David Morales bonded out of the Larimer County Jail on Friday and was transferred to the Weld County Jail, where he is being held in connection with a parole violation. According to the Weld County Sheriff’s Office, no bond has been set.
Morales was arrested on Aug. 12 after the Estes Park Police Department obtained warrants for his arrest in an alleged incident in February at the Twisted Griffin Pub and Restaurant, 247 W. Elkhorn.
The warrants obtained by the EPPD were for two counts of failure to register as a sex offender, a class 5 felony; nine counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor, a first-degree misdemeanor; and five counts of unlawful acts, a second-degree misdemeanor.
Colorado law requires convicted sex offenders to register with local law enforcement when changing their address, establishing an additional residence, or legally changing their name. Failing to comply constitutes the offense of failure to register as a sex offender and can result in misdemeanor or felony charges, depending on the circumstances of the underlying sex offense.
In 2008, Morales was charged with sex assault, overcoming a victim’s will, and sexual assault against a victim who was incapable of appraising conditions for an attack.
Morales, who was on probation at the time of the offense, was arrested in 2010 and pleaded guilty to second-degree assault and attempted sexual assault. It was Morales’ third felony conviction. He had previously been convicted of driving with a revoked license in 2007 and giving false information to a pawnbroker in 2008.
Morales was sentenced in 2011 by Weld District Court Judge Thomas Quammen to 12 years in prison, followed by 10 years of sex-offender-specific intensive supervised probation.
At the time of the alleged incident in Estes Park, Morales was employed as a chef at the Twisted Griffin, a Celtic-themed restaurant owned and operated by David Bard. The Twisted Griffin closed suddenly last winter, reportedly due to failure to pay its rent.
Bard also owned the Griffin’s Nest Coffee and Tea Pub, above the Twisted Griffin, at 253 W. Elkhorn Ave, and the Highland Bard, a gift shop, across the street from the Twisted Griffin, at 238 W. Elkhorn Ave. Both of those establishments also closed suddenly in February.
Parents of several Estes Park teenagers contacted the Estes Valley Voice in February to report that Morales had invited some teens who had worked at the Griffin’s Nest to come to a private party to use up the remaining liquor in the Twisted Griffin bar. The invitation to the party spread by word of mouth, and as many as 12 teens may have attended the event.