DA's office in May, Tyler claimed his dad was under "extreme pressure and stress" at the time of their alleged fight, but that their relationship has improved since then, according to prosecutors. He was said to have spoken "very highly of his dad" and did not want the case to move forward.
