Colo. R. Crim. P. 8 (2026)

(a) Joinder of Offenses.

(1) Mandatory Joinder. If several offenses are actually known to the prosecuting attorney at the time of commencing the prosecution and were committed within his judicial district, all such offenses upon which the prosecuting attorney elects to proceed must be prosecuted by separate counts in a single prosecution if they are based on the same act or series of acts arising from the same criminal episode. Any such offense not thus joined by separate count cannot thereafter be the basis of a subsequent prosecution; except that, if at the time jeopardy attaches with respect to the first prosecution against the defendant, the defendant or counsel for the defendant actually knows of additional pending prosecutions that this subsection (a)(1) requires the prosecuting attorney to charge and the defendant or counsel for the defendant fails to object to the prosecution’s failure to join the charges, the defendant waives any claim pursuant to this subsection (a)(1) that a subsequent prosecution is prohibited.

(2) Permissive Joinder. Two or more offenses may be charged in the same indictment or information in a separate count for each offense if the offenses charged, whether felonies or misdemeanors or both, are of the same or similar character or are based on two or more acts or transactions connected together or constituting parts of a common scheme or plan.

(b) Joinder of Defendants. Two or more defendants may be charged in the same indictment, information, or felony complaint if they are alleged to have participated in the same act or series of acts arising from the same criminal episode. Such defendants may be charged in one or more counts together or separately and all of the defendants need not be charged in each count.

Source: (a) amended December 6, 1990, and effective March 1, 1991; entire rule amended and adopted September 12, 2002, effective January 1, 2003.